Irritant sprayer
An irritant spray device ( RSG ) is a device that is used to spray irritant gas aerosol (usually tear gas or pepper spray ).
Construction and use
The irritant spray device contains a spray can with a valve and an outlet nozzle, which are combined into a handy unit. The irritant sprayer is one of the items of equipment used by the police in Germany and Austria, as well as the Bundeswehr and the Swiss army .
Pepper spray in irritant spray devices was introduced by the German police at the beginning of 2000 as a means of action for law enforcement officers to exert direct coercion . The aim was and is to create a milder means of coercion than the baton or even compared to the use of firearms in order to better take into account the principle of proportionality in the selection of the means of coercion. Depending on the version, the device designations are RSG 1, RSG 2 (suitable for concealed carrying), RSG 3 and RSG 4 (for use in special police situations, especially crowds) and the police version is not available on the open market. The proportion of the irritant in the German police is 0.3 % by weight . The range is 2.5 m (RSG 2) or 4 m (RSG 1, RSG 3 and RSG 4). There are similarly built civil versions of different police versions with different names.
| Technical data of irritant spray devices (RSG) in police design | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| designation | RSG 1 | RSG 2 | RSG 3 | RSG 4 | ||
| Operational range | 4 m | 2.5 m | 4 m | 4 m / 7 m | ||
| Spray pattern diameter | 10-20 cm | 10-20 cm | 10-20 cm | 10-20 cm / 20-40 cm | ||
| Minimum number of 1-second bursts | 11 | 4th | 5-8 | 11 | ||
| Capacity | ? | 20 ml | 60 ml | 400 ml | ||
Gun Law
In German gun law , irritant spray devices are referred to as spray devices . The German Weapons Act contains, among other things, regulations on range and age restrictions. People aged 14 and over may have irritant spray devices approved by the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt and carry them with them in public; the small gun license is not required for this.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Björn Schering: The use of pepper spray against demonstrators by police forces. Health implications and principles of proportionality . (PDF; 211 kB) Report, Berlin 2010.
- ↑ a b Technical guideline (TR): Irritant spray devices (RSG) with oleoresin capsicum (OC) or pelargonic acid vanillylamide (PAVA) . Police Technical Institute (PTI) of the German Police University (DHPol), status: November 2008.
- ↑ Small gun license: All information at a glance . Spiegel Online , January 14, 2016