Closed petition Ban the use of water cannon and baton rounds in the UK

Closed on 10 February 2012

We the undersigned call upon the government to ban the use of water cannon and baton rounds.

Following the recent riots in London and other cities, there have been reactionary calls for extreme measures including the deployment of water cannon and use of baton rounds (rubber/plastic bullets) – Indeed the Prime Minister has immediately given in to this loud minority and announced that the Police will be allowed to use these methods in future 'crowd control' situations, despite no parliamentary debate and little evidence that they would end rioting. In fact anecdotal evidence has shown that they could actually cause an escalation of violence and there is more than enough empirical evidence that these 'non-lethal' methods can both maim and kill indiscriminately.

We are also concerned that water cannon and baton rounds could and would be used against legitimate demonstrations in the future, including protest marches and non-violent forms of civil disobedience.