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Pepper Spray

Pepper spray

Pepper spray is a chemical agent which is used in riot control, crowd control and personal self-defense, including defense against dogs. It is claimed to be non-lethal, however it can be lethal if used improperly, and the American Civil Liberties Union have documented fourteen fatalities from the use of pepper spray. The active ingredient in pepper spray is capsaicin, which is a chemical derived from the fruit of plants in the Capsicum genus, including chillis. Pepper spray is also known as OC spray (from "Oleoresin Capsicum") or OC gas. Long-term effects of pepper spray have not been effectively researched or published. The scoville rating for pepper spray can be as high as 5,300,000 for police grade and much lower for civilian grade. Generic grade OC spray found in most stores measures about 2,000,000 scoville heat units. However, police-grade pepper spray is available to civilians. Units designed for defense against wildlife ('bear spray') also exist, and can have such dramatically higher heat ratings that they can be strong enough to burn any skin on the body by mere contact. Similarly, 'triple-action' sprays containing CS tear exist, which will be stronger per heat unit. In the UK, where it is classed as an offensive weapon, the sale and possession of pepper spray is illegal. In Washington, D.C., possession of pepper spray must be registered with the DC Metropolitan Police. In Sweden it is classified as an offensive weapon and possession of pepper spray require a licence. As of this writing no such license has been issued. A synthetic counterpart of pepper spray - pelargonic acid morpholide - was developed and is widely used in Russia. Its effectiveness compared to natural pepper spray is unclear.

Effects

Pepper spray is an irritant, causing severe pain when in contact with skin. It also acts as an inflammatory agent, causing inflammation in the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, throat, and lungs. Temporary blindness occurs on contact with eyes along with intense burning, causing them to swell shut. Loss of balance and muscle coordination may occur along with severe skin irritation, difficulty breathing, and gagging. Psychological effects may include anxiety and panic, especially when breathing difficulties are experienced. The length of the effects depend on the strength of the spray but the average full effect lasts around thirty to forty-five minutes, with mitigated effects lasting for hours.

Deactivation/First Aid

panic Though there is no way of completely neutralising pepper spray, its effect can be minimised or stopped. As veteran chili-eaters know, capsicum is not soluble in water, and even large volumes of it will have little to no effect. It is, however, soluble in fats and oils, but of course it will already be in oil form when sprayed on a victim. Nevertheless, the most effective solution is a combination of milk, honey, a mild detergent and a little baking soda; it will soothe the area and remove the chemical somewhat - however, only a tiny amount is required to continue burning. Victims should be encouraged to blink vigorously in order to encourage tearing, which will help flush the irritant from the eyes. Some of the oil can be washed off the face using a degreasing, non-oily soap such as a mild dish detergent, and a fan will provide some relief. If possible, the victim should take a cold shower (heat opens pores and allows more irritant in; also baths merely redistribute it) Some "triple-action" pepper sprays also contain "tear gas" (CS gas), which can be neutralised with sodium metabisulfite (Campden tablets, used in homebrewing; though it, too, is fat soluble and could be washed off to a degree with milk), or a UV "blanketing" dye (little can be done against this, but its effects are not nearly as dramatic).

See also


- Riot control agent
- Chemical weapon

External links


- [http://www.pepper-spray-store.com/relatedinfo/whatis.shtml A history & Chemical Explanation of Pepper Spray]
- [http://www.crtlesslethal.com/experiments.html Study of Pepper Spray (OC) Combined With Taser]
- [http://www.galls.com/DefSpray1.html Self Defence Sprays]
- [http://www.defensedevices.com/abpepspray.html Pepper spray Information] Category:Chemical weapons Category:Less-lethal weapons Category:Riot control agents

Riot control

s doing riot control.]] Riot control are the measures to control a riot or to break up an unwanted demonstration (usually of protestors).

Tactics

demonstration] The initial choice of tactics determines the type of manpower and equipment used. The base choice is between lethal (e.g. 12 gauge shotgun) and non-lethal weaponry (e.g. tear gas). The decision is based on the perceived level of threat and the existing laws; in many countries it is illegal to use lethal force to control riots in all but the most extreme circumstances. Threat-dependant force deployment is easily visible. The traditional mainstay of riot control are specially equipped police officers with fire-retardant clothing, kevlar armour, special helmets and gas masks, plastic shields, extended batons or special riot hand weapons (such as the sjambok and lathi), and possibly tasers or similar. These officers subdue rioters and subsequently allow the less heavily armoured, more mobile officers to arrest people. In face of a greater threat, the riot police will be backed up with other officers equipped with riot guns to fire tear gas, rubber bullets, plastic bullets or beanbag rounds. One main weapon is vehicle-mounted water cannon. The most modern watercannon versions are capable of adding dye to mark rioters or adding tear gas to the water. There have been instances of riotsquad watercannons being loaded with sewage. In any combative pursuit, heavy supporting firepower can only accomplish so much. Often in major unrest, police in armoured vehicles (such as Land Rovers) may be sent in following an initial subduing with firepower. Occasionally, police dogs are deployed. As a less aggressive step, mounted police may first be sent into the crowd. The might and height offered by the horse are combined with its training, allowing an officer to more safely infiltrate a crowd. Often batons are the only weapons used. However, in a hunger riot in Vienna in 1919 the rioters resisted the police horses and killed many of them, and afterwards butchered them on the spot for their flesh. Usually, when front-facing a riot, officers slowly walk in a line parallel to the riot's front, extending to both its ends, as they noisily and simultaneously march and beat their shields with their batons, to cause fear and psychological effects on the crowd. The French CRS's tactics against a long demonstration march is to attack it at several points and chop it into segments, rather than to merely try to block it at its front end.

Shields

See riot shield.

Tear Gas

This can be fired in various ways: tear gas grenade gun, tear gas grenade thrown by hand, tear gas sprays. There have been batons that contain a tear gas spray.

Batons


- The traditional material for batons and similar for most purposes for a long time has been wood.
- As a riotsquad and guard baton, the British Army tends to use the pickaxe handle. They have a rule that these must be exactly 3 feet long, as they are also used for measuring.
- Rubber batons are common: for example, the French CRS's baton is about 1.5 inches diameter and a bit over 2 feet long. The Russian police also use rubber batons, but some of them have had to use wood in areas where the winter frost gets cold enough to make rubber brittle.
- See Specialized clubs.

Helmets

Designs include:-
- A plain helmet and hinged visor (usually polycarbonate) which goes up outside the helmet. Usually a riotsquad visor is straight up and down and curved sideways, not curved both ways like a motorcycle helmet visor.
- With the visor disappearing between two layers of the helmet as it is hinged up.
- A sort of CRS helmet has two visors, one of each sort. The outer visor is transparent. The inner visor is a "one-way window" that is transparent to a man wearing the helmet, but looks like freshly polished opaque copper metal when seen from outside, so that the man's face cannot be seen by the public.
- The chinstraps tend to be more complicated than on motorcycle helmets.
- One accessory is a attached pad to protect the back of the neck.
- Unlike motorcycle helmets, they tend to have small holes over the ears so the wearer can hear better.
- Other accessories include microphones and receivers for two-way radio.

Research

The police have been conducting research into their application in the fields of riot control. The most recent research into the field of less than lethal weaponry has produced such innovations as:-
- netguns.
- lasers (that blind and dazzle rioters).
- pellets filled with pepper spray.
- stink bombs.
- foam (which can immobilize rioters).
- microwave generators
- low frequency sound cannons that can cause internal discomfort to rioters.

External link


- [http://www.alpineco.com/armored/riotcontrol/ Riot Control Truck] Category:Law enforcement techniques Category:Riots ja:機動隊

Non-lethal force

Non-lethal force is force which is not inherently likely to kill or cause great bodily injury to a living target. In the past, police (or soldiers in Military Aid to the Civil Power) called to a riot were primarily limited to use of bayonet or sabre charges, or firing live ammunition into the mob. To control the violence with minimal risk to human life, non-lethal or less-than-lethal riot control technologies were developed in the 1960s. Similarly, police officers on patrol were traditionally armed with a baton or a pistol, while in the 1980s and 1990s officers began deploying non-lethal personal sidearms, such as pepper sprays and stun guns, which were developed for use by police and also found a market in self-defense by private citizens. As different parts of the body differ in vulnerability, and because people vary in weight and fitness, any weapon powerful enough to incapacitate is likely to be capable of killing under certain circumstances. Thus "non-lethal force" may have some risk of causing death: in this context "non-lethal" only means "not intended to kill". For this reason, two new terms, "less than lethal" and particularly "less-lethal", were coined and are now being used in place of "non-lethal" by many weapons manufacturers and law enforcement agencies (and even those who oppose their common use in riot control). This meaning emphasizes that they tend to kill or injure far fewer targets than traditional weapons, whose primary purpose is to kill and maim. Weapons not designed as lethal instruments can nevertheless prove fatal. An estimate by the International Association of Chiefs of Police suggested at least 113 pepper spray related fatalities had occurred in the United States, mostly from positional asphyxia, which is caused by airway-restrictive immobilizing holds that can be exacerbated by pepper spray, which irritates the airway. Amnesty International in 1997 released a report titled USA: Police use of pepper spray is tantamount to torture. A continuing issue with less-lethal weapons concerns training and use. Claims for the relative safety of such weapons are usually contingent on their being used "properly." For example, the rubber bullets developed during the 1960s were supposed to be fired at the ground and hit the target only after ricochet. In practice they were often fired directly at human targets and caused serious injury. Similarly, the chemical agent MACE is, according to manufacturers, supposed to be sprayed on the chest, and police organizations say that officers are trained to use it that way; but in actual practice, police frequently spray MACE directly at the face, probably because this is more effective. During the 1990s and early 2000s interest in various forms of less-lethal weapons has risen, both in military and police contexts. The interest arose, in part, because the use of less-lethal weapons may, under international law and treaty, be legal in situations where weapons such as lethal gasses are not. In 2001 the United States Marine Corps revealed its development of an energy weapon called the Active Denial System, a device said to be capable of heating the skin of a target individual to approximately 130 degrees fahrenheit (54 degrees celsius) in about two seconds, causing intolerable pain. In the 1936 science-fiction movie, Things to Come, based on a novel by H. G. Wells, virtuous technocrats of the new age drop the "Gas of Peace" from airplanes on their opponents, anesthetizing them and allow them to be captured without harm. However, that did not work quite so well in real life during the Chechen conflict, when on October 26, 2002, fifty Chechen separatist guerillas, armed with automatic weapons and bombs, were holding seven hundred civilians as hostages in a Moscow theatre. Russian special forces gassed the theatre with an opiate based on fentanyl. Everyone in the theatre was rendered comatose, and the guerrillas were shot at gunpoint. However, 116 civilians were killed by the gas, and while nearly 650 survived, some are likely to have permanent disability.

Less-lethal force in the news

fentanyl Victoria Snelgrove (October 29, 1982 - October 21, 2004) was an American Boston Red Sox fan. She was accidentally killed by police near Fenway Park by a blunt trauma / pepper spray projectile fired from an FN 303 (a compressed-air system similar to those of a paintball gun) manufactured by Fabrique Nationale de Herstal – classified as a less-lethal weapon – which hit her in her eye causing her to bleed excessively. She died at 12:50pm EST at [http://www.brighamandwomens.org/ Brigham and Women's Hospital] in Boston, Massachusetts. A video of the scene shows the crowd dispersing once they realized the severity of her injury as she lay face-down on the ground bleeding. [http://www.ci.boston.ma.us/police/default.asp Boston Police Department] Commissioner Kathleen O'Toole reported that the police believed to be involved were not trained or authorized to use the weapon, and have been placed on leave, their names are being withheld until after the investigation. The inquiry is being led by former U.S. Attorney Donald K. Stern best known for prosecuting mob figures, including fugitive Winter Hill Gang leader James "Whitey" Bulger. O'Toole has accepted the department's responsibility, however she has also blamed the "punks" who turned the event into a "near-riot". Because of this incident several police forces including Seattle's have temporarily discontinued use of this weapon until after the results of the investigation are published. There have been accusations that the use of CS gas during the Waco siege contributed to the fire that killed many Branch Davidians.

Technique examples


- Physical
  - Striking with hands or feet
  - Baton
  - Joint locks or holds
  - Water cannon
  - Pressure point
  - Beanbag round
  - Plastic bullet
  - Rubber bullet
  - Sticky foam
- Chemical
  - Tear gas (CN gas or CS gas)
  - Pepper spray (OC aerosol spray)
  - MACE (CN in an aerosol spray propelled by volatile solvents)
  - stun grenade
- Electrical
  - Electrified water cannon (proposal)
  - Stun gun (one common trade name is the "Taser" gun)
- Laser dazzlers
  - Veiling-glare lasers
  - The Laser Dissuader
  - Personnel Halting and Stimulation Response (PHASR) rifle
- Other
  - Active Denial System A radiofrequency "pain beam" that works by heating the surface of the skin.
  - Long range acoustic device

See also


- :Category:Less-lethal weapons
- deadly force
- incapacitating agent
- police
- riot control agent
- sticky foam
- "gay bomb" [http://www.sunshine-project.org/incapacitants/jnlwdpdf/wpafbchem.pdf]
- weapon

External links


- [http://www.bradford.ac.uk/acad/nlw/ Bradford Non-Lethal Weapons Research Project, University of Bradford, U.K.]
- [http://www.crtlesslethal.com/experiments.html CRT Less Lethal Research and Consulting]
- [http://www.policeone.com/police-products/tactical/riot-gear/ Riot Gear Information for Police]
- [http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7077/ New Laser-Plasma pain gun developed by military]
- [http://www.nonlethaldefense.com/ Non Lethal Defense Product Information]
- [http://www.sunshine-project.org/incapacitants/jnlwdpdf/ US "Non Lethal" Chemical (and Biochemical) Weapons Research: A Collection of Documents Detailing a Dangerous Program] (by The Sunshine Project)
- [http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8275 US military sets laser PHASRs to stun]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2365383.stm] Category:Law enforcement techniques Category:Violence Category:Less-lethal weapons

American Civil Liberties Union

Category:NPOV disputes ---- Category:NPOV disputes The American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, is a non-governmental organization (NGO) whose stated goal is to "defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person ... by the Constitution and laws of the United States." Lawsuits brought by the ACLU have been influential in several important developments in U.S. constitutional law, and it has over 400,000 members as of 2005. The ACLU provides lawyers and legal expertise in cases where it believes an individual's or group of individuals' rights are being violated by the government. In many cases where it does not provide legal representation, the ACLU submits amicus curiae briefs in support of its positions. The ACLU has never officially supported or opposed a political candidate, and is not aligned with any political party, though it has been harshly critical of various elected officials of both major parties over the years. The ACLU is one of the most influential NGOs in the United States today; often controversial, its stances have engendered criticism from both sides of the political spectrum (see Critics of the ACLU).

History, Structure and Leadership

The ACLU was originally established in 1917 as the National Civil Liberties Bureau (NCLB), an outgrowth of the American Union Against Militarism, an organization that was against American intervention in World War I. The NCLB provided legal advice and aid for conscientious objectors and those being prosecuted under the Espionage Act of 1917 or Sedition Act of 1918. The organization was subpoenaed by the New York legislature's Joint Legislative Committee to Investigate Seditious Activities, popularly known as the Lusk Committee, which considered the organizations efforts and pacifist ties to be a vehicle for socialist and communist propaganda. The NCLB changed its name in 1920 to the American Civil Liberties Union. Founders include Crystal Eastman, Albert DeSilver and Roger Nash Baldwin among others. In the year of its birth, the ACLU was formed to protect aliens threatened with deportation, and U.S. nationals threatened with criminal charges by U.S. Attorney General Alexander Mitchell Palmer for their communist or socialist activities and agendas (see Palmer Raids). It also opposed attacks on the rights of the Industrial Workers of the World and other labor unions to meet and organize. In 1940, the ACLU formally barred communists from leadership or staff positions, and would take the position that it did not want communists as members either despite its communist roots. The board declared that it was "inappropriate for any person to serve on the governing committees of the Union or its staff, who is a member of any political organization which supports totalitarian dictatorship in any country, or who by his public declarations indicates his support of such a principle." The ACLU has been criticized by some of its later members for this policy, and in the 1960s there was an internal push to remove this prohibition. [http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2005_09_04-2005_09_10.shtml#1126047007] In the 1988 presidential election, then-Vice President George H.W. Bush called then-Governor Michael Dukakis a "card-carrying member of the ACLU," which Dukakis proudly acknowledged. [http://www.pbs.org/newshour/debatingourdestiny/dod/1988-broadcast.html] It now serves as a jocular recruitment slogan for the ACLU. [http://www.aclu.org/Contribute/Contribute.cfm] The September 11, 2001 attacks, and the ensuing debate regarding the proper balance of civil liberties and security including the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act, led to a 20% increase in membership between August 2001 and December 2002, when its total enrollment reached 330,000 [http://www.post-gazette.com/localnews/20021202aclusidebarp8.asp]. The growth has continued; in August 2004, ACLU membership was at 400,000 [http://www.madison.com/tct/news/images/index.php?ntid=7175&ntpid=0]. The ACLU has been a vocal opponent of the PATRIOT Act of 2001, the proposed (as of 2003) PATRIOT 2 Act, and associated legislation made in response to the threat of domestic terrorism, that it believes violates either the letter or the spirit of the U.S. Bill of Rights. In response to a requirement of the PATRIOT Act, the ACLU withdrew from a Federal Donation Program that provides matching funds from the federal government for federal employees. The requirement was that ACLU employees must be checked against a federal anti-terrorism watch list. The ACLU estimates that it will lose approximately $500,000 in such contributions. See also: ACLU v. Ashcroft Currently, the leadership of the ACLU includes Executive Director Anthony Romero, President Nadine Strossen, and Legal Director Steven Shapiro. Notably, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a current Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, founded the ACLU's Women's Rights Project in 1972. U.S. Supreme Court speaking at an ACLU event. Villaraigosa is the former director of the ACLU Southern California affiliate.]] Although the ACLU has its national headquarters located in New York City, the organization does most of its work through locally based affiliates that are located throughout the United States. These affiliates maintain a certain amount of autonomy from the National organization, and are able to work independently from each other. Many of the ACLU's cases originate from the local level and are handled by lawyers from the local affiliates. The ACLU's involvement in the internment of Japanese in the United States during World War II is misunderstood, and often misrepresented. There are differing ideas on the role the ACLU took, some have argued that the ACLU remained silent on the issue. Still others have claimed that the national branch of the ACLU threatened to revoke the chapter status of the ACLU of Northern California for defending Toyosaburo Korematsu in the Supreme Court in Korematsu v. United States, . These arguments are hard to square with the fact that the national branch of the ACLU acutually filed a brief of amicus curiae with the court on behalf of Mr. Korematsu. In fact, the ACLU argued that some internments may have been necessary for the security of the nation, but that by interning Americans without giving them a hearing, the military was violating their right to due process. The ACLU argued that the internments should have civilian oversight, instead of military, and that the Japanese in the camps had been interned on the basis of racial discrimination.

Positions

The ACLU's stated mission is to defend the rights of all citizens as enshrined in the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution. While the bulk of the ACLU's cases involve the First Amendment, Equal Protection and Due Process and cases involving the right to privacy (see, e.g., the Louisiana chapter [http://www.laaclu.org/Complaints/complaints.html]), the organization has taken positions on a wide range of controversial issues. In particular, the ACLU:
- Supports the separation of church and state; under this mandate, the ACLU:
  - Opposes the government-sponsored display of religious symbols on public property;
  - Opposes official prayers, religious ceremonies, or "moments of silence" in public schools or schools funded with public money;
- Supports full first amendment rights of citizens, organizations and the press, including school newspapers;
- Supports reproductive rights, including the right to choose an abortion;
- Supports full civil rights for homosexuals, including government benefits for homosexual couples equal to those provided for heterosexual ones;
- Supports affirmative action as a means of redressing past discrimination and achieving a racially diverse student body [http://www.aclu.org/RacialEquality/RacialEqualityMain.cfm];
- Supports the rights of defendants and suspects against unconstitutional police practices;
- Supports the decriminalization of drugs such as heroin, cocaine and marijuana [http://www.aclu.org/DrugPolicy/DrugPolicy.cfm?ID=12401&c=19];
- Opposes demonstration permits and other requirements for protests in public places. The ACLU has opposed some campaign finance laws such as the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, which it considers an inappropriate restriction upon freedom of expression. It does not, however, have a blanket opposition to all laws on campaign finance. The organization's position on gun control is less well-defined. While the official policy of the national ACLU argues that the second amendment provides only for a right to armed state militias [http://www.aclu.org/PolicePractices/PolicePractices.cfm?ID=9621&c=25], the issue seems outside of the organization's scope, as it has avoided gun-related cases. The ACLU has been noted for vigorously defending the right to express unpopular, controversial, and extremist opinions on both the left and right. Some have expressed the view that the ACLU sometimes plays a role comparable to that played by public defenders, helping to ensure that even unpopular defendants receive due process.

Notable Cases

Since its founding, the ACLU has been involved in many cases. A few of the most significant are discussed here: In 1925, the ACLU persuaded John T. Scopes to defy Tennessee's anti-evolution law in a court test. Clarence Darrow, a member of the ACLU National Committee, headed Scopes' legal team. The ACLU lost the case and Scopes was fined $100. The Tennessee Supreme Court later reversed the fine, but not the conviction. In 1942, a few months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the ACLU affiliates on the West Coast became some of the sharpest critics of the government's policy on enemy aliens and U.S. citizens descended from enemy ancestry. This included the relocation of Japanese-American citizens, internment of aliens, prejudicial curfews (Hirabayashi v. United States, 1943), and the like. In 1954, the ACLU played a role in the case of Brown v. Board of Education, which led to the ban on segregation in U.S. public schools. In 1973, the organization was the first major national organization to call for the impeachment of President Richard M. Nixon, giving as reasons the violation by the Nixon administration of civil liberties. That same year, the ACLU was involved in the cases of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, in which the Supreme Court held that the constitutional right of privacy extended to women seeking abortions. In 1977, the ACLU filed suit against the Village of Skokie, Illinois, seeking an injunction against the enforcement of three town ordinances outlawing Nazi parades and demonstrations (Skokie had a large Jewish population). A federal district court struck down the ordinances in a decision eventually affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court. The ACLU's action in this case led to the resignation of about 15 percent of the membership from the organization (25 percent in Illinois), especially of Jewish members. A cutback in its activities was avoided by a special mailing which elicited $500,000 in contributions. Federal Judge Bernard M. Decker described the principle involved in the case as follows: "It is better to allow those who preach racial hatred to expend their venom in rhetoric rather than to be panicked into embarking on the dangerous course of permitting the government to decide what its citizens may say and hear ... The ability of American society to tolerate the advocacy of even hateful doctrines ... is perhaps the best protection we have against the establishment of any Nazi-type regime in this country." The ACLU filed suit to challenge the Arkansas 1981 creationism statute, which required the teaching in public schools of the biblical account of creation as a scientific alternative to evolution. The law was declared unconstitutional by a Federal District Court.

Funding

The ACLU and its affiliated tax-exempt foundation receive substantial annual support from the Ford, Rockefeller, Carnegie, Field, Tides, Gill, Arcus, Horizons, and other foundations. However, recently the ACLU rejected $1.5 million from both the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations because it viewed a clause in the donation agreement stipulating that "none of the money would go to underwriting terrorism or other unacceptable activities" as a threat to civil liberties. The ACLU also withdrew from a federal charity drive, losing an estimated $500,000, taking a stand against the attached condition that it would "not knowingly hire anyone on terrorism watch lists." Other key donors include Peter B. Lewis (an insurance magnate) [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/08/national/08aclu.html].

Controversial defense stances

The organization believes that free speech rights must be available to all citizens and residents of the United States. Therefore, it has taken on unpopular cases to defend the free speech rights of clients such as Ku Klux Klan members, neo-Nazi groups, and NAMBLA, a group which supports legalization of pederasty. A number of controversial cases in which the ACLU has been involved are discussed in the sections below. The ACLU has defended Frank Snepp formerly of the Central Intelligence Agency (from an attempt of this government agency to gag him) and Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North (convicted on the basis of coerced testimony—a violation of his fifth amendment rights).

Critics of the ACLU

The ACLU's most vocal critics are generally those who consider themselves conservatives. Many of these conservatives allege that the ACLU has not dedicated itself to the defense of constitutional rights, but that it seeks to advance a leftist agenda. Some critics point to its opposition to the death penalty, which has been declared constitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States since 1976, although it had been declared unconstitutional from 1972 to 1976. The ACLU continues to argue that the death penalty violates the eighth amendment restriction against "cruel and unusual punishment" and against international human rights norms. The 1980 Polovchak v. Meese case is also sometimes considered evidence of liberal sympathies on the part of the ACLU. Walter Polovchak was from Ukraine, at that time part of the Soviet Union, and when his parents were returning to Ukraine, tried to stay in the US and claim political asylum. The ACLU attempted to block him from doing so. In 1999 the Florida chapter of the ACLU referred to the ACLU's role in the Polovchak case in their brief for the Elián González case. Critics also argue that the ACLU has not been consistent in defending all civil liberties, pointing out that it is not active in protecting gun rights. Critics claim gun rights enjoy similar constitutional protection to other civil rights and should be treated equally by the ACLU if it is not motivated by a partisan agenda. The organization declares itself officially "neutral" on the issue of gun control, pointing to previous Supreme Court decisions such as United States v. Miller to argue that the Second Amendment applies to the preservation or efficiency of a well-regulated militia, and the possession of weapons by individuals is not constitutionally protected. [http://www.aclu.org/PolicePractices/PolicePractices.cfm?ID=9621&c=25] Some critics argue that this position is inconsistent with their stated philosophy, and have suggested that the ACLU may only adopt this stance to appease liberal-leaning supporters of the group who happen to also support gun control. While some refer to the ACLU as a libertarian organization and while the ACLU has defended the US Libertarian Party in recent cases [http://www.aclu.org/VotingRights/VotingRights.cfm?ID=10305&c=32], a number of libertarians and objectivists oppose the ACLU for its support of laws that they view as distinctly anti-liberty, such as affirmative action and anti-discrimination laws that apply to private property. Law professor David Bernstein's book "You Can't Say That! The Growing Threat to Civil Liberties from Antidiscrimination Laws" takes the ACLU to task for frequently seeking to undermine expressive rights when they conflict with antidiscrimination laws, as in the 2000 Supreme Court case of Boy Scouts of America v. Dale. Some libertarians have formed an organization they describe as the "libertarian ACLU" [http://www.lpws.org/spokane/why.htm], the Institute for Justice. The Ohio chapter of the ACLU was criticized for presenting the Council on American-Islamic Relations with an award in October, 2003. Critics contend that CAIR is dedicated to the advancement of radical Wahhabism. [http://cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=32696&page=NB] Bill O'Reilly has referred to the ACLU as "the most dangerous organization in America" and as a "fascist organization" on his various broadcasts, and frequently lambastes the group [http://mediamatters.org/items/200406080005]. Former ACLU member Nat Hentoff has also criticized the organization for promoting affirmative action and for supporting what he sees as government protected liberal speech codes enacted on college campuses and the workplace [http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/hentoff092099.asp]. Michael Medved has referred to the ACLU sarcastically as the "American Criminal Lawyer Union", due to its frequent stances at end with conservatives. The ACLU has also, though less frequently, been subject to criticism from the political left. Some critics object to the organization's advocacy for corporations' protection by the Bill of Rights known as corporate personhood, as well as its stance against some campaign finance reform laws. Some anti-pornography activists, including Nikki Craft, who oppose pornography on feminist grounds, are also strong critics of the ACLU. Some created, in or around 1991, an organization called "Always Causing Legal Unrest" [http://www.nostatusquo.com/ACLU/aclu/index.html] to protest the ACLU's defense of what they consider to be unprotected misogynistic images and speech; the acronym coincidence led the ACLU (the Union) to send a letter of protest [http://www.nostatusquo.com/ACLU/aclu/Ehrlich.html], but the Union has not yet pursued legal action. Naturally, the ACLU's free speech stance on pornography, even of a very explicit nature, draws numerous critics from the right-wing as well; most famously, former attorney general Edwin Meese. In 1982, the ACLU became involved in a case involving the distribution of child pornography (New York v. Ferber, 458 U.S. 747 [http://www.oyez.org/oyez/resource/case/279/].) In a controversial amicus brief, the ACLU argued that the New York State law in question "has criminalized the dissemination, sale or display of constitutionally protected non-obscene materials which portray juveniles in sexually related roles", while arguing that child pornography deemed obscene under the Miller test deserved no constitutional protection and could be banned [http://campus.westlaw.com/Find/Default.wl?SerialNum=1982191934&FindType=Y&AP=0-2&ReturnTo=CLID_RT4918149&POP=False&IT=BRIEF&TF=15&TC=1&mt=CampusLegal&fn=_top&sv=Split&vr=2.0&sp=princeton-2000&rs=WLW5.09]. The ACLU's stance on this case has drawn great criticism from conservatives [http://euphoria.jarkolicious.com/journal/2005/06/16/516/]. In a 2002 letter, the ACLU stated that it "opposes child pornography that uses real children in its depictions" [http://www.aclu.org/Privacy/Privacy.cfm?ID=10364&c=252]. The ACLU has also been criticized for its stance on spam. It has opposed many anti-spam laws, and in 2000 a legislative counsel for the ACLU claimed that "it's relatively simple to click and delete." The group has also come under fire for fighting against Megan’s Law, a law ostensibly enacted to protect children from sex offenders. Though the ACLU has fought Megan’s Law(s) in many states, it has been unable to attain significant victories in these cases.

Christian and other religious critics

At the grassroots level, the ACLU often involves itself in cases involving the separation of church and state. Therefore, conservative Christians often take issue with its positions. Many in this community contend that the ACLU is part of an effort to remove all references to religion from American government. In 2004, for example, the ACLU of Southern California (ACLU/SC) threatened to sue the city of Redlands, California if it did not remove a picture of a cross from the city's seal. The ACLU/SC argued that having a cross on the seal amounted to a government-sponsored endorsement of Christianity and violated separation of church and state. The city complied with the ACLU/SC and removed the cross from all city vehicles, business cards, and police badges. However, the issue will be put on the November 2005 ballot[http://www.redlandsseal.org]. The ACLU/SC also threatened Los Angeles County, California if it also did not remove an image of a cross from its seal. As in the Redlands case, the county board complied with the demands and voted to remove the cross from its seal as well. There was a petition against the changing of the seal, which ended on August 15, 2005 [http://www.savetheseal.net/]. After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack, the Rev. Jerry Falwell remarked that the ACLU, by trying to "secularize America," had provoked the wrath of God, and therefore caused those terrorist attacks. (Falwell later apologized for the remark.) Other critics of the ACLU do not make such strong accusations, but claim that the organization pushes the concept of separation of church and state beyond its original meaning. The ACLU and Jerry Falwell sometimes find themselves on the same side. Notably, the ACLU filed an amicus brief supporting a suit by Falwell against the state of Virginia. The suit, which was successful, overturned the Virginia constitution's ban on the incorporation of Churches. In addition, the ACLU has defended the rights of a Christian church to run anti-Santa ads on Boston subways, the rights to religious expression by jurors, and the rights of Christian students to distribute religious literature in school.[http://www.aclu.org/ReligiousLiberty/ReligiousLiberty.cfm?ID=17598&c=38] Many minority religious groups like Jehovah's Witnesses and Muslims have at times been defended by the ACLU and are ardent supporters of it. In the Mormon community, the ACLU is viewed positively by some, who cite Santa Fe Independent School Dist. v. Doe, a case litigated by the ACLU on behalf of a Mormon student concerning school prayer [http://wenger.blogspot.com/2003_08_10_wenger_archive.html#106087652143939285]. However, a good number of Mormons, including some local leaders, are strongly against the activities of the ACLU.[http://www.timesandseasons.org/archives/000198.html]. There have been false allegations that the ACLU has urged the removal of cross-shaped headstones from federal cemeteries and has opposed prayer by soldiers; such charges have been deemed to be urban legends. [http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/cemetery.asp]

National affiliates

Below are some of the ACLU's bigger affiliates:
- [http://www.aclu-sc.org/ ACLU of Southern California]
- [http://www.aclunc.org/ ACLU of Northern California]
- [http://www.aclu-nca.org/ ACLU of the National Capital Area (District of Columbia, and Prince George's and Montgomery Counties of Maryland)]
- [http://www.aclufl.org/ ACLU of Florida]
- [http://www.aclu-il.org/ ACLU of Illinois]
- [http://www.aclu-mass.org/ ACLU of Massachusetts]
- [http://www.aclumich.org/ ACLU of Michigan]
- [http://www.aclu-mn.org/ ACLU of Minnesota]
- [http://www.aclu-em.org/ ACLU of Eastern Missouri]
- [http://www.aclunebraska.org/ ACLU of Nebraska]
- [http://www.aclu-nj.org/ ACLU of New Jersey]
- [http://www.nhclu.org/ New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union]
- [http://www.nyclu.org/ New York Civil Liberties Union]
- [http://www.acluohio.org/ ACLU of Ohio]
- [http://www.aclupa.org/ ACLU of Pennsylvania]
- [http://www.acluva.org/ ACLU of Virginia]
- [http://www.aclu-wa.org/ ACLU of Washington]

External links


- [http://www.aclu.org Official website]
- [http://arar.essortment.com/acluamericanci_rmal.htm History of the ACLU]
- [http://www.topix.net/news/aclu ACLU News from Topix.net]
- [http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=12666&c=206 Freedom Under Fire: Dissent in a Post-9/11 America]
- [http://www.stoptheaclu.org Stop the ACLU Main Site] (Critics of the ACLU)
- [http://www.stoptheaclu.com Stop the ACLU BlogBurst] (Conservative Bloggers who Oppose the ACLU) Category:Government watchdog groups in the U.S. Category:Civil rights Category:Legal defence organizations

Capsaicin

The chemical compound capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) is the active component of chilli peppers (Capsicum). It is an irritant for mammals including humans and produces a sensation of burning in the mouth. Capsaicin and several related compounds are called capsaicinoids and are produced as a secondary metabolite by certain plants of the genus Capsicum (chile peppers), probably as deterrants against herbivores. Birds are generally not sensitive to capsaicinoids. Pure capsaicin is a lipophilic colorless odorless crystalline to waxy compound.

Capsaicinoids

Capsaicin is the main capsaicinoid in chile peppers, followed by dihydrocapsaicin. These two compounds are also about twice as hot as the minor capsaicinoids nordihydrocapsaicin, homodihydrocapsaicin, and homocapsaicin. Dilute solutions of pure capsaicinoids produced different types of pungency; however, these differences were not noted using more concentrated solutions.

Uses

Food

Because of the burning sensation capsaicin is commonly used in food products to give them added spice or "heat" (piquancy). The degree of heat found within a food is measured on the Scoville scale. Typically the capsaicin is obtained by using chilli peppers as the source. Another common source is hot sauces (which may contain pure capsaicin or chile peppers). These sources are preferred over pure capsaicin for reasons of safety resulting from the lower concentration. The most effective way to relieve the burning sensation is to cool the mouth and throat with cool food or cool beverages like yogurt, ice cream, or milk. Since capsaicin in its pure state is poorly soluble in water, but good in fat, oils, and pure alcohol, an often heard advice is to eat fatty foods or beverages like buttered bread, whole milk, or whipped cream, assuming that these would carry away the capsaicin and thus reduce the source of the burning. The value of this practice is questionable and the burning sensation will slowly fade away without any measure taken.

Medical

Capsaicin is used in topical ointments used to relieve the pain of peripheral neuropathy (for example post-herpetic neuralgia). The treatment typically involves the application of a topical anesthetic until the area is numb. Then the capsaicin is applied by a therapist wearing rubber gloves and a face mask. The capsaicin remains on the skin until the patient starts to feel the heat at which point it is promptly removed. The result appears to be that the nerves are overwhelmed from the burning sensation and are unable to report pain for an extended period of time. Ointments and balms for the relief of aching muscles often contain capsaicin in the form of a chile oil extract, listed amongst the ingredients under such names as "capsic. oleo. res."

Non-lethal force

Capsaicin is also the active ingredient in the chemical riot control agent pepper spray. When the spray comes in contact with skin, especially eyes or mucous membranes it is very painful. Refer to the Scoville scale for a comparison of pepper spray to other sources of Capsaicin. In large quantities, capsaicin can be a lethal poison. Symptoms of overdose include difficulty breathing, blue skin, and convulsions. While the large amount needed to kill an adult human being and the low concentration of capsaicin in chiles make accidental poisioning by chili consumption exceedingly unlikely, capsaicin has been implicated in some cases of infanticide in India.

Pest deterrent

Capsaicin is also used to deter pests, both insects and animals.

Mechanism of action

The burning and painful sensations associated with capsaicin result from capsaicin's chemical interaction with sensory neurons. Capsaicin, as a member of the vanilloid family, binds to a receptor called the vanilloid receptor subtype 1 (VR1). First cloned in 1997, VR1 is an ion channel-type receptor. VR1, which can also be stimulated with heat and physical abrasion, permits positively-charged ions (i.e. cations) to pass through the cell membrane and into the cell from outside when activated. The resulting "depolarization" of the neuron stimulates it to signal the brain. By binding to the VR1 receptor, the capsaicin molecule produces the same effect that excessive heat or abrasive damage would cause, explaining why the spiciness of capsaicin is described as a burning sensation. The VR1 ion channel has subsequently been shown to be a member of the superfamily of TRP ion channels, and as such is now referred to as TRPV1. There are a number of different TRP ion channels that have been shown to be sensitive to different ranges of temperature and probably are responsible for our range of temperature sensation. Thus, capsaicin does not actually cause a chemical burn; it causes only the sensation of one.

Capsaicin high

The "capsaicin high" is a euphoric sensation caused by the consumption of large quantities of capsaicin from capsaicin-laden foods. It's theorised that the pain induced by capsaicin causes the human body to release endorphins. Eventually, enough are released to create a sensation that is frequently compared to "runner's high."

References


- J. Am. Med. Assoc. 266(19):2766 (1991) R. Henkin; Cooling the burn from hot peppers
- [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=2385629&query_hl=1 Physiol. Behav. 47(4):617-623 (1990)] C. W. Nasrawi, R. M. Pangborn; Temporal effectiveness of mouth-rinsing on capsaicin mouth-burn
- [http://ift.confex.com/ift/2001/techprogram/paper_8185.htm IFT Annual Meeting 2001] R. J. Garnanez, L. H. McKee; Temporal effectiveness of sugar solutions on mouth burn by capsaicin

See also


- Piperine, the active chemical in black pepper

External links


- [http://sulcus.berkeley.edu/mcb/165_001/papers/manuscripts/_784.html Capsaicin and Its Therapeutic Potential]
- [http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/chilli/capsaicin.htm Molecule of the Month]
- [http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/scf/out120_en.pdf European Commission], opinion of the Scientific Committee on Food on capsaicin. Category:Organic compounds ja:カプサイシン

Chile pepper

The chile pepper, chili pepper, or chilli pepper (properly they are simply called "chiles") is the fruit of the plant Capsicum from the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The name comes from Nahuatl via the Spanish word chile. Spanish Chile peppers and their various cultivars originate in the Americas; they are now grown around the world because they are widely used as spices or vegetables in cuisine, and even as medicine.

History

Chile peppers have been a part of the human diet in the Americas since about 7500 BC. They were domesticated there between 5200 and 3400 BC, one of the first cultivated crops in the Americas. Chile peppers are thought to have been domesticated at least five times by prehistoric peoples in different parts of South and Middle America, from Peru in the south to Mexico in the north. They were discovered in the Caribbean by Columbus and named "peppers" because of their similarity in taste (though not in appearance) with the Old World peppers of the Piper genus. Diego Álvarez Chanca, a physician on Columbus' second voyage to the West Indies in 1493, brought the first chile peppers to Spain, and first wrote about their medicinal effects in 1494. From Europe, chile peppers spread rapidly into India, China, and Japan with Portuguese sailors. The new spice was quickly incorporated into the local cuisines.

Species and cultivars

Portuguese The most common species of chile peppers are:
- Capsicum annuum, which includes many common varieties such as bell peppers, paprika, jalapeños, and the chiltepin
- Capsicum frutescens, which includes the cayenne and tabasco peppers
- Capsicum chinense, which includes the hottest peppers such as habaneros and Scotch bonnets
- Capsicum pubescens, which includes the South American rocoto peppers
- Capsicum baccatum, which includes the South American aji peppers aji Though there are only a few commonly used species, there are many cultivars and methods of preparing chile peppers that have different common names for culinary use. Green and red bell peppers, for example, are the same cultivar of C. annuum, the green ones being immature. In the same species are the jalapeño, the chipotle (a smoked jalapeño), the poblano, ancho (which is a dried poblano), New Mexico, Anaheim, Serrano, and other cultivars. Jamaicans, Scotch bonnets, and habaneros are common varieties of C. chinense. The species C. frutescens appears as chiles de arbol, aji, pequin, tabasco, cayenne, cherry peppers, malagueta and others.

Heat

: See Capsaicin for more details The substances that gives chile peppers their heat is capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) and several related chemicals, collectively called capsaicinoids. Capsaicin is the primary ingredient in pepper spray. The "heat" of chile peppers is measured in Scoville units. Bell peppers rank at zero Scoville units, jalapeños at 3,000–6,000 Scoville units, and habaneros at 300,000 Scoville units. The record for the highest number of Scoville units in a chile pepper is assigned by the Guinness Book of Records to the Red Savina Habanero, measuring 577,000 units. However, a recent report was made of a pepper from India called the Naga Jolokia measuring at 855,000 Scoville units. Both the Red Savina and the Naga Jolokia claims are disputed as to their validity, and lack independent verification. Pure capsaicin rates at 16,000,000 Scoville units.[http://www.fiery-foods.com/dave/assam_chile2.asp]

Cuisine

The fruit is eaten cooked or raw for its fiery hot flavor which is concentrated along the top of the pod. The stem end of the pod has glands which produce the capsaicin, which then flows down through the pod. Removing the seeds and inner membranes is thus effective at reducing the heat of a pod. Well-known dishes with a strong chile flavor are Mexican salsas, Tex-Mex chili con carne, and Indian vindaloos and other curries. Chili powder is a spice made of the dried ground chiles, usually of the Mexican chile ancho variety, but with small amounts of cayenne added for heat. Bottled hot sauces such as Tabasco sauce are made from chiles such as the cayenne (not, oddly, from tabasco peppers), which may also be fermented. Indonesian, Indian, Szechuan and Thai cuisines are particularly associated with the chile pepper, although the plant was unknown in Asia until Europeans introduced it there. Sambal is dipping sauce made from chile peppers with any other ingredients such as garlic, onion, shallots, salt, vinegar and sugar. It is very popular in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

Popularity

Sambal Chile peppers are popular in food. Capsaicin has an antibacterial effect, so food cooked with chiles keeps for longer without spoiling. They are rich in vitamin C and are believed to have many beneficial effects on health. The pain caused by capsaicin stimulates the brain to produce endorphins, natural opioids which act as analgesics and produce a sense of well-being. Psychologist Paul Rozin suggests that eating chiles is an example of a "constrained risk" like riding a roller coaster, in which extreme sensations like pain and fear can be enjoyed because we know they are not actually harmful. Paul Rozin Birds do not have the same sensitivity to capsaicin as mammals, as capsaicin acts on a specific nerve receptor in mammals, and avian nervous systems are rather different. Chile peppers are in fact a favorite food of many birds living in the chile peppers' natural range. The flesh of the peppers provides the birds with nutritious meal rich in vitamin C. In return, the seeds of the peppers are distributed by the birds, as they drop the seeds while eating the pods or the seeds pass through the digestive tract unharmed. This relationship is theorized to have promoted the evolution of the protective capsaicin. It is interesting to note that the chemical used to give an artificial grape flavoring to food items such as grape soda does have a similar effect on birds as capsaicin has on humans.

Spelling and usage

The three primary spellings used are chile, chili, and chilli, all of which are recognized by dictionaries.
- Chile is the American (uncommon elsewhere) spelling which refers specifically to this plant and its fruit. This orthography is universal in the Spanish-speaking world, although in some parts the plant and its fruit are better known as ají.
- Chili is also quite popular, but its use is discouraged by some, as this word is more commonly used to refer to a popular Southwestern dish (chili is the official state dish of Texas [http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ref/abouttx/symbols/chili.html]), as well as to the mixture of cumin and other spices (chili powder) used to flavor it. Chile powder, on the other hand, is powdered dried chile peppers.
- Chilli is used in correct spelling according to the Oxford English Dictionary however, it also lists chilli as the main spelling, and chile and chili as variant spellings. Oxford English Dictionary The name of this plant bears no relation to Chile, the country, which is named after the Quechua chin ("cold"), tchili ("snow"), or chilli ("where the land ends"). Chile is one of those Spanish-speaking countries where chiles are known as ají. There is some disagreement about whether it is proper to use the word "pepper" when discussing chile peppers because "pepper" refers to the genus Piper, not Capsicum. Despite this dispute, English dictionaries support a sense of pepper referring to Capsicum, such as the Oxford English Dictionary (sense 2b of pepper) and Merriam-Webster [http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=pepper]. Furthermore, the word "pepper" is commonly used the botanical and culinary fields in the names of different types of chile peppers.

Nutritional value

Red chiles are very rich in vitamin C, and rich in provitamin A. Yellow and especially green chiles (which are essentially unripe fruit) contain a considerably lower amount of both substances. In addition, peppers are a good source of most B vitamins, and vitamin B6 in particular. They are very high in potassium and high in magnesium and iron. Their high vitamin C content can also substantially increase the uptake of non-heme iron from other ingredients in a meal, such as beans and grains.

See also


- Capsicum
- Capsaicin

External links


- [http://www.peppercenter.com/ PepperCenter.com Your complete Chili Pepper gardening resource]
- [http://www.gourmetindia.com/pgview.php?id=24 Chilli Saga], a list of Indian chillis, notes and the hottest naga jolokhia
- [http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Caps_fru.html Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages: Chile peppers] , detailed resource, including etymology
- [http://www.chilepepperinstitute.org/ The Chile Pepper Institute of New Mexico State University]
- [http://members.visi.net/~mandy/pepguide.html A Pictorial Guide to Peppers]
- [http://www.fatalii.net Fatalii Finnish chilehead], extensive picture gallery of chiles, their plants & flowers
- [http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1996/V3-479.html Capsicums: Innovative Uses of an Ancient Crop]
- [http://mexicanfood.about.com/od/chilerecipes/ About.com: Chile Recipes] Category:Peppers Category:Solanaceae Category:Vegetable-like fruits Category:Fruits and vegetables of Mexico ja:唐辛子 ms:Cili zh-cn:辣椒

Scoville scale

The Scoville scale is a measure of the hotness of a chile pepper. These fruits of the Capsicum genus contain capsaicin, a chemical compound which stimulates heat-receptor nerve endings in the tongue, and the number of Scoville heat units (SHU) indicates the amount of capsaicin present. Many hot sauces use their Scoville rating in advertising as a selling point. It is named after Wilbur Scoville, who developed the Scoville Organoleptic Test in 1912. As originally devised, a solution of the pepper extract is diluted in sugar water until the 'heat' is no longer detectable to a panel of (usually five) tasters; the degree of dilution gives its measure on the Scoville scale. Thus a sweet pepper, containing no capsaicin at all, has a Scoville rating of zero, meaning no heat detectable even undiluted. Conversely, the hottest chiles, such as habaneros, have a rating of 300,000 or more, indicating that their extract has to be diluted 300,000-fold before the capsaicin present is undetectable. 15 Scoville units is equivalent to one part capsaicin per million. The greatest weakness of the Scoville Organoleptic Test is its imprecision, because it relies on human subjectivity. Later analytical developments such as high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) (also known as the "Gillett Method") have now enabled the Scoville rating to be determined by direct measurement of capsaicin rather than sensory methods.

List of Scoville ratings

Scoville ratings may vary considerably within a species—easily by a factor of 10 or more—depending on seed lineage, climate and even soil. This is especially true of habaneros. Disputed, unverified or erroneous claims of SHU values:

References


- The Journal of the American Pharmacists Association 1912; 1:453-4

See also


- Schmidt Sting Pain Index to compare the overall pain of insect stings

External links


- [http://www.sweatnspice.com/hottest_sauces.php Hottest Hot Sauces & Scoville Ratings]
- [http://www.thescarms.com/hotstuff/pepperfacts.htm Pepper Facts]
- [http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/index.asp?id=49118 Record for Red Savinas] Category:Scales
- ja:スコヴィル値

Police

]] ] Police forces are government organisations charged with the responsibility of maintaining law and order. The word comes from the French, and less directly from the Greek politeia, referring to government or administration; the word police was coined in France in the 18th century. The police may also be known as a constabulary, after constables, who were an early manifestation of police officers. In most Western legal systems, the major role of the police is to discourage and investigate crimes, with particular emphases on crime against persons or property and the maintenance of public order, and if able to apprehend suspected perpetrator(s), to detain them, and inform the appropriate authorities. See criminal law. Police are often used as an emergency service and may provide a public safety function at large gatherings, as well as in emergencies, disasters, and search and rescue situations. To provide a prompt response in emergencies, the police often coordinate their operations with fire and emergency medical services. In many countries there is a common emergency service number that allows the police, firefighters or medical services to be summoned to an emergency. Police are also responsible for reporting minor offences by issuing citations which typically may result in the imposition of fines, particularly for violations of traffic law. Police sometimes involve themselves in the maintenance of public order, even where no legal transgressions have occurred — for example, in some Australian jurisdictions, people who are drunk and causing a public nuisance may be removed to a "drying-out centre" until they recover from the effects of the alcohol.

History

In ancient times, the military was mostly responsible for maintaining law and order in cities. The Roman Empire had a reasonably effective law enforcement system until the decline of the empire, though there was never an actual police force in the city of Rome itself. Beginning in the 5th century, policing became a function of clan chiefs and heads of state. Local lords and nobles were responsible to maintain order in their lands, and often appointed a constable, sometimes unpaid, to enforce the law. In 1663, London hired watchmen to guard the streets at night, augmenting the force of unpaid constables, as the first paid law enforcement body. This practice was widespread throughout the United Kingdom. Then, on June 30 1800 the authorities of Glasgow, Scotland successfully petitioned the Government to pass the Glasgow Police Act establishing the City of Glasgow Police. This was the first professional police service in the country and was different from previous law enforcement in that it practiced preventative policing. This was quickly followed in other towns, which set up their own police forces by individual Acts of Parliament [http://www.scotia-news.com/issue5/ISSUE05a.htm]. In 1829, the Metropolitan Police Act was passed by Parliament, allowing Sir Robert Peel, the then home secretary, to found the London Metropolitan Police, generally regarded as the first civil police force organised on modern lines. It became a model for the police forces of many countries, including the United States. The first police service to be set up outside the UK was in Gibraltar, with the formation of the Gibraltar Police (now Royal Gibraltar Police) in 1830. By 1721, the Mossos d'Esquadra had been formed in Catalonia in north eastern Spain. In 1834, the Toronto Police were founded in Canada, one of the first municipal police departments in North America. In the United States some of the first full-time police forces were the Boston founded in 1839 and the New York City in 1845.

Multiple levels of police agencies

In many countries, particularly those with a federal system of government, there may be several police or police-like organisations, each serving different levels of government and enforcing different subsets of the applicable law.

Australia

In Australia there are two levels of police forces, state police and the Australian Federal Police. Each State as well as the Northern Territory is responsible for maintaining its own police force which is responsible for policing at the state and local level. This involves general law and order, traffic policing, major crime, anti-terrorism branches, water police, search and rescue and in some states transit police. Local policing in the Australian Capital Territory, Jervis Bay Territory and Australia's external territories is contracted to the Australian Federal Police (AFP). In some states, local governments employ by-laws officers or rangers to enforce local by-laws or ordinances relating to such matters as parking, dog ownership, retailing, littering or water usage. These local government officers are not considered to be police forces as they generally only have the power to issue fines and do not have the same powers as state police, such as the power of arrest. The Australian Federal Police operates at a Federal level and concerns itself with Federal laws including corporate law, drug smuggling, money laundering, people smuggling, e-crime and anti-terrorism. Australian Federal Police Officers also serve on international peacekeeping and policing operations in such places as Cyprus, Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Other Federal Agencies are also responsible for specific areas of law enforcement. These include the Australian Crime Commission, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Australian Customs Service.

Brazil

In Brazil there are two or three levels of policing: the Brazilian Federal Police and state police operate everywhere, and some cities also have City Guards. Each State is responsible for maintaining its own police forces, which are responsible for policing at the state and local level. Patrol and order duties are carried out by a military police force and investigation duties by a civil police force. Because of this division of responsibilities, there is lot of tension between these forces. In some cities, the local government employs city guards, who patrol municipal property such as parks and the environs of city halls. City guards are not permitted to carry firearms on duty. The Brazilian Federal Police operates at a Federal level and concerns itself with Federal laws, including corporate law, drug smuggling, money laundering, people smuggling, e-crime and anti-terrorism.

Canada

e-crime In Canada, there are three levels of police forces: municipal, provincial, and federal. Constitutionally, law enforcement is a provincial responsibility, although most urban areas have been given the authority to maintain their own police forces. Small municipalities contract out their law enforcement to the provincial authorities, and all but three provinces in turn contract out their provincial law enforcement responsibilities to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the federal force, which therefore is the only police force to service three distinct levels in the area. Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland maintain their own provincial police forces: The Ontario Provincial Police, Sûreté du Québec and Royal Newfoundland Constabulary. Smaller Canadian cities often contract police service from the RCMP, while larger cities maintain their own force. There are also a few private police forces, with the same powers as other governmental forces. The Canadian National and Canadian Pacific railroads both have their own police forces, whose duty is to prevent pilferage of the merchandise being carried on their rail systems and to protect staff, passengers and property. Other entities, such as Hydro Québec and formerly the National Harbour Board, also have their own police forces.

France

National Harbour Board National Harbour Board In France, there are two separate national police agencies, with overlapping but different jurisdiction:
- the National Police (Police Nationale) in the towns;
- the Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie Nationale; military police) in the country, villages and small towns. A similar diffusion exists, or has existed, in several other countries following the French system. Additionally, French municipalities may have a local police called the police municipale, garde municipale or garde champetre, with restricted powers: they can only enforce the municipal by-laws (amongst which those related to the road circulation) and participate in prevention actions (survey, evacuation of buildings, protection against accidents, etc.). These personnel may or may not be allowed to bear firearms. In French, the term "police" not only refers to the forces, but also to the general concept of "maintenance of law and order" (policing). There are two types of police in this general sense:
- administrative police (police administrative): uniformed preventative patrols, traffic duties etc., with limited powers of arrest.
- judicial police (police judiciaire): law enforcement and investigation of crime, with full powers of arrest. Thus, the mayor has administrative police power in a town (i.e. they can order the police to enforce the municipal by-laws), and a judge has police power in their court (i.e. they can have people who disrupt the proceedings expelled from the court room). Until 1984, the National Police was involved in the prehospital care and casualty transport (Police secours). The prehospital care is now performed by firefighters; however, mountain rescue is performed by the Gendarmerie PGHM (Peloton de gendarmerie de haute montagne) and the National Police CRS (Compagnies républicaines de sécurité; Republican Security Companies). Some other countries follow this model and have separate police agencies with the same role but different jurisdictions.

Germany

CRS CRS Germany is a Federal Republic based on sixteen states. Each of those states has its own police force. Each is supervised by the Minister (or, in Bremen, Hamburg and Berlin, the Senator) of Internal Affairs of the state. Although uniforms and vehicle colour schemes are similar all over Germany, the police forces are structured slightly differently in each state. For example, the Kriminalpolizei (detective branch) are part of the ordinary police force in some states and separate organizations in others. In addition, the Federal Government has a Federal Police, previously called the Bundesgrenzschutz (Federal Border Protection), but from 2005 named the Bundespolizei (Federal Police). The German Federal Railways also had its own police force, the Bahnpolizei (Railway Police). When the railways were privatized in the 1990s, the Bahnpolizei was assimilated into the Bundesgrenzschutz, since executive power in Germany is only permitted by law to be under government control. Private police forces are therefore not allowed in Germany. Due to the ideal of using the same color of police uniforms and vehicles throughout the European Union, the German police have in the last few years begun to slowly change from green to blue. Hamburg was the first state to make the transition. Before German reunification on 3 October 1990, the German Democratic Republic was policed by the Volkspolizei (People's Police).

India

The police is under the state jurisdiction. The police reports to the state home department. Each state has its State Police and large cities have a Metropolitan Police.

Interpol

Most countries are members of the International Criminal Police Organization - Interpol, established to detect and fight trans-national crime and provide for international co-operation and coordination of other police activities, such as notifying relatives of the death of foreign nationals. Interpol does not conduct enquiries nor arrests by itself, but only serves as a central point for information on crime, suspects and criminals. Political crimes are excluded from its competencies.

Japan

Political crime]] Japan's police are an apolitical body under the general supervision of an independent agency, the National Police Agency, and free of direct central government executive control. They are checked by an independent judiciary and monitored by a free and active press. The police are generally well respected and can rely on considerable public cooperation in their work.

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom is a unitary (as opposed to federal) state, and police forces, generally speaking, are organised at the level of administrative districts. Certain departments of the Metropolitan Police operate throughout the country, including the Anti-Terrorist Branch, Royalty and Diplomatic Protection Department, and certain units of Special Branch. The new Serious Organised Crime Agency will also be a national agency that will work in all police areas. The smallest UK force is the City of London Police.

The United States of America

City of London Police State Police, United States]] In the United States, there are several levels of policing and law enforcement services, federal police, state police (often called state troopers or highway patrol), special-purpose district police (parks, schools, housing, transit, etc), county police (sheriffs, constables, and some county police agencies), and local police. There are thousands of separate police forces. Local policing is usually conducted by the police departments at the county, city, township or village level and may range from one person offices (sometimes still called the town marshal) to the 40,000 men and women of the New York City Police Department. County sheriffs, county police, state police, and highway patrols enforce laws in their particular jurisdictions and are usually the only police in unincorporated areas beyond the jurisdiction of the cities. They also assist the local police with investigations and may operate county jails. Special district police vary in their levels of authority. In some states, they serve as little more than security police, but in states such as California, special district forces are composed of fully-sworn peace officers with statewide authority. These include the Los Angeles School Police Department, which with a deployment of 525 sworn and non-sworn personnel covers 708 square miles from five police divisions and the Minneapolis Park Police Department, a much smaller unit with a deployment of 38 sworn police officers and 27 non-sworn Park Patrol agents. Federal police fall into two broad categories:
- Investigative agencies (such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshals Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Secret Service); and
- uniformed security police agencies (such as the Federal Protective Service, U.S. Mint Police, United States Park Police and United States Border Patrol). United States Border Patrol Both types operate at the highest level and are endowed with police or quasi-police roles. The investigative agencies have nationwide jurisdiction, while the uniformed agencies tend to have rather limited territorial jurisdictions. The FBI has the most general investigative powers, while the other federal agencies are highly specialized. All federal agencies are limited by the U.S. Constitution to investigating only matters that are explicitly within the power of the federal government, like interstate commerce. However, federal investigative powers have become very broad in practice, especially since the passing of the USA PATRIOT Act. Because of all this complexity, at a crime or disaster scene affecting large numbers of people, there will be many different police agencies involved. Usually the highest local agency, or the highest federal law enforcement agency (the FBI), if a federal law was involved, will take command in such confusing situations, as depicted in movies like The Negotiator or Die Hard.

Police armament and equipment

Die Hard] Die Hard)]] Die Hard]] Die Hard Die Hard, Switzerland]] In many jurisdictions, police officers carry firearms in the normal course of their duties. Police often have specialist units for handling armed offenders, and similar dangerous situations, and can often, in extreme circumstances, call on the military, sometimes including special forces like the SAS. They can also be equipped with non-lethal (more accurately known as "less than lethal" or "less-lethal") weaponry, particularly for riot control. Non-lethal weapons include batons, shields, riot control agents, rubber bullets and stun guns. The use of firearms or deadly force is typically a last resort only to be used when necessary to save human life, although some jurisdictions allow its use against fleeing felons and escaped convicts. Police officers often also carry handcuffs to restrain suspects. Modern police forces make extensive use of radio communications equipment, carried both on the person and installed in vehicles, to coordinate their work, share information, and get help quickly. In recent years, vehicle-installed computers have enhanced the ability of police communications, enabling easier dispatching of calls, criminal background checks on persons of interest to be completed in a matter of seconds, and updating the officer's daily activity log and other required reports on a real-time basis. Other common pieces of police equipment include flashlights, whistles, and, most importantly, notebooks and "ticketbooks" or citations.

In specific countries

India

Unlike in many other countries, the various state police forces in India extensively use the Jeep as their main mode of transport. Jeeps are known for their capabilities to move around in any sort of terrain. The Jeep is always the primary mode of transport at the police station, although for traffic enforcement and patrolling, motorcycles are also extensively used. The Jeeps are provided with wireless sets, light bars and sirens. In specific cases, the Jeeps may also be fitted with hard covers, rather than the canvas cover.

Ireland

The Republic of Ireland has an unarmed police force, An Garda Síochána, although they are all trained to use firearms and all detectives and special units carry them.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom and some other countries of the British police tradition, the police are not normally issued firearms, but are issued other weapons (batons, pepper spray, CS Spray etc.), although some officers may be issued firearms in special situations. This originates from the formation of the Metropolitan Police in the 19th Century, when police were not armed, partly to counter public fears and objections concerning armed enforcers. However, the Ministry of Defence Police, Civil Nuclear Constabulary and Police Service of Northern Ireland (formerly the Royal Ulster Constabulary) are issued firearms as a matter of routine. Every force can also call upon armed response units in a matter of minutes, and certain specialist squads, such as the Flying Squad, Special Branch, Diplomatic Protection Group, Royalty Protection Branch, and officers protecting airports and government buildings, are routinely armed. The archetypal British "bobby" walked his beat alone. Apart from rapid response units, motor vehicles were rarely used except in rural districts (and even there, bicycles were more common). However, in the last few decades the police have become increasingly motorised and it is now rare to see an officer on foot patrol except in city or town centres, and then rarely alone, although police forces have recently begun to put more police back on the beat. Patrol cars, sometimes known as panda cars (or sometimes jam sandwiches), are in use everywhere and may be crewed by one or two officers. Except for rapid response and traffic patrol vehicles, they are generally smaller and less powerful than American vehicles.

United States

Police in the United States usually carry a pistol (Glocks and Sig-Sauers are the most common) and an impact weapon - a baton, also known as a "nightstick". Most large police departments have elite SWAT units which are called in to handle situations which require greater force, such as hostage situations and building raids. Some departments also use nonlethal weapons like Mace, pepper spray, electroshock guns, and beanbag rifles. Some police departments allow their officers to carry shotguns or assault rifles in their vehicles for additional firepower. To efficiently cover the sprawling layout of the typical American city, American police officers usually patrol in pairs called "units," and ride in specialized cars (such as the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor) called "cruisers", "patrol cars", or "prowl cars", or in the New York City Police Department "RMPs" (Radio Mobile Patrol). High-speed car chases are common in certain areas of the United States, so police officers are usually trained in high-speed driving techniques and the PIT maneuver. Horses are still used, mainly in cr