REACT belt
Encyclopedia
A stun belt is a belt that is fastened around the subject's waist, leg, or arm that carries a battery and control pack, and contains features to stop the subject from unfastening or removing it. A remote-control signal is sent to tell the control pack to give the subject an electric shock. Some models are activated by the subject's movement.
These devices are used to control prisoners in the United States. One type is the REACT belt (see below). Some stun belts can restrain the subject's hands and have a strap going under the subject's groin to stop him from rotating the belt around the subject's waist and trying to deactivate it. Stun belts are not generally available to the public.
to the muscles in the area of the kidney
s, pulsed over 8 seconds
. It is a product of Stun Tech Incorporated of Cleveland, Ohio
. In March 2000, Stun Tech became Electronic Defense Technology, LLC, which later became Stinger Systems, Inc. In the fall of 2010, the assets of Stinger Systems (including the REACT system) were purchased by Karbon Arms.
The REACT belt is no longer available from Stinger systems, having been replaced with a device which attaches to the arm or leg called the Band-It.
Introduced in the USA
in the early '90s, by 1996 it was reportedly in use by the US Bureau of Prisons, the US Marshals Service, and 16 state correctional agencies including those of Alaska
, California
, Colorado
, Delaware
, Florida
, Georgia
, Kansas
, Ohio
, Virginia
, and Washington. It is also used during judicial hearings (eg in 1998, against Ronald Hawkins in Los Angeles
for frequently interrupting Judge Joan Comparet-Cassani at a sentencing hearing).
In 1996 Amnesty International
called on the USA to ban the use and export of the machine, arguing that it is a torture device that is "in direct contravention of international standards on the treatment of prisoners".
These devices are used to control prisoners in the United States. One type is the REACT belt (see below). Some stun belts can restrain the subject's hands and have a strap going under the subject's groin to stop him from rotating the belt around the subject's waist and trying to deactivate it. Stun belts are not generally available to the public.
REACT belt
The Remote Electronically Activated Control Technology belt is a make of stun belt. It is a restraining device that applies 50 kVVolt
The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...
to the muscles in the area of the kidney
Kidney
The kidneys, organs with several functions, serve essential regulatory roles in most animals, including vertebrates and some invertebrates. They are essential in the urinary system and also serve homeostatic functions such as the regulation of electrolytes, maintenance of acid–base balance, and...
s, pulsed over 8 seconds
Second
The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock....
. It is a product of Stun Tech Incorporated of Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. In March 2000, Stun Tech became Electronic Defense Technology, LLC, which later became Stinger Systems, Inc. In the fall of 2010, the assets of Stinger Systems (including the REACT system) were purchased by Karbon Arms.
The REACT belt is no longer available from Stinger systems, having been replaced with a device which attaches to the arm or leg called the Band-It.
Introduced in the USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the early '90s, by 1996 it was reportedly in use by the US Bureau of Prisons, the US Marshals Service, and 16 state correctional agencies including those of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, and Washington. It is also used during judicial hearings (eg in 1998, against Ronald Hawkins in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
for frequently interrupting Judge Joan Comparet-Cassani at a sentencing hearing).
In 1996 Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
called on the USA to ban the use and export of the machine, arguing that it is a torture device that is "in direct contravention of international standards on the treatment of prisoners".
External links
- Cruelty in Control summarises some of the suits against the device incl patent infringements
- Barry Yeoman, Shocking Discipline, Mother Jones
- http://www.progressive.org/mag_cusactech