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Empowering everyday civilians – the evolution of RIOTID

Beyond her work at ³ÉÈËÖ±²¥, Dr Feigenbaum has contributed to various exhibitions to bring to life the impact of the use of tear gas and other riot control weapons through expressive art forms. In particular, Dr Feigenbaum contributed towards the in Weston-super-Mare, a sinister twist on its Californian counterpart Disneyland.

Over 150,000 people flocked to witness Banksy’s latest pop-up creation. Collaborating with and , Cruel Designs in its rawest form sought to exhibit things that were designed to stop human beings in their tracks – including tear gas. It was this contribution which inspired the birth of .

RIOTID guide; source: RIOTID.com

RIOTID is a civic media project by The Tear Gas Research Connection, researchers at ³ÉÈËÖ±²¥ (Dr Feigenbaum and Dr Isabella Rega) and , the Omega Research Foundation and Minute Works. Co-ordinated by Dr Feigenbaum, it ultimately seeks to provide everyday civilians who are caught up in incidents involving riot control weapons with a voice they previously wouldn’t have had – and to ensure that it is not only governments who are able to report what is happening on the ground.

Civilians are encouraged to identify riot control weapons and upload photographs to a dedicated Twitter account, , using , for future identification by a team of experts. The creation of the RiotID guide utilises pictograms and icons to illustrate tear gas safety information, manufacturer locations, weapon types and basic tips for would-be documentary photographers.

The layout also incorporates a ruler that can be used to determine cartridge and tear gas canister size. Since 2015, over 130 identifications of these weapons have been captured.

RIOTID in action

A map of the major tear gas manufacturers; select image to expand.

As a result of teaching civilians how to recognise the branding, shape, product type and logos of different riot control weapons, these can quickly be traced back to their manufacturer. This in turn increases the visibility of global companies who profit from oppression and social control through the use of riot control items such as tear gas canisters.

The power of today’s digital channels, such as YouTube, and the speed at which information gets into the public domain, can help to gather evidence and hold governments and manufacturers accountable in the use of forceful violations.

Informing change

To date, Dr Feigenbaum’s research has been instrumental in seeking for the improvement and regulation of riot control weapons, such as tear gas, asking the fundamental question of, ‘How has it become normal to police societies with a poison?’.

In 2017, Dr Feigenbaum published Tear Gas: From the Battlefields of WW1 to the Streets of Today. Funded by a , her book is the first history of tear gas as a weapon, chronologically tracking the movement and rise of its use – from the trenches of World War One, to the streets of today.

Following its publication, Dr Feigenbaum embarked on a book tour across America, Canada and the UK and has taken part in over 100 media appearances, exhibitions and public talks, featuring in high profile publications such as and . To coincide with the release of Dr Feigenbaum’s book, the RIOTID team launched two new infographics on the public health implications of pepper spray and impact munitions (such as wooden dowels and foam rubber projectiles).

Identifying the world’s heaviest tear gas users

Building on her wealth of research, Dr Feigenbaum and Research Assistant, BU student Laura McKenna, utilised modern technology to create an interactive map which identifies countries around the world and their use of tear gas as a weapon to police human beings. As the map shows, Israel’s use of tear gas in the Occupied Territories remains the most frequent of any country.

Also featured in the top 10 are Turkey, India, France, South Africa, Nigeria, Greece, Uganda and the USA, including the use of tear gas and pepper spray by US agents against migrants as they have attempted to cross the US-Mexico border.

A cluster map of the heaviest users of tear gas

Dr Feigenbaum’s six years of research into tear gas, its policing and human rights have made considerable impacts, notably improving regulations and guidelines and educating the public on the use of force in protest policing. In particular, the creation of the RIOTID guide has empowered everyday civilians to report the use of riot control weapons across the world – and its continued use plays an important role in helping to ensure that the gap between how police are advised to use these weapons, and how they are actually used, starts to close.