Summary
- US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has approved a $16.7 million contract to procure 6,000 pairs of electrically activated gloves, introducing a new pain-compliance device for officers involved in arrests, detainee transfers and crowd-control operations.
- According to the agency’s procurement documents, officers could use the gloves during arrests, detainee movements, disturbances near detention facilities and other incidents requiring rapid physical control.
- ICE has indicated that the gloves may be used when individuals actively resist officers or physically refuse to cooperate.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has approved a $16.7 million contract to procure 6,000 pairs of electrically activated gloves, introducing a new pain-compliance device for officers involved in arrests, detainee transfers and crowd-control operations.
The contract includes the gloves as well as supporting equipment, technical assistance and related services. The procurement is expected to take approximately six months.
Unlike standard protective gloves, the devices can operate in two modes. Under normal conditions, officers can use them as conventional patrol gloves. When activated, however, the gloves can deliver an electrical stimulus through direct contact with a person’s skin, causing pain.
ICE describes the technology as an intermediate force option for situations in which individuals refuse to follow instructions, resist arrest or become physically aggressive. According to the agency’s procurement documents, officers could use the gloves during arrests, detainee movements, disturbances near detention facilities and other incidents requiring rapid physical control.
The agency says the equipment could give officers another option for managing confrontational situations and, in some circumstances, could reduce the need to resort to more severe forms of force.
ICE has indicated that the gloves may be used when individuals actively resist officers or physically refuse to cooperate. The agency also considers them potentially useful when officers attempt to restrain detainees who hide their hands, behave aggressively or appear likely to escape.
The procurement documents also identify crowd-management operations around detention facilities as another potential use for the technology.
The planned purchase adds to the range of force options available to ICE personnel and comes as the agency continues to equip officers with tools intended to help them gain physical control during arrests and other high-risk encounters.
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