ICE equipping agents with gloves that deliver electric shocks

Key Points:

• US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to spend up to $20 million to acquire electric shock-delivering gloves, called Generated Low Output Voltage Emitters (GLOVE), which can deliver up to 380 volts of electricity, three times that of a standard US power outlet.
• The gloves, produced by Compliant Technologies LLC, are activated by a button and can deliver up to 30 pulses per second, with built-in microprocessors that record activation; they are intended to supplement existing law enforcement tools and require user training and recertification every two years.
• ICE intends to deploy the gloves within Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) units, which focus on combating transnational crime and immigration law enforcement, respectively; this purchase would be the largest from the manufacturer to date.
• The Department of Homeland Security stated that the decision to equip officers with these gloves involves careful consideration and adherence to law enforcement policies and standards, while the ACLU expressed concern about potential misuse and excessive force associated with the new technology.