Market Trends of North America Riot Control Equipment Industry
Law Enforcement Agencies are the Biggest Consumers of Riot Control Equipment
- The law enforcement segment is currently the fastest-growing sector in the riot control equipment market, and this trend is projected to continue throughout the forecast period. The increase in domestic tensions and protests in various cities throughout the United States, as well as occasional riots and civil unrest in Canada, has led to a greater need for police forces to acquire and utilize non-lethal weapons.
- The rise in demand for riot control equipment can be attributed to a number of protests that have taken place in the region, such as the February 2022 protests against vaccine mandates in Canada and the April 2021 protests in Montreal opposing pandemic restrictions. To deal with these types of events, law enforcement agencies have turned to less-lethal extended-range impact weapons and tear gas, which is expected to fuel the purchase of riot control equipment.
- According to a report by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the use of less-lethal extended-range impact weapons has increased across Canada. As protests and riots persist, it is probable that the law enforcement segment will continue to require and use such equipment, leading to higher demand in the coming years.
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The United States is Expected to Dominate the Market During the Forecast Period
- The United States is one of the most prolific users of riot control equipment due to frequent and large-scale riots in the country. In March 2021, a series of mass shootings took place at three spas in two major cities in the United States - Atlanta, and Georgia in which eight people were killed. Several anti-Asian violence rallies occurred across the United States in 2021 in response to the rise of racism against Asian Americans. Following this, the capitol riots in January 2021 also led to a large-scale deployment of law enforcement and military personnel, who also used riot control equipment to control the crowd.
- Several police officers faced equipment shortages while handling the crowd. Such factors are expected to result in higher procurement of the equipment in the coming future. Consequently, federal agencies have bolstered their stocks of crowd-control gear, including tear gas and sponge-tipped bullets. The country is also conducting several R&D projects to develop superior less-lethal weapons and other riot control equipment.
- For instance, the Pentagon's Joint Intermediate Force Capabilities Office (JIFCO), formerly the Joint Nonlethal Weapons Directorate, along with a host of private arms companies, spent decades testing everything from long-range wireless taser bullets to sonic guns that can disable car engines from 150 feet away. The R&D of several less-lethal weapon technologies, such as the laser-induced plasma effect blaster, carbon nanotube thermophones, pre-emplaced electric vehicle stopper, and variable kinetic system, are underway.
- According to the research solicitation published by the US Navy, the Pentagon is examining multiple non-lethal weapons for tasks such as disabling people or vehicles. Such demands are expected to drive the growth of the market in the country during the forecast period.
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