Using the good old laser beam, a company called HSV Technologies of San Diego is about to change the way the police force does business. Especially when it comes to apprehending criminals. HSV develops weapons for police officers and military personnel, and they just introduced the prototype of a weapon that shoots laser beams to stop criminals in their tracks. Okay, so it’s a little more like Star Trek, but it’s still very much in the realm of possibility now.

HSV calls this beam either the "Anti-Personnel Beam Weapon" or "Non-Lethal Tetanizing Beam Weapon." That’s a lot to get out in one breath. Especially if the policeman has to identify his weapon. That could be a lot of trouble. "Halt! I have an anti-personnel beam weapon." By the time the officer gets all that out, the criminal will have gotten away. We’ll just call it the APBW.

The APBW works like this. It releases two ultraviolet laser beams with a wavelength of 193 to 248 nanometers. This beam paralyzes the skeletal muscles of people and animals up to 2 kilometers away. It paralyzes, but it doesn’t harm them in any other way.

According to Eric Herr, vice president of HSV Technologies, the laser beams create a voltage of 10 milliampere and are effective within a few milliseconds after they charge. They are strong enough to penetrate clothing but too weak to damage the skin and especially too weak to be lethal.

Herr says the device has yet to be tested on animals or people, but it is a safer and more efficient way to stop criminals than handguns or "Taser" guns -- which release physically painful darts that can only travel to 20 feet.

"They (law enforcement officials) haven’t used our device yet, but they may remember the Rodney King episode," Herr said. "He was struck repeatedly with darts that didn’t subdue him. Because the Taser causes painful shots... for some people that angers them. Our device produces no shock at all, it just immobilizes the person in whatever position they may be in."

This also prevents accidental shootings as well. If someone is accidentally caught in the crossfire, then the worst that’s going to happen is that they can’t move for a few minutes. That’s much better than the alternatives.

But the device does have some side effects.

A suspect’s eyes could become irritated if the beams are concentrated on the face for more than a few minutes. It’s also very large and very expensive. Current evaluations put a price tag of about $35,000 per unit. Obviously, at this point, law enforcement officials will probably still stick with the handguns. They’re much smaller, and much cheaper.

"There really isn’t anything out there, other than a baton and pepper spray, that can halt a dangerous suspect without doing him or anyone else harm," Herr said. "There is a huge market for this because there are no alternatives to shooting the person in many cases. It’s a lot better to be simply frozen in position than shot full of holes."

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