Scientists working with the public department for law and order have suggested a number of innovative ways for the police to seize control of riotous situations.

Saying that “No idea’s too stupid or ‘off the wall’ to consider”, highly-classified documents submitted to the Home Office cite ‘less lethal’ means to disperse rioting mobs. The measures include using projectiles containing foul-smelling irritants and adopting anti-laser technology.

The fresh ideas on combating hooliganism were presented last October at a meeting of the Home Office’s centre for applied science and technology department, following several instances of violent street demonstrations in 2011.

According to the paper, the Discriminating Irritant Projectile (DIP) can fire chemicals such as pepper spray or CS gas to cause extreme irritation to the victim. It also highlights the importance of developing armours to counteract the impact of laser projectiles that were widely used in the recent Greek riots.

The report also suggested a few changes in the existing system to predict and tackle a potentially troublesome situation. Tracking the position of the officers on active duty, deploying enhanced communication technologies, and developing methods to spot the troublemakers are amongst the top suggestions put forward by the paper.

It may be noted that London city went berserk in August last year after the police killed a young black man. The riots soon dispersed to other corners in the country, resulting in death of five people and injury of more than 200. The police later nabbed over 3,000 people who were involved in the riots.