A baton charge is a coordinated tactic for violent crowd dispersal. It is usually used by police or the military in the appropriate situation, although in some countries law enforcement agencies are not allowed to use this tactic unless no other logical means is deemed feasible.

The police officers (and in some cases soldiers) are provided with batons, and often riotshields. They run at the crowd hitting with their batons, and pushing with their shields if any. This tactic is designed to cause pain to the offenders, and in theory this and the collision impact would make them to move away from the scene. As a general practice, during baton charges the police concentrate more on people moving or standing as a group, individuals are usually allowed to escape so they are not seriously hurt in the charge.

India

In Indian language a baton would often be called a lathi. Some police forces' lathis are around 5 ft long, but in some Indian states it is shorter. The usage "lathi charge" is used by the Indian media, more than "batoncharge". In addition to the lathi, the men are provided with riot gear like helmets, shields, shin guards, etc.

The Lathi drill is taught to all Indian police recruits. This tactic has received controversy from human rights campaigners. The drill teaches the police recruit to use the lathi to cause maximum amount of each strike to the victim: usually the shoulder bones are targeted first due to low fatality risk, but in a last resort the head may be struck.

See also

• Snatch squad

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