The Painful Truth of Exactly How ICE’s New Shock Gloves Work

美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）新型电击手套的工作原理及其背后的残酷真相

With the revelation that ICE will spend up to $20 million by March on gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks to subdue an individual, according to a notice published earlier this week by the Department of Homeland Security, it’s worth looking at how this apparel, designated as a nonlethal tool for law enforcement, actually works.

根据美国国土安全部本周早些时候发布的一份公告，美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）将在三月前斥资高达 2000 万美元采购一批能够释放痛苦电击以制服个人的手套。鉴于此，我们有必要了解一下这种被执法部门定性为“非致命性工具”的装备究竟是如何运作的。

These shock gloves go by the unsubtle acronym of GLOVE (Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter) and are manufactured by Compliant Technologies, based in Lexington, Kentucky. The GLOVE, previously used in jails and police departments in the US, looks and functions like a normal pair of patrol gloves until officers press a switch to activate an electrical mode.

这些电击手套拥有一个直白的缩写名称——GLOVE（低压输出发生器），由位于肯塔基州列克星敦的 Compliant Technologies 公司制造。GLOVE 此前已在美国的监狱和警察部门中使用，在警员按下开关激活电击模式之前，它的外观和功能与普通的巡逻手套无异。

Classified as a CD3 (conductive distraction and de-escalation device), the gloves don’t work like stun guns or Tasers, which shoot out probes or use high voltages to cause neuromuscular incapacitation that overrides the central nervous system. Instead, the GLOVE works using neuro-peripheral interference, essentially shocking the skin to bombard the sensory nerves and temporarily short-circuit the brain’s focus.

该手套被归类为 CD3（传导式干扰与降级设备），其工作原理与电击枪或泰瑟枪不同。后者通过发射探针或使用高压电流，导致神经肌肉失能，从而接管中枢神经系统。相反，GLOVE 利用的是“周围神经干扰”技术，本质上是通过电击皮肤来轰炸感觉神经，从而暂时“短路”大脑的注意力。

Compliant Technologies did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment.

Compliant Technologies 公司未回应《连线》（WIRED）杂志的置评请求。

When activated via a one-second press on a wrist switch, conductive pads embedded on the palm and undersides of the fingers of the gloves can transmit high-frequency electrical pulses directly to the wearer’s point of contact on a subject. A rechargeable battery and microprocessor module tucked inside a zippered pouch on the cuff powers the entire system.

当通过按压腕部开关一秒钟激活后，嵌入在手套掌心和手指内侧的导电垫，可以将高频电脉冲直接传输到佩戴者与目标对象的接触点。整个系统由隐藏在袖口拉链袋中的可充电电池和微处理器模块供电。

The electrical pulse overstimulates nerve endings in the subject’s peripheral nervous system, resulting in pain that inhibits coordinated muscle movement, but without causing systemic muscle lockup. The pain induced is localized to just the area touched by the glove’s conductive pads. The manufacturer claims the gloves result in a subject’s compliance in less than three seconds and leave no burns, marks, or scars.

电脉冲会过度刺激目标对象周围神经系统中的神经末梢，产生疼痛感，从而抑制肌肉的协调运动，但不会导致全身肌肉僵直。所产生的疼痛仅局限于手套导电垫接触的区域。制造商声称，该手套能在不到三秒钟内使目标对象服从，且不会留下烧伤、痕迹或疤痕。

Because the current flows only between the contact pads on the device and across the subject’s skin, the officer wearing the GLOVE, as well as any assisting officers holding the subject, should not feel electrical shocks. The gloves, capable of operating between 14 and 122 degrees Fahrenheit, come in three versions: Gen 3, 4, and 5. Maximum voltage is capped at 380 V for all, and the minimum voltage for Gen 3 and 4 is 210 V, which rises to 324 V for Gen 5.

由于电流仅在设备的接触垫之间以及目标对象的皮肤表面流动，因此佩戴 GLOVE 的警员以及任何协助控制目标对象的警员都不会感到电击。该手套可在华氏 14 度至 122 度（约摄氏 -10 度至 50 度）的环境下工作，分为第三代、第四代和第五代三个版本。所有版本的最高电压均限制在 380 伏，第三代和第四代的最低电压为 210 伏，第五代则提高到了 324 伏。

Maximum stimulation time on Gen 3 and 4 models is a sobering two hours, though that drops to 90 minutes for Gen 5. The battery is apparently good for 2,000 charge/discharge cycles, and it can recharge to full in two hours. Four LED lights on the gloves display the current charge level, each noting 25 percent battery increments.

第三代和第四代型号的最长刺激时间长达令人警醒的两个小时，第五代则降至 90 分钟。电池据称可支持 2000 次充放电循环，两小时即可充满。手套上的四个 LED 灯显示当前的电量水平，每个灯代表 25% 的电量。

Gen 4 and 5 of GLOVE both include mechanisms that record “activation events,” tracking the date, hour, minute, and skin-contact time for audit trails and after-action reporting. Gen 4 stores this data on a removable microSD card, while Gen 5 does away with this in favor of built-in internal memory, accessed via a USB-C cable.

GLOVE 的第四代和第五代产品均包含记录“激活事件”的机制，可追踪日期、时、分以及皮肤接触时间，以便进行审计追踪和行动后报告。第四代将这些数据存储在可拆卸的 microSD 卡中，而第五代则取消了该设计，改为使用内置存储器，通过 USB-C 线缆进行访问。

There’s a test function on the gloves, too, where operators can verify they are working by tapping an active pad against their own forearm to feel a minor electrical pulse. According to the manuals, GLOVE users must be certified and then recertified every other year to continue using the device.

手套还具备测试功能，操作员可以通过将激活的导电垫轻触自己的前臂，感受微弱的电脉冲来验证设备是否正常工作。根据手册，GLOVE 的使用者必须经过认证，并每两年进行一次复审认证，方可继续使用该设备。

GLOVE, which can only be sold to verified professional entities such as the military, correctional facilities, and law enforcement agencies—has some clear usage recommendations in Compliant Technologies’ instruction manuals:

GLOVE 仅能销售给经过核实的专业机构，如军队、惩教设施和执法部门。Compliant Technologies 的说明手册中对其使用有明确的建议：

• No more than two GLOVE units (or, in other words, one pair) should be used simultaneously on a single subject.
  • 对单一目标对象同时使用的 GLOVE 设备不得超过两只（即一副）。
• Continuous shocks should not exceed 15 seconds.
  • 持续电击时间不得超过 15 秒。
• Operators must target arms and legs, while strictly avoiding the head, face, throat, chest, and groin.
  • 操作员必须针对手臂和腿部，严禁触碰头部、面部、喉咙、胸部和腹股沟。
• The gloves should not be used on the elderly, young children, pregnant individuals, or people with severe disabilities.
  • 该手套不得用于老年人、幼儿、孕妇或严重残疾人士。
• The technology must not be used to counter verbal defiance, as punishment, or for torture.
  • 该技术不得用于应对言语挑衅、作为惩罚手段或进行酷刑。

Crucially, the GLOVE has limitations, chief among them that for the device to work effectively and deliver its restraining pain shock, it must come into contact with the subject’s bare skin. According to Compliant Technologies, the gloves won’t work through dry clothing or thick hair. The gloves will work, however, if the subject is wearing thin, wet clothing, such as soaked T-shirts or blouses. The GLOVE also does not like being dunked in water and will likely be rendered inoperable if this happens.

至关重要的是，GLOVE 存在局限性，其中最主要的一点是：为了使设备有效发挥作用并产生制服性的疼痛电击，它必须与目标对象的裸露皮肤接触。据 Compliant Technologies 称，该手套无法穿透干燥的衣物或浓密的毛发发挥作用。不过，如果目标对象穿着轻薄且潮湿的衣物（如浸透的 T 恤或衬衫），手套则可以生效。此外，GLOVE 不耐水浸，如果浸入水中，很可能会导致设备无法使用。

Michael Crowley, a senior researcher at Omega Research Foundation—an organization that tracks human rights abuses committed across the world by people using police, security, and military equipment—is concerned that the GLOVE is seemingly designed not to restrain or incapacitate, but to hurt.

欧米茄研究基金会（Omega Research Foundation）的高级研究员迈克尔·克劳利（Michael Crowley）对此表示担忧。该组织专门追踪全球范围内利用警察、安保和军事装备实施的人权侵犯行为。他认为，GLOVE 的设计初衷似乎并非为了约束或使人失能，而是为了造成伤害。

“CD3 technology inflicts pain,” Crowley says. “The company talks about it as a de-escalation solution, but the whole idea of it is to get control or influence somebody through pain. Omega considers it to be an inherently abusive technology that should not be manufactured, sold, or used by law enforcement officials, including ICE.”

“CD3 技术会造成痛苦，”克劳利说，“该公司将其宣传为一种降级（冲突）的解决方案，但其核心理念是通过疼痛来控制或影响他人。欧米茄基金会认为这是一种本质上具有虐待性质的技术，不应由包括 ICE 在内的执法人员制造、销售或使用。”