A 'DNA gun' able to tag suspects with DNA at a distance and track them down with 100% accuracy has been unveiled by a British firm in Las Vegas.
Designed for the police and military, it fires 'high velocity' pellets at a distance of up to 30 or 40 metres.
On contact the soft, green pellets leave a synthetic DNA tracing mark, which tags an individual so they can be apprehended later at a "less confrontational" time for officers.
It could be conceivably be used in situations like the 2011 riots, in which large crowds of people were committing offences at once and overwhelming officers' ability to arrest them safely.
It is available in both a pistol and a rifle form. The pistol is powered by a 12g 'powerlet' and offers up to 20 shots. The Rifle has a higher capacity, but is otherwise pretty much the same device.
The High Velocity DNA Tagging system has been built by Selectamark, and was unveiled last week in Nevada.
Its makers explain that identifying targets safely in a crowd can be difficult, but that the new system is both safe and accurate.
"Identifying an individual in a crowd or at a distance can be challenging for law enforcement officers and police especially when they are in riot situations or experiencing crowd control problems.
By using the new SelectaDNA High Velocity System, a uniquely-coded DNA pellet can be used to mark an individual so that they can be apprehended at a less confrontational time for officers.