North America Non-Lethal Weapons Market Report and Forecast 2025-2034

North America Non-Lethal Weapons Market Size

The North America non-lethal weapons market is estimated to be valued at USD 2.36 billion in 2023. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.0% between 2024 and 2032 to reach almost USD 3.67 billion by 2032.

North America Non-Lethal Weapons Market Outlook

• As per the World Bank, US military spending in 2022 was USD 876.94 billion, up 8.8% from USD 806.23 billion in 2021.

• According to the U.S. Department Of Justice, the budget for law enforcement in 2023 rose to USD 20.2 billion, up 6.4% from 2022.

• Non-lethal weapons provide state-of-the-art technology, overall, they may be considered a better alternative to traditional crowd control methods.

North America Non-Lethal Weapons Market Growth

Against the backdrop of increasing civilian unrest in recent years in the form of protests and rallies such as the ‘Black Lives Matter’ protests or the ‘abortion access’ protests, there is a burgeoning sense of novel yet less lethal methods for better crowd control and enforcement of safety protocols to maintain the peace and harmony in situations where there is civil unrest and mass mobilisation involved.

The North America non-lethal weapons market growth seems imminent as law enforcement agencies such as the Department of Justice or the FBI and the military in the US and Canada opt for state-of-the-art technology available in this segment.

Key Trends and Developments

With rising technological innovations, non-lethal weapons are needed more than ever, non-lethal weapons are more ethically sound and the shift towards directed energy weapons boosts the North America non-lethal weapons market trends.

April 2024

Non-lethal weapons offer alternatives to traditional firearms, more so for individuals who do not wish to own lethal firearms.

January 2024

Wrap Technologies, an Arizona-based seller of non-lethal weapons technology recorded the highest-ever sales for its product BolaWrap.

August 2023

Saint John Police Force armed its police officers with Remington Model 870 Pump Shotgun, which is a less-lethal alternative beanbag gun.

December 2022

In a bid to make an impact without inflicting lethal or permanent harm, non-lethal weapons play an increasingly important role, claims The U.S. Department of Defense.

Rising Technological innovations

Novel technology is prevalent in the industry, be it in the form of handheld tasers and batons or long-range self-defence tools like pepper ball projectile guns or remote restraint solutions like the BolaWrap.

Growing number of violent crimes

There is an increasing need for non-lethal weapons owing to the rise in violent crimes in North America. As per a poll by the Association for Canadian Studies, Canadians feel less safe than they did pre-COVID.

Non-lethal weapons are more ethically sound

As per the FBI, all violent crimes in the United States stood at 809,381. Non-lethal weapons provide safer options for de-escalation in situations.

Shift towards directed energy weapons

Directed energy weapons, such as lasers and microwave-based devices, are gaining attention as non-lethal alternatives for incapacitating threats and de-escalating violent situations.

North America Non-Lethal Weapons Market Trends

Amidst a rise in global and domestic civil unrest, security forces, law enforcement agencies and militaries seek effective solutions for crowd control that minimise harm while maximising peaceful de-escalation in violence-prone situations and non-lethal weapons emerge as the preferred choice.

Furtherance in technology in non-lethal weapons in the form of hand-held projectile weapons for long distances, restraint solutions like the BolaWrap or more traditional forms of weapons such as the hand-held taser or the pepper spray are all excellent choices in immobilisation and incapacitation of perpetrators in perilous situations.

North America Non-Lethal Industry Segmentation

North America non-lethal weapons market report and forecast 2024-2032 offers a detailed analysis of the market based on the following segments:

Market Breakup by Product Type

• Direct Contact Non-Lethal Weapons 
  • Gases and Sprays 
  • Water Weapons 
  • Grenade Launchers
• Directed Energy Weapons
  • Immobilizers 
  • Crowd Control Weapons

Market Breakup by Technology

• Electromagnetic Non-Lethal Weapons 
  • Electrical 
  • Radio Frequency 
  • Microwave Frequency 
  • Infrared 
  • Visible Light 
  • Ultralight
• Mechanical and Kinetic Non-Lethal Weapons 
  • Blunt Impact Devices 
  • Barriers 
  • Entanglements
• Chemical Non-Lethal Weapons 
  • Foam 
  • Malodorants

Market Breakup by Application

• Military

• Law Enforcement

Market Breakup by Country

• United States of America

• Canada

North America Non-Lethal Weapons Growth

The North America market for non-lethal weapons is experiencing growth due to direct-contact weapons designed to mitigate the escalation of conflicts.

Direct contact non-lethal weapons can be further divided into gases and sprays, water weapons and grenade launchers while directed energy weapons are bifurcated into immobilizers and crowd control weapons.

Law enforcement agencies in the domestic region utilise Directed Energy Weapons, employing electromagnetic radiation, since they offer long-range engagement capabilities for various applications from crowd control to border security.

North American non-lethal weapons market growth is propelled by the different technologies used in these products, such as electromagnetic non-lethal weapons, which use electromagnetic radiation to affect targets' nervous systems, causing pain, disorientation, and immobilization

Electromagnetic non-lethal weapons, such as microwave weapons, incapacitate targets using electromagnetic energy. They disrupt electronic systems and can cause temporary paralysis or disorientation without causing permanent harm.

Mechanical and kinetic non-lethal weapons, like rubber bullets and tasers, rely on physical force to subdue targets. They are designed to inflict non-lethal injuries, providing law enforcement with options for crowd control.

Based on the application, the military boosts the North America non-lethal weapons market growth due to their ability to incapacitate or deter threats without causing permanent injury or death.

Non-lethal weapons in North America find various use cases among authorities which are as mentioned above and are bifurcated between the military and law enforcement agencies like the FBI, Homeland Security and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) among many others.

For the military, effective crowd control against alien threats is imperative to ensure public safety and civility and non-lethal weapons play a crucial role.

Inside the borders law enforcement agencies also require effective measures to better tackle violent masses and criminal activities without fatal consequences.

Leading Manufacturers in the North America non-lethal weapons market

The North American non-lethal weapons market has key players propelling it upwards by specialising in developing up-to-date products for law enforcement organisations and military operations.

Axon Enterprise Inc. founded in 1993 is an American company based out of Scottsdale, Arizona that develops technology and weapons products for law enforcement, military, and civilians.

Lamperd Less Lethal Inc., formed in Sarnia, Canada in 1969 is a manufacturer, developer and seller of non-lethal weapons, ammunition and other security products for military, private security forces and law enforcement.

United Tactical Systems, LLC, (PepperBall Technologies previously) was founded in 1996 in Illinois. It develops and manufactures non-lethal weapon alternatives for government agencies and commercial markets.

Byrna Technologies Inc. was founded in 2005 and operates out of Massachusetts. Byrna specialises in developing, manufacturing, and selling innovative non-lethal security solutions commercially and to government agencies.

Other North America non-lethal weapons market key players are Zarc International Inc., Mace Security International Inc., ASP Inc., Combined Systems Inc., NonLethal Technologies Inc., and FN Herstal S.A. among others.

North America Non-Lethal Weapons Market Analysis by Region

As per the FBI  for the year 2022 violent crimes in the U.S. stood at 380.7 per 100,000 individuals, while all property crimes stood at 1,954 per 100,000 individuals, a rise of 6% from the previous year.

Statistics Canada  said Canada also saw an uptick in the number of violent crimes in 2022 at 1,365 per 100,000 individuals which was an increase of 2% from previous years' numbers while total property crimes stood at 3314 per 100,000 individuals, an increase of 9%.

Rising numbers of public protests and agitations in domestic regions are more of a reason for security forces and law enforcement agencies to be on the lookout for better methods for controlling crowds more peacefully.

Key Highlights of the Report