ICE is spending millions on shock gloves designed to overpower subjects through intense, localized pain. 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. 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. 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.

Creator Hub Versus Look Up Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Say More Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List Mashable Selects Switch Off Trending Now Safety Net In My Bag VidCon with Mashable All Series The devices are already in use by law enforcement agencies across the U.S. Amanda Yeo is an Assistant Editor at Mashable, covering entertainment, culture, tech, science, and social good. Based in Australia, she writes about everything from video games and K-pop to movies and gadgets. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers could soon use gloves that can give a painful electric shock to anyone they touch. As first reported by the Associated Press, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a notice on Monday revealing plans to distribute electrically powered shock gloves to ICE agents by the end of March next year. CD3s are not weapons -- they deliver small, non-injurious electrical pulses directly to the surface of the skin, the body's largest and most conductive organ, achieving NPI (Neuro Peripheral Interference), Compliant Technologies states on its website .