Use of force - Q1 2025-2026 (April-June)
Our officers face difficult situations every day.
A thankfully small percentage of these situations will result in the officer having to use force, be it to protect the public, maintain order or keep themselves from harm.
They are extensively trained to use this force proportionately, lawfully and only when it's absolutely necessary.
Please see below for some statistics relating to the period April to June 2025.
Incident Location
Please note there can be more than one incident location per record.
| Incident location | Number of records |
| Ambulance | 11 |
| Custody Block | 334 |
| Dwelling | 482 |
| Hospital / A and E (non mental health setting) | 34 |
| Licensed Premises | 20 |
| Mental Health Setting | 3 |
| Not Entered | 3 |
| Open ground (e.g. park, car-park, field) | 354 |
| Other | 70 |
| Police station (excluding custody block) | 24 |
| Police vehicle with prisoner handling cage | 9 |
| Police vehicle without prisoner handling cage | 7 |
| Public transport | 5 |
| Retail premises | 28 |
| Sports or event stadia | 5 |
| Street / Highway | 824 |
Impact Factor
Please note there can be more than one impact factor per record
| Impact factor | Number of records |
| Alcohol | 847 |
| Prior knowledge | 536 |
| Mental health | 540 |
| Size/gender/build | 584 |
| Other | 340 |
| Drugs | 588 |
| Possession of a weapon | 210 |
| Crowd | 97 |
| Acute Behavioural Disorder | 52 |
| Not Entered | 0 |
| None | 119 |
Reason for Force
Please note there can be more than one reason for force per record.
| Reason for force | Number of records |
| Protect self from violence | 1083 |
| Effect arrest | 1049 |
| Protect other officers from violence | 1003 |
| Prevent escape | 955 |
| Prevent harm | 457 |
| Protect public from violence | 388 |
| Prevent offence | 367 |
| Protect subject from violence | 312 |
| Prevent self-harm | 246 |
| Effect stop and search | 205 |
| Effect search in custody | 160 |
| Secure evidence | 143 |
| Remove handcuffs | 86 |
| Other | 64 |
| Effect other search | 62 |
| Not Entered | 0 |
Police Force Used
Please note there can be more than one type of force used per record.
| Force Used | Number of records |
| Compliant handcuffing | 878 |
| Unarmed skills (including pressure points, strikes, restraints, and take-downs) | 559 |
| Limb / Body restraints | 485 |
| Non-compliant handcuffing | 458 |
| Other / improvised | 388 |
| Ground restraint | 277 |
| CED (Taser) | 130 |
| Irritant spray - PAVA used | 30 |
| Spit and bite guard | 27 |
| Dog deployed | 24 |
| Irritant spray - PAVA drawn | 23 |
| Firearms aimed | 15 |
| Baton drawn | 9 |
| Baton used | 9 |
| AEP drawn | 6 |
| Irritant spray - CS drawn | 4 |
| Not Entered | 3 |
| Shield | 2 |
| Dog bite | 1 |
| Irritant spray - CS used | 1 |
Neighbourhood Policing Team area
| Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) area | Number of records |
| Swindon Neighbourhood Hub | 424 |
| Trowbridge Neighbourhood Hub | 172 |
| Salisbury Neighbourhood Hub | 106 |
| Chippenham Neighbourhood Hub | 81 |
| Devizes Neighbourhood Hub | 63 |
| Warminster Neighbourhood Hub | 49 |
| RWB Neighbourhood Hub | 24 |
| Amesbury Neighbourhood Hub | 51 |
| Not Entered | 70 |
Police Physically Injured
| Police Physically Injured | Number of records |
| I was not injured or assaulted | 2065 |
| I was not injured but was assaulted | 77 |
| I was injured as a result of assault | 14 |
| I was injured but not as a result of assault | 26 |
| Not Entered | 31 |
Subject Injured as a Result of Force Used
A subject can be injured by more than one Officer
| Subject Injured as a result of Force Used | Number of records |
| No subject was not injured | 2027 |
| Yes subject injured during the use of force | 127 |
| Yes subject injured but not during the use of force | 2 |
| Unknown | 51 |
Gender of Subject
| Gender | Number of distinct individuals |
| Male | 893 |
| Female | 192 |
| Unknown | 17 |
Self-Defined Race of Subject
| Self-Defined Race | Number of distinct individuals |
| Arab or Other Ethnic Group | 13 |
| Asian or Asian British | 25 |
| Black or Black British | 45 |
| Mixed | 31 |
| White | 694 |
| Not Stated | 290 |
Age of Subject
| Age | Number of distinct individuals |
| 0 - 10 | 2 |
| 11 - 17 | 164 |
| 18 - 34 | 462 |
| 35 - 49 | 346 |
| 50 - 64 | 110 |
| 65 and over | 16 |
| Not Entered | 3 |