Use of Force - Q3 2022-2023 (Oct-Dec)

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 October to December 2022

Incident Location

The information in the pie chart above is displayed in the table below

Location	Number of uses of force
Street / Highway	157
Dwelling	113
Custody Block	66
Open Ground (eg, car park, field)	38
Other	10
Hospital / A&E	9
Retail premises	7
Police vehicle with prisoner handing cage	2
Police station (excluding custody block)	2

Impact Factor

The information in the pie chart above is displayed in the table below

Impact Factor	Number of uses of force
Alcohol	214
Size / gender / build	125
Drugs	110
Mental Health	96
Prior Knowledge	86
Possession of weapons	69
Other	41
Crowd	26
Acute behavioural disorder	10

Reason for Force

The information in the pie chart above is displayed in the table below

Reason for force	Number of uses of force
Effect arrest	271
Prevent harm	238
Protect other officers	215
Protect self	186
Prevent escape	172
Protect the public	100
Prevent an offence	68
Protect subject	61
Effect search in custody	37
Effect stop and search	24
Effect search	13
Secure evidence	12
Other	9
Remove handcuffs	8

Force used

The information in the pie chart above is displayed in the table below

Type of force used	Number of uses of force
Non-compliant handcuffing	146
Unarmed skills (including pressure points, strikes, restraints and take-downs)	127
Compliant handcuffing	111
Limb / body restraints	79
CED	71
Ground restraint	59
Other / improvised	26
Irritant spray - PAVA used	16
Spit and bite guard	10
Irritant spray - PAVA drawn	7
Dog deployed	3
Baton drawn	2
AEP drawn	1
Baton used	1
Firearms aimed	1