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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 the statistics relating to the period October to December 2023, inclusing additional information not published in previous updates. It is our intention to add the additional information into future quarterly reports.
Please note there can be more than 1 Incident location per Record
Incident location | Number of records |
Street / Highway | 436 |
Dwelling | 271 |
Custody Block | 124 |
Open ground (e.g. park, car-park, field) | 82 |
Other | 24 |
Hospital / A and E (non mental health setting) | 20 |
Police station (excluding custody block) | 17 |
Retail premises | 17 |
Police vehicle without prisoner handling cage | 8 |
Public transport | 7 |
Ambulance | 5 |
Not Entered | 5 |
Licensed Premises | 4 |
Mental Health Setting | 3 |
Sports or event stadia | 3 |
Police vehicle with prisoner handling cage | 1 |
Please note there can be more than 1 Incident location per Record
Impact factor | Number of records |
Alcohol | 444 |
Size/gender/build | 255 |
Mental health | 246 |
Prior knowledge | 240 |
Drugs | 229 |
Other | 189 |
Possession of a weapon | 130 |
Acute Behavioural Disorder | 29 |
Crowd | 29 |
Not Entered | 15 |
Please note there can be more than 1 Reason For Force per Record.
Reason for force | Number of records |
Effect arrest | 577 |
Prevent harm | 460 |
Prevent escape | 435 |
Protect other officers | 405 |
Protect self | 347 |
Protect public | 157 |
Effect stop and search | 130 |
Prevent offence | 122 |
Protect subject | 107 |
Effect search in custody | 48 |
Effect other search | 30 |
Secure evidence | 22 |
Other | 20 |
Remove handcuffs | 19 |
Not entered | 13 |
Please note there can be more than 1 type of Force Used per Record
Force Used | Number of records |
Compliant handcuffing | 346 |
Unarmed skills (including pressure points, strikes, restraints, and take-downs) | 279 |
Non-compliant handcuffing | 257 |
Limb/body restraints | 199 |
Ground restraint | 120 |
Other/improvised | 116 |
C.E.D. | 115 |
Firearms aimed | 31 |
Irritant spray - PAVA used | 19 |
Spit and bite guard | 15 |
Dog deployed | 11 |
AEP drawn | 7 |
Irritant spray - PAVA drawn | 6 |
Baton drawn | 5 |
Baton used | 5 |
Irritant spray - CS drawn | 1 |
Irritant spray - CS used | 1 |
Neighbourhood Policing Team area | Number of records |
Amesbury NPT | 47 |
Chippenham NPT | 70 |
Devizes NPT | 51 |
RWB NPT | 29 |
Salisbury NPT | 98 |
Swindon NPT | 595 |
Trowbridge NPT | 90 |
Warminster NPT | 40 |
Police Physically Injured | Number of records |
Not applicable - I was not assaulted | 930 |
No, I was assaulted but not injured | 59 |
Yes, I was injured as a result of an assault | 30 |
Not Entered | 8 |
A subject can be injured by more than one Officer
Subject Injured as a result of Force Used | Number of records |
No | 940 |
Yes | 64 |
No record | 23 |
Gender | Number of distinct individuals |
Male | 482 |
Female | 96 |
Not given | 3 |
Total | 581 |
Self-Defined Race | Number of distinct individuals |
White | 426 |
Not stated | 82 |
Black (or Black British) | 30 |
Mixed | 17 |
Asian (or Asian British) | 22 |
Arab or Other Ethnic Group | 4 |
Chinese | 0 |
Grand Total | 581 |
Age | Number of distinct individuals |
under 11 years | 2 |
11 - 17 years | 64 |
18 - 34 years | 260 |
35 - 49 years | 193 |
50 - 64 years | 51 |
65 and over | 9 |
Not stated | 2 |
Grand Total | 581 |