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Main points summary

• 35 instances of use of force by Ministry of Defence Police Officers recorded during the period from 1 April 2020 to 30 June 2020

• The most common reason for use of force was to protect other officer – 18 instances

• The most commonly recorded impact factor was mental health - 18 instances

• The most commonly perceived ethnicity of individuals subject to use of force was White - 26 out of 35 instances

• The most common outcome was arrested - 31 out of 35 instances

Locations

• In most cases, use of force by MDP Officers took place on streets/highways – 16 recorded instances.

Table 1: Reasons for use of force

Use of Force reason[footnote 1]	Count	Ìý
Ìý	Ìý	Ìý
Protect other Officer	18	Ìý
Effect Arrest	16	Ìý
Protect Self	16	Ìý
Effect Search	11	Ìý
Prevent Escape	10	Ìý
Prevent Offence	9	Ìý
Protect Public	8	Ìý
Prevent Harm	7	Ìý
Protect Subject	5	Ìý
Secure Evidence	5	Ìý
Method of entry	0	Ìý
Remove handcuffs	0	Ìý
Other	0	Ìý
Total	105	Ìý

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^{[footnote 1]} Use of force can be used for several reasons in any given incident; there is a staged escalation process in the Police Service and therefore multiple reasons may be recorded for a single incident.

Table 2: Impact factors

Impact factors[footnote 1]	Count	Ìý
Ìý	Ìý	Ìý
Mental Health	18	Ìý
Alcohol	13	Ìý
Drugs	12	Ìý
Prior Knowledge	8	Ìý
Possession of a Weapon	7	Ìý
Size/Gender/Build	2	Ìý
Crowd	1	Ìý
Other	1	Ìý
Acute Behavioural Disorder	0	Ìý
Total	62	Ìý

Table 3: Primary conduct/behaviour of subject

Primary conduct/behaviour of subject[footnote 2]	Count	Ìý
Ìý	Ìý	Ìý
Compliant	18	Ìý
Serious or aggravated resistance	7	Ìý
Aggressive resistance	5	Ìý
Verbal resistance/gestures	3	Ìý
Active resistance	2	Ìý
Passive resistance	0	Ìý
No data available	0	Ìý
Total	35	Ìý

Definitions of the conduct/behaviour categories are provided at End Note.

Table 4: Tactics deployed^{[footnote 3]}

Ìý	Most common	Second most common	Third most common
First tactic:29 from 35 instances	Compliant Handcuffing - 20	Non-compliant handcuffing – 6	CED - 3
Second tactic:6 instances	Non-Compliant Handcuffing – 2Shield - 2	Ground Restraint – 1Compliant handcuffing - 1	Ìý

Table 5: Conducted Energy Devices and Firearms deployed

Presentation of Conducted Energy Device (Taser)	Instances
CED drawn	1
CED aimed	0
CED arced	0
CED red dotted	2
Use of Conducted Energy Device (Taser)	Ìý
CED stun	0
CED fired	0
Firearms	Ìý
Firearm drawn	1
Firearm aimed	0
Firearm fired	0

Officer Injuries

• 1 officer was assaulted and received minor injuries

• Zero officers were spat at by the subject

• Zero officers incurred severe injuries

Subject details^{[footnote 4]}

Table 6: Gender

Perceived gender of the subject	Count
Ìý	Ìý
Male	30
Female	5
Transgender	0
Total	35

Table 7: Age

Perceived age of subject	Count	Ìý
Ìý	Ìý	Ìý
Under 11 years	0	Ìý
11-17 years	2	Ìý
18 - 34 years	18	Ìý
35 - 49 years	8	Ìý
50 - 64 years	2	Ìý
65 years or over	1	Ìý
Not recorded	4	Ìý
Total	35	Ìý

Table 8: Ethnicity

Perceived ethnicity of subject	Count	Ìý
Ìý	Ìý	Ìý
White (or White British)	26	Ìý
Not Known	7	Ìý
Black (or Black British)	2	Ìý
Asian (or Asian British)	0	Ìý
Other ethnic origin	0	Ìý
Mixed race	0	Ìý
Ìý	Ìý	Ìý
Total	35	Ìý

Disabilities

• All subjects were perceived to have no physical disabilities.

• In 12 out of 35 incidents, the subjects were perceived to have mental disabilities.

Injuries and medical assistance

• Zero subjects received minor injuries in an instance where use of force was recorded.

• Zero instances of medical assistance were required

• Zero instances of medical assistance were provided

Table 9: Outcomes

Outcome	Count	Ìý
Ìý	Ìý	Ìý
Arrested	31	Ìý
Released/ No further action	3	Ìý
Detained (Mental Health Act)	1	Ìý
Hospitalised	0	Ìý
Made Off/escaped	0	Ìý
Fatality	0	Ìý
Total	35	Ìý

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Table 3: Primary conduct behaviour of subjects – Definitions

Compliant: No resistance to instructions

Verbal resistance: Verbal abuse or gestures made but does not offer any physical resistance e.g. verbally swearing, offensive finger gestures

Passive resistance: Resistance that is not physical in nature but is intended to stop an officer or the general public from leading their day-to-day activities for example, sitting in the road, refusing to move

Active resistance: A form of resistance or obstruction that is mildly physical in nature e.g. pushing, shoving

Aggressive resistance: A stage above active resistance where physical resistance is more pronounced but has no intention to injure an officer e.g. struggling against an officer

Serious/aggravated resistance: Use of violence against police with the intention to seriously injure or evade arrest for example, striking with a weapon, punching.