Police use of force statistics

From 1 April 2017, the Home Office required all police forces in the UK to record data on police ‘use of force’. This provides the public with more information on the different types of force used by the police and the context in which it occurs.

The statistics on police ‘use of force’, within this publication, cover incidents in England and Wales between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022 with comparisons to the year ending 31 March 2021. Data were collected from the 43 Home Office funded police forces in England and Wales.

Restrictions relating to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020 and 2021 are likely to have impacted on the types of incidents attended by police, and therefore, ‘use of force’ during this time. Figures relating to this period should be considered with caution as it is not possible to quantify the extent of the impact.

A ‘use of force’ incident is defined as a situation in which a police officer uses any of the following force tactics.
Restraint tactics:

• handcuffing (compliant or non-compliant)
• limb or body restraints
• ground restraint

Unarmed skills:

• distraction strikes with hands and feet
• pressure point and joint locks

Use of other equipment:

• a baton (including where it was drawn but not used)
• irritant spray (including where it was drawn but not used)
• spit and bite guard
• shield (for example, person struck or pushed with a shield)

Less lethal weapons:

• Conducted Energy Device (CED), for example, TASER ® (including nondischarge uses)
• Attenuating Energy Projectile (AEP), (including where it was drawn but not used)

Firearms:

• use of conventional firearms (including where it was aimed but not fired)

Other:

• use of dogs (including where a dog was deployed but did not come into contact with, such as bite, the person)
• other improvised tactics