NPCC respond to annual police use of force statistics

These statistics provide the public with more information on the different types of force used by police and are classified as Experimental Statistics by the Home Office. 

National Police Chiefs' Council Lead for Self Defence and Restraint, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said: 

“Police are charged with keeping people and communities safe and maintaining order. In fulfilling those duties, they may need to use force to protect the public and themselves form harm.

“Officers have thousands of interactions with the public every day and force is rarely used. As the public would expect, most forms of restraint used by officers involve the use of handcuffs in order to arrest an individual. It is no surprise that force is often used in cases where the person restrained is drunk or under the influence of drugs as experience shows these suspects can often be the most difficult and dangerous.

“Officers must be able to justify that force has been lawful, proportionate and necessary in the circumstances. This statistical data offers unprecedented transparency to the public, strengthening the relationship at the heart of our model of policing by consent.

“This dataset is still very new and is therefore significantly affected by changes in recording by police forces. In order to provide the best possible service and protection to the public, we will continue to improve recording and to use the data to shape decisions about training and equipment."

This year's statistical bulletin can be found here.