Transparency data

Ministry of Defence Police use of force data: April to June 2021

Updated 12 September 2024

Main points summary

• 54 instances of use of force by Ministry of Defence Police Officers recorded during the period from 1 April 2021 to 30 June 2021

• the most common reason for use of force was to protect other officer – 37 instances

• the most commonly recorded impact factors were mental health - 22 instances

• the most commonly perceived ethnicity of individuals subject to use of force was White - 35 out of 54 instances

• the most common outcome was arrested - 33 out of 54 instances

Locations

• in most cases, use of force by MDP Officers took place on streets/highways – 33 recorded instances.

Table 1: Reasons for use of force

Use of Force reason[footnote 1]	Count
Protect other Officer	37
Prevent Harm	27
Affect arrest	24
Protect Public	13
Protect Subject	13
Protect Self	12
Prevent Escape	10
Affect Search	9
Prevent Offence	8
Secure Evidence	3
Method of Entry	0
Remove Handcuffs	0
Other	0
Total	156

Table 2: Impact factors

Impact factors[footnote 2]	Count
Mental Health	22
Alcohol	21
Possession of a weapon	17
Size/gender/build	10
Drugs	9
Crowd	9
Prior knowledge	6
Other	2
Acute Behavioural Disorder	0
Total	96

Table 3: Primary conduct/behaviour of subject

Primary conduct/behaviour of subject[footnote 3]	Count
Aggressive resistance	24
Compliant	11
Active resistance	8
Serious or aggravated resistance	6
Passive resistance	3
Verbal resistance/gestures	2
No Data Available	0
Total	54

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

Table 4: Tactics deployed^{[footnote 4]} during stop

	Most common	Second most common	Third most common
First tactic: 36 instances	Compliant Handcuffing - 15	Non-compliant handcuffing - 11	Firearms - 10
Second tactic: 4 instances	CED - 3	Compliant Handcuffing - 15

Table 5: Conducted energy devices and firearms deployed during stop

Presentation of conducted energy device (Taser)	Instances
CED drawn	1
CED aimed	1
CED arced	0
CED red dotted	4

Use of conducted energy device (Taser)
CED stun	0
CED fired	0

Firearms
Firearm drawn	10
Firearm aimed	0
Firearm fired	0

Officer injuries

• 2 officers were assaulted
• 1 officer was spat at by the subject
• 2 officers were threatened with a weapon
• 2 officers incurred minor injuries from an intentional assault

Subject details^{[footnote 5]}

Table 6: Gender

Perceived gender of the subject	Count
Male	36
Female	18
Transgender	0
Total	54

Table 7: Age

Perceived age of subject	Count
Under 11 years	0
11-17	2
18-34	20
35-49	10
50-64	12
65 and over	4
Not recorded	6
Total	54

Table 8: Ethnicity

Perceived ethnicity of subject	Count
White	35
Black (or Black British)	3
Don’t know	9
Asian (or Asian British)	0
Mixed	7
Other	0
Total	54

Disabilities

• in 0 out of 54 incidents, the subject was perceived to have physical disabilities.

• in 12 out of 54 incidents, the subjects were perceived to have mental disabilities.

Injuries and medical assistance

• 1 subject received minor injuries in an instance where use of force was recorded.

• 1 instance of medical assistance was required and subsequently received

Table 9: Outcomes

Outcome	Count
Arrested	33
Detained (Mental Health Act)	14
Made off/Escaped	0
Released/NFA	4
Hospitalised	3
Fatality	0
Total	54

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 e.g. 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 e.g. striking with a weapon, punching

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. ↩

2. Impact factors are not always relevant to instances of use of force and fewer impact factors than incidents may therefore be recorded. Likewise, it is possible to have multiple impact factors for one incident. ↩

3. Officers use the categories listed to best describe the primary conduct/behaviour of subjects. If the subject displays more than one conduct/behaviour, the officer will only record the most relevant or severe. Definitions of the conduct/behaviour categories are provided at End Note i. ↩

4. The breakdown of instances shown against each tactic is limited to ‘Most common’, ‘Second most common, and ‘Third most common’ so, in cases where more than three types of tactics have been used, the corresponding figures for each will not always equate to the total number of instances. In addition, the information provided in Table 4 and any corresponding bullet points does not include specific details on the deployment of Conducted Energy Devices (Tasers) or Firearms; where applicable, that information is provided at Table 5. ↩

5. Figures provided relate to the number of instances of use of force and do not always correspond to the specific number of individuals involved. For example, more than one instance of use of force could be attributed to the same person. ↩