Transparency data

Ministry of Defence Police use of force data: July to September 2018

Updated 12 September 2024

Summary

• 36 instances of use of force by Ministry of Defence Police Officers recorded during the period from 1 July 2018 to 30 September 2018
• the most common reason for use of force was to effect arrest: 28 instances
• the most commonly recorded impact factor was alcohol: 8 instances
• the most common perceived ethnicity of individuals subject to use of force was White: 31 out of 362 instances
• the most common outcome was arrested: 29 out of 36 instances.

Locations

In most cases, use of force by MDP Officers took place on MOD establishments: 15 recorded instances.

Table 1: Reasons for use of force^{[footnote 1]}

Use of Force reason	Count
Effect arrest	28
Prevent offence	22
Protect public	16
Protect self	9
Protect other officer	7
Prevent escape	7
Secure evidence	7
Protect subject	6
Effect search	1
Prevent harm	0
Method of entry	0
Remove handcuffs	0
Other	0
Total	103

Table 2: Impact factors^{[footnote 2]}

Impact factors	Count
Alcohol	8
Mental health	4
Drugs	3
Prior knowledge	2
Possession of a weapon	1
Size/gender/build	0
Crowd	0
Acute behavioural disorder	0
Other	0
Total	18

Table 3: Primary conduct/behaviour of subject^{[footnote 3]}

Primary conduct/behaviour of subject	Count
Compliant	11
Active resistance	10
Aggressive resistance	6
Verbal resistance / gestures	4
Passive resistance	3
Serious or aggravated resistance	2
No data available	0
Total	36

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

	Most Common	Second most Common	Third Most Common
First tactic: 36 instances	Tactical communication: 19	Compliant handcuffing: 14 Unarmed skills: 1, Non-compliant handcuffing: 1, Ground restraint: 1	Non-compliant handcuffing: 4 and CED: 4
Second tactic: 16 instances	Unarmed skills: 7	Non-compliant handcuffing: 6	Compliant handcuffing: 2, Ground restraint: 1

Table 5: Conducted Energy Devices and Firearms deployed

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

Officer injuries

• 0 officers were assaulted
• 0 officers received injuries
• 1 officer was spat at by the subject
• No officers incurred severe injuries.

Subject details^{[footnote 5]}

Table 6: Gender

Perceived gender of the subject	Count
Male	27
Female	9
Transgender	0
Total	36

Table 7: Age

Perceived age of subject	Count
Under 11 years	0
11 to 17 years	3
18 to 34 years	11
35 to 49 years	8
50 to 64 years	4
65 years or over	2
Not recorded	8
Total	36

Table 8: Ethnicity

Perceived ethnicity of subject	Count
White / White British	31
Black / Black British	3
Not known	1
Asian / Asian British	1
Other ethnic origin	0
Mixed race	0
Total	36

Disabilities

• all subjects were perceived to have no physical disabilities
• in 4 out of 36 incidents, the subjects were perceived to have mental disabilities

Injuries and medical assistance

• 3 subjects received minor injuries in an instance where use of force was recorded
• 0 instances of medical assistance was required.

Table 9: Outcomes

Outcome	Count
Arrested	29
Released / No further action	7
Detained (Mental Health Act)	0
Made off / escaped	0
Hospitalised	0
Fatality	0
Total	36

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 for example; 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, for example; pushing, shoving

• Aggressive resistance: a stage above active resistance where physical resistance is more pronounced but has no intention to injure an officer for example; 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

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 maybe 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. ↩

4. The information provided in Table 4 and corresponding bullet points does not include instances relating to the deployment of Conducted Energy Devices (Tasers) or Firearms; information regarding those instances is provided in 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. ↩