Transparency data

Ministry of Defence Police use of force data: October to December 2020

Updated 12 September 2024

Main points summary

• 47 instances of use of force by Ministry of Defence Police Officers recorded during the period from 1 October 2020 to 31 December 2020

• The most common reason for use of force was to effect arrest – 26 instances

• The most commonly recorded impact factors were mental health and possession of a weapon - 20 instances each

• The most commonly perceived ethnicity of individuals subject to use of force was White - 43 out of 47 instances

• The most common outcome was arrested - 39 out of 47 instances

Locations

• In most cases, use of force by MDP Officers took place on streets/highways – 19 recorded instances.

Table 1: Reasons for use of force

Use of Force reason[footnote 1]	Count
Effect Arrest	26
Prevent Escape	22
Protect other Officer	19
Protect Self	18
Protect Public	14
Prevent Offence	14
Prevent Harm	11
Effect Search	7
Protect Subject	6
Secure Evidence	3
Method of Entry	0
Remove Handcuffs	0
Other	0
Total	140

Table 2: Impact factors

Impact factors[footnote 2]	Count
Mental Health	20
Possession of a Weapon	20
Size/Gender/Build	18
Drugs	9
Alcohol	7
Prior Knowledge	5
Acute Behavioural Disorder	4
Crowd	1
Other	0
Total	84

Table 3: Primary conduct/behaviour of subject

Primary conduct/behaviour of subject[footnote 3]	Count
Compliant	15
Serious or Aggravated Resistance	12
Aggressive Resistance	11
Active Resistance	6
Verbal Resistance / Gestures	3
Passive Resistance	0
No Data Available	0
Total	47

Definitions of the conduct/behaviour categories are provided at End Note [i]

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

	Most common	Second most common	Third most common
First tactic:31 instances	Compliant Handcuffing - 16	Unarmed skills – 9	CED – 6
Second tactic:5 instances	Unarmed Skills - 3	Limb/Body Restraints - 2

Table 5: Conducted Energy Devices and Firearms deployed

Presentation of Conducted Energy Device (Taser)	Instances
CED drawn	2
CED aimed	0
CED arced	0
CED red dotted	4
Use of Conducted Energy Device (Taser)
CED stun	0
CED fired	0
Firearms
Firearm drawn	1
Firearm aimed	2
Firearm fired	0

Officer Injuries

• 3 officers were assaulted or received minor injuries

• 2 officers were spat at by the subject

• 2 officers were threatened with a weapon

*Zero officers incurred severe injuries

Subject details^{[footnote 5]}

Table 6: Gender

Perceived gender of the subject	Count
Male	38
Female	9
Transgender	0
Total	47

Table 7: Age

Perceived age of subject	Count
Under 11 years	0
11-17 years	6
18 - 34 years	16
35 - 49 years	16
50 - 64 years	1
65 years or over	1
Not recorded	7
Total	47

Table 8: Ethnicity

Perceived ethnicity of subject	Count
White	43
Black (or Black British)	2
Asian (or Asian British)	1
Don’t Know	1
Mixed	0
Other	0
Total	47

Disabilities

• All subjects were perceived to have no physical disabilities.

• In 9 out of 47 incidents, the subjects were perceived to have mental disabilities.

Injuries & medical assistance

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

• 2 instances of medical assistance were required and subsequently received

Table 9: Outcomes

Outcome	Count
Arrested	39
Released/NFA	6
Detained (Mental Health Act)	2
Hospitalised	0
Made Off/ Escaped	0
Fatality	0
Total	47

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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 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 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. ↩