REASONABLE FORCE

When officers are required to use force to achieve a lawful objective (for example, making a lawful arrest, acting in self-defence or protecting others) all force used must be reasonable in the circumstances.

If the force used is not reasonable and proportionate, the officer is open to criminal or misconduct proceedings. It may also constitute a violation of the human rights of the person against whom the force was used.

FOLLOWING THE PLANE

All uses of force must also conform to PLAN:

P - Proportionate

L - LEGAL

A- Accountable

N - Necessary

E- Ethical

Proportionate

All uses of force must be proportionate to the circumstances, an officer must:

• Use the minimum force necessary to achieve a legitimate objective; 

• Demonstrate an understanding of the effect of their actions;

• Only use techniques they have been trained to use. 

When considering if force is proportionate the actions and  level of resistance offered by the suspect must be considered

If there is information that a subject is in possession of a weapon or may resist then preemptive force such as an armed intervention or preemptive red dot may be justified. 

Legal

There are 3 items of Legislation that allow an officer to use force: 

1. Common Law - Common Law allows an officer to use force to protect themselves, and others or protect property. 

2. Section 3, Criminal Law Act 1967 - A person may use such force as is reasonable in the circumstances in the prevention of crime, or in effecting or assisting in the lawful arrest of offenders or suspected offenders or of persons unlawfully at large. 

3. Section 117 PACE -  Allows an officer to use reasonable force when exercising PACE powers

Accountable

Each officer will individually be accountable for their use of force.  It is up to an officer to justify the force they have used. 

Necessary 

An officer must show that there was no other practical alternative to using force and that the force used was reasonable in the circumstances to prevent a subject:

• from causing physical injury to themselves or any other person;

• suffering physical injury;

 • causing loss or damage to property.

Use of Force Levels

Presence

Voice

Handcuffs

Physical Contact such as grabbing/escorting

Striking with fists*

Use of Baton/ PARVA

Taser - Red Dot

Taser - discharge

Firearms - Challenge

Firearms - Discharge

Stay Safe Principles 

As a Police officer, you have different Stay Safe Princeables than an ordinary member of the public, for obvious reasons.

It is important to follow stay-safe principles in this case referring to Observe, Report, and Withdraw. Meaning if you find yourself in a dangerous situation and are unable to do anything, you should observe what’s going on, report your observations over radio for appropriate units to respond, and then withdraw yourself from the situation.

There is no need to put yourself in any danger if you are correctly following the above

Ask, Tell, Make

Officers should where possible use the ask, tell, make, method where possible before using force:

Ask - Ask a suspect to do something 

Tell - Tell a suspect to do something and inform them of the consequences if they do not 

Make - Use force to make a suspect comply. 

Hair

Hair should be appropriate following the general workplace standards. Hair accessories, patterns and extreme styles are not appropriate and should not prevent you from wearing any headgear. Your hair colour cannot be a wild vibrant colour, it can be coloured but not to extreme measures.

Facial Hair

In general police officers should be clean-shaven. Fully grown beards and other facial hair should be kept clean, neat and tidy.

Cosmetics

Makeup can be worn but it must be kept to a minimum, it should not contain bright colours or full face makeup. You may wear makeup in connection to your religion/faith and to conceal a facial disfigurement or significant blemish. False nails are not permitted.

Visible tattoos

Visible tattoos are unacceptable if they could reasonably be interpreted as discriminatory or offensive and/or indicate attitudes or views inconsistent with the Code of Ethics and the Standards of Professional Behaviour.

Jewellery

You are permitted to wear a watch, a band ring (eg, a wedding, civil partnership, engagement, eternity or modest signet ring), small stud earrings and a necklace (provided this is worn under clothing and is not visible)

Masks

Masks can be worn at all times, but they should not cover the whole face. If you are asked to remove your mask from a higher up whilst in the station, you are permitted to do so. Masks must be worn in public at all times to remain anonymous to the public.

Stab/Ballistic Vests

 A stab vest must be carried on your persons at all times when outside of the station

Equipment

•  When carrying out day to day policing, you are required to carry your warrant card and police equipment such as baton, handcuffs, evidence packs/bags and taser (if trained). If you are going covert, all police equipment must be left in your personal locker to avoid your cover being blown.

Markings inside Police Stations

• An officer who is inside the police station or on major scenes where you need to be identified, you must be wearing a police lanyard.

Officers must arrest people in line with section 24 of the Police and Criminal Evidence act 1984 which requires that they do the following: 

• Inform the suspect they're under arrest;

• Inform the suspect the grounds for the arrest;

• Inform the suspect the necessity for the arrest (PACE Code G);

• Caution the suspect using the "When Questioned" caution. 

The arresting officer is responsible for the suspect until:

1. The suspect has been processed;

2. The suspect has been handed over to another officer

Handing Over Suspects

An officer may only hand a suspect over to another officer if:

1. The other officer as consented to it;

2. The other officer is the initial officer at a situation

3. There is an intimidate risk to life requiring the arresting officer to deal with an incident. 

When handing a suspect over the receiving officer must be informed:

1. Grounds for the arrest;

2. Necessity for the arrest;

3. Arresting Officer;

4. Any searches;

5. Any evidence.

Arresting Police Officers

If for whatever reason a police officer needs to be arrested then the arresting officer must:

1. Be at least one rank higher than the officer under arrest: or

2. Hold the rank of Investigator or higher in the standards department. 

BOOKING INTO CUSTODY

When booking a suspect into custody ensure you are confiscating all items that can aid them in escaping and harming others or themselves, see examples below:

• Lockpicks

• Any pointy or harmful objects

• Any weapons.

• Commutation Devices

After doing so, ensure you have placed them in the cells, uncuff them and inform them of their rights, see below:

• Right to free and independent legal advice;

• Right to free food and drink;

• Right to free medical service;

• Right to inform someone where they are if it is safe to do so, this can be revoked by a Sergeant and above;

• Right to a copy of the codes of practice;

After doing so, ensure you place the correct charges to the suspect with the evidence you have available to add to the MDT alongside with the following below:

• Updated MDT photo of the suspect on their profile;

• Fingerprints and DNA linked on their MDT profile;

• Updated relevant markers (if applicable) on their profile such as - violent, member of an organised crime group, and so on appropriately.

When on duty you must always be on the dedicated Secondary Channel in ur G radial menu. This is to ensure you can be contacted at all times by any one that requires yourself or assistance as a whole that doesn't need to be expressed over main radio.

When talking on the radio you must be aware of the radio ABCs which are explained below:

• Accuracy - be aware of what we want to say before we say it.

• Brevity - being brief and not saying too much or things which are irrelevant.

• Clarity - be clear in what we say (using the phonetic alphabet).

Any informal information given on the radio will not be tolerated. 

 Stop and Search

An officer may conduct a stop and search of an individual to confirm or allay their suspicions without having to exercise their power of arrest. All stop and searches must conform to CODE A of the policing codes of practice which means the suspect must be informed:

1. The grounds for the search;

2. The object the officer is searching for;

3. If the officer is not in uniform they must display their warrant card;

4. The officer must identify themselves by their name and number;

5. The office must state what station they're based at;

6. The officer must state the legal power they're using to search the suspect;

7. The officer must inform the suspect they are entitled to a copy of the search record for up to 30 days;

8. The suspect must be informed they're being detained for the purpose of a search. 

The 3 main pieces of legislation that are used to perform stop anId searches are: 

Section 1 PACE -  This allows an officer to search a suspect for Stolen items, Offensive weapons, Fireworks, and Items used to commit theft or criminal damage;

 Section 23 Misuse of Drugs Act - Allow an officer to search a suspect for drugs;

 Section 47 Firearms Act - Allows an officer to search a suspect for firearms and ammunition.