Use of force
Encyclopedia
The term use of force describes a right of an individual or authority to settle conflicts
or prevent certain actions by applying measures to either: a) dissuade another party from a particular course of action, or b) physically intervene to stop them. In nations of the developed world and the developing world, governments allow police
, citizen
, corrections
, or other security
personnel to employ force to actively prevent imminent commission of crime
, or even for deterrence. It may also be exercised by the executive
branch (i.e., through the president, prime minister, premier, governor or mayor) of a political jurisdiction
, deploying the police or military
to maintain public order. The use of force is governed by statute
and is usually authorized in a progressive series of actions, referred to as a "use of force continuum
.
When a conflict is between parties having the same standing, observers often recommend the use of negotiation
or other "conflict resolution
" techniques. When a conflict is between a lawbreaker and a law enforcer, use of force comes into play when the lawbreaker refuses to desist, or attempts to flee from a serious offense. The continuum of force progresses from verbal orders, through physical restraint, up to lethal force. The general rule for application of force is that only necessary force may be used. When force is applied by an individual (for example, to protect life, or property), the amount of force permissible is, likewise, only that which is reasonable
and necessary under the circumstances.
When a level of force beyond verbal commands is used, the individual or authority authorizing the force is accountable for the degree of force applied. In the case of lethal force, other levels of force must have been attempted first unless lethal force is the only way to minimize loss of life. When the use of military force is employed by the state towards another political entity for defensive purposes, international law
requires that the principle of proportionality be applied.
as a justification
. In the event of death, this may be a justifiable homicide
.
U.S. soldiers on guard duty are given a "use of force briefing" by the sergeant of the guard before being assigned to their post.
"The only difference between lawful force for police and civilians is that peace officers are not given the option of fleeing the scene to avoid confrontation." http://web.archive.org/web/20050406124749/http://www.geocities.com/gunversation/useofforce/useofforce.htm
Indeed, soldiers on guard duty will be severely punished for "abandoning their post" if they leave before being "properly relieved".
For the English law
on the use of force by police officers and soldiers in the prevention of crime, see Self-defence in English law
. The Australia
n position on the use of troops for civil policing is set out by Michael Hood in Calling Out the Troops: Disturbing Trends and Unanswered Questions http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/legcon_ctte/defence/submissions/sub01.pdf and, for comparative purposes, see *Keebine-Sibanda, Malebo J. & Sibanda, Omphemetse S. "Use of Deadly Force by the South African Police Services Re-visited". http://www.crisa.org.za/section_49.pdf.
, which presents guidelines as to the degree of force appropriate in a given situation. One source identifies five very generalized steps, increasing from least use of force to greatest. It is only one side of the model, as it does not give the levels of subject resistance that merit the corresponding increases in force.http://www.policeone.com/writers/columnists/marksman/articles/123080/
Use of force continuum
s can be further broken down into much more specific and concrete units.
and any other person from Section 3 of the Criminal Law Act 1967
. It states:
"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".
The benchmark as to whether the use of force is considered lawful are whether it was reasonable, proportionate, legitimate & necessary
.
(Further provision about when force is "reasonable" was made by section 76 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008
.)
There is also a common law
definition of reasonable force:
"
Conflict resolution
Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of some social conflict. Often, committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information about their conflicting motives or ideologies to the rest...
or prevent certain actions by applying measures to either: a) dissuade another party from a particular course of action, or b) physically intervene to stop them. In nations of the developed world and the developing world, governments allow police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
, citizen
Citizen's arrest
A citizen's arrest is an arrest made by a person who is not acting as a sworn law-enforcement official. In common law jurisdictions, the practice dates back to medieval Britain and the English common law, in which sheriffs encouraged ordinary citizens to help apprehend law breakers.Despite the...
, corrections
Corrections
In criminal justice, particularly in North America, correction, corrections, and correctional, are umbrella terms describing a variety of functions typically carried out by government agencies and involving the punishment, treatment, and supervision of persons who have been convicted of crimes....
, or other security
Security
Security is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection are structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition. The Institute for Security and Open Methodologies in the OSSTMM 3 defines security as "a form of protection...
personnel to employ force to actively prevent imminent commission of crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
, or even for deterrence. It may also be exercised by the executive
Executive (government)
Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
branch (i.e., through the president, prime minister, premier, governor or mayor) of a political jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
, deploying the police or military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
to maintain public order. The use of force is governed by statute
Statute
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations...
and is usually authorized in a progressive series of actions, referred to as a "use of force continuum
Use of force continuum
A use of force continuum is a standard that provides law enforcement officials & security officers with guidelines as to how much force may be used against a resisting subject in a given situation. In certain ways it is similar to the military rules of engagement...
.
When a conflict is between parties having the same standing, observers often recommend the use of negotiation
Negotiation
Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or parties, intended to reach an understanding, resolve point of difference, or gain advantage in outcome of dialogue, to produce an agreement upon courses of action, to bargain for individual or collective advantage, to craft outcomes to satisfy...
or other "conflict resolution
Conflict resolution
Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of some social conflict. Often, committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information about their conflicting motives or ideologies to the rest...
" techniques. When a conflict is between a lawbreaker and a law enforcer, use of force comes into play when the lawbreaker refuses to desist, or attempts to flee from a serious offense. The continuum of force progresses from verbal orders, through physical restraint, up to lethal force. The general rule for application of force is that only necessary force may be used. When force is applied by an individual (for example, to protect life, or property), the amount of force permissible is, likewise, only that which is reasonable
Reasonable person
The reasonable person is a legal fiction of the common law that represents an objective standard against which any individual's conduct can be measured...
and necessary under the circumstances.
When a level of force beyond verbal commands is used, the individual or authority authorizing the force is accountable for the degree of force applied. In the case of lethal force, other levels of force must have been attempted first unless lethal force is the only way to minimize loss of life. When the use of military force is employed by the state towards another political entity for defensive purposes, international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
requires that the principle of proportionality be applied.
Military and police
A use of force doctrine is employed by police forces, as well as soldiers on guard duty, to regulate the actions of police and guards. The aim of such a doctrine is to balance security needs with ethical concerns for the rights and well-being of intruders or suspects. In the event that members of the public are injured, this may give rise to issues of self-defenseSelf-defense (theory)
The right of self-defense is the right for civilians acting on their own behalf to engage in violence for the sake of defending one's own life or the lives of others, including the use of deadly force.- Theory :The...
as a justification
Excuse
In jurisprudence, an excuse or justification is a defense to criminal charges that is distinct from an exculpation. In this context, "to excuse" means to grant or obtain an exemption for a group of persons sharing a common characteristic from a potential liability. "To justify" as in justifiable...
. In the event of death, this may be a justifiable homicide
Justifiable homicide
The United States' concept of justifiable homicide in criminal law stands on the dividing line between an excuse, justification and an exculpation. It is different from other forms of homicide in that due to certain circumstances the homicide is justified as preventing greater harm to innocents...
.
U.S. soldiers on guard duty are given a "use of force briefing" by the sergeant of the guard before being assigned to their post.
"The only difference between lawful force for police and civilians is that peace officers are not given the option of fleeing the scene to avoid confrontation." http://web.archive.org/web/20050406124749/http://www.geocities.com/gunversation/useofforce/useofforce.htm
Indeed, soldiers on guard duty will be severely punished for "abandoning their post" if they leave before being "properly relieved".
For the English law
English law
English law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countries and the United States except Louisiana...
on the use of force by police officers and soldiers in the prevention of crime, see Self-defence in English law
Self-defence in English law
Self-defence is part of private defence, the doctrine in English law that one can act to prevent injury to oneself or others or to prevent crime more generally – one has the same right to act to protect others as to protect oneself. This defence arises both from common law and the Criminal Law Act...
. The Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n position on the use of troops for civil policing is set out by Michael Hood in Calling Out the Troops: Disturbing Trends and Unanswered Questions http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/legcon_ctte/defence/submissions/sub01.pdf and, for comparative purposes, see *Keebine-Sibanda, Malebo J. & Sibanda, Omphemetse S. "Use of Deadly Force by the South African Police Services Re-visited". http://www.crisa.org.za/section_49.pdf.
Use of force continuum
The use of force may be standardized by a use of force continuumUse of force continuum
A use of force continuum is a standard that provides law enforcement officials & security officers with guidelines as to how much force may be used against a resisting subject in a given situation. In certain ways it is similar to the military rules of engagement...
, which presents guidelines as to the degree of force appropriate in a given situation. One source identifies five very generalized steps, increasing from least use of force to greatest. It is only one side of the model, as it does not give the levels of subject resistance that merit the corresponding increases in force.http://www.policeone.com/writers/columnists/marksman/articles/123080/
- Presence (using the effect of the presence of an authority figure on a subject)
- Verbalization (commanding a subject)
- Empty hand control (using empty hands to search, relieve weapons, immobilize, or otherwise control a subject)
- Intermediate weapons (using non-lethal chemical, electronic or impact weapons on a subject)
- Deadly Force (using any force likely to cause permanent injury or death to a subject)
Use of force continuum
Use of force continuum
A use of force continuum is a standard that provides law enforcement officials & security officers with guidelines as to how much force may be used against a resisting subject in a given situation. In certain ways it is similar to the military rules of engagement...
s can be further broken down into much more specific and concrete units.
England & Wales
In England & Wales, the use of (reasonable) force is provided to PolicePolice
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
and any other person from Section 3 of the Criminal Law Act 1967
Criminal Law Act 1967
The Criminal Law Act 1967 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. However, with some minor exceptions, it generally applies to only England and Wales. It made some major changes to English criminal law...
. It states:
"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".
The benchmark as to whether the use of force is considered lawful are whether it was reasonable, proportionate, legitimate & necessary
Necessary
Necessary may refer to:help* Something that is a required condition for something else to be the case, see necessary and sufficient condition.* A necessary truth, something that cannot fail to be true, see logical possibility....
.
(Further provision about when force is "reasonable" was made by section 76 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008
Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008
The Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which makes significant changes in many areas of the criminal justice system in England and Wales and, to a lesser extent, in Scotland and Northern Ireland...
.)
There is also a common law
Common law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
definition of reasonable force:
"