use of force continuum
A use of force continuum (sometimes use of force “guidelines”, “matrix” or “model”) is the standard used by a police force to determine how much violence is appropriate in different situations.
Use of force continua vary across police forces, commonly with four to six levels corresponding to different behaviour from the subject, ranging from compliant to lethally violent, and corresponding levels of force from the officer. The continuum can be visualised in a wheel (1), matrix, or linear model as in the example below (2).
The techniques and weapons used by officers at each level of the continuum are not designed to equally match the behaviour of the subject. The aim is that “the officer remains in a constant position of recognizable advantage within any confrontation, while the subject stays in a continued position of recognizable disadvantage.” (3)
example use of force continuum
Unarmed force may be distinguished between open palm techniques (e.g. grappling) and closed palm techniques (e.g. punching).
The use of force continuum is an internal guideline for officers, but cannot always predict how they behave - police officers may beat compliant victims with batons, or shoot unarmed victims suffering from mental health issues. Police may falsely claim that a subject is resistant or aggressive either as the violence is occurring (“Stop resisting!” or “He’s got a gun!”), or they may change their stories or plant evidence to justify violence retroactively.
Regardless of the use of force continuum or policy, police tend to use force more often on racial minorities, such as Indigenous people in Australia (4), Black or Hispanic people in the United States (5).
In the context of political demonstrations, the level of police violence is influenced by the aims of the regime and the ideology of the police. The intensity of crowd control policing is influenced by the race of the participants (6), whether participants are left wing (7. 8), and if the demonstration is opposed to police brutality (9).
Use of force continua have been criticised for emphasising violence over de-escalation, and a lack of nuance (10). This has led to some police forces abandoning a strict use of force continuum in favour of providing general standards ie. “you should use no more force than is reasonably necessary to exercise your policing functions” and a list of factors to consider whether force is reasonable (11).
advice
Depending on the area, your local police may have published their use of force continuum or it could be accessed through freedom of information laws.
At a political demonstration, if you see people in the crowd take actions that trigger a higher level, or you see a higher level being deployed, you will know that other actions at that level are likely to follow and can plan accordingly.
When police officers do not follow their use of force continuum, this may be used as evidence that the officer has used disproportionate force to assist in police complaints and legal cases.
references
(1) New Zealand Police Tactical Operations Framework (fyi.org.nz)
(2) Terrill, William & Paoline, III, Eugene. (2013). Examining Less Lethal Force Policy and the Force Continuum Results From a National Use-of-Force Study. Police Quarterly. 16. 38-65.
(3) Hunsicker, A. 2011, Behind the shield: anti-riot operations guide, Universal-Publishers, p. 100
(7) US police three times as likely to use force against leftwing protesters, data finds | The Guardian