NCJ Number
197370
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 29 Issue: 10 Dated: October 2002 Pages: 52,54,56
Date Published
October 2002
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article describes the problems involving less-lethal police tactics.
Abstract
The first systematic use of less-lethal tactics probably involved the Texas Rangers, who developed hand-to-hand combat tactics using the Japanese martial art of jujitsu. The unrest of the 1960's placed police use of force on the national political agenda. The attention on police use of force spawned the development of citizen review boards. Today less-lethal tactics training is a major industry as well as a significant part of many police training programs. The most common injury to suspects during the use of force is bruises. A small portion of officers is disproportionately involved in use-of-force incidents. In 87 percent of use-of-force incidents, officers used physical not mechanical force. About 10 percent of officers using force sustained injuries. In 82 percent of all arrests, officers used handcuffs to restrain suspects. In 61 percent of arrests, officers used verbal tactics to control suspects. Suspects under the influence of drugs and alcohol were more likely to directly assault officers and twice as likely to use a firearm to assault the officer. Officers are most likely to be injured when using physical tactics. The current tactical training available to police departments has frustrated many in law enforcement. In many cases, the instructor did not understand the use-of-force rules that the department had to work under. Part of the problem is the structure of police departments. An in-house expert is desirable and the idea of regionalization to bring continuity and practical training to police departments is favored. Regionalization provides a customized training program on a regional level with certified instructors that can bring practical tactics to each officer. Recent research has found that technological gadgetry, such as beanbag devices and rubber bullets, have caused death and serious injuries over the past years. The fear is that if common criminals see law enforcement using more force and more lethal trends, they will also. But less-than-lethal technologies have not been able to co-exist with lethal force because in most street-level confrontations, employing less-than-lethal tactics turns out worse than using lethal force.