West Mercia Police's use of force falls over pandemic

The figures come as a human rights charity says the police "should not be handed new powers", as it claims current ones put the public at risk of harm.

However, Home Office figures show the number of incidents in which West Mercia Police used force fell 18 per cent to 8,810 in the year to March, from 10,738 in 2019-2020 – the year before the coronavirus pandemic.

A spokesman for West Mercia Police said: "Within the police service we have a duty to protect people from harm and these techniques are in place to resolve dangerous situations, whilst ensuring we protect the public at the scene, the individual under arrest and the officers in attendance.

“As these figures show, we train our officers to minimise their need to use such tactics by using other appropriate skills where possible and, with the hundreds of incidents we respond to each day, the vast majority are safely resolved without requiring force or any form of conflict.”

The picture was different across England and Wales, where 608,000 use of force incidents were recorded in 2021-22, up from 492,000 in 2019-20.

Gavin Hales, a senior associate fellow at the Police Foundation think tank said last year involved “something of a return to normal crime levels” after a drop in crime over successive lockdowns.

He added that the rise could in part be due to the recruitment of new officers, and improved recording of incidents by police forces.

Across the country, 79 per cent of incidents involved restraining the subject – such and handcuffing or forcing them to the ground – with restraint tactics being used 6,816 times in West Mercia.

Police forces can use multiple tactics in one incident, so this figure may be higher than the total number of incidents where restraint was used.

Men aged 18 to 34 are by far the most likely to be subject to police force nationally – 4,051 (46 per cent of) incidents in West Mercia involved people who fell into this category.

Emmanuelle Andrews, policy and campaigns manager at civil rights campaign group Liberty, said: “We all want to feel safe in our communities, but the Home Office report shows that this is often not true for black people.”

Across England and Wales, black people are 3.5 times more likely to be subject to use of force tactics.

Ms Andrews continued: “Dehumanising police tactics, especially those involving use of force, don’t keep us safe but instead subject people to traumatic and distressing experiences, leaving a lasting impact on both individuals and communities.”

Nationally, black men aged 18 to 34 account for 7 per cent of all use of force incidents, despite comprising just 0.5 per cent of the overall population.

Liberty have cautioned against calls to extend police powers.

“We must have meaningful discussions about how we can better keep communities safe, and prioritise solutions which have human rights and social justice at their heart,” Ms Andrews added.

A Home Office spokesperson said that sometimes force can be a "vital tool" in policing.

“We are clear that nobody should experience force because of their race,” they added.

“The causes of racial disparities in the criminal justice system are complex and reflect broader social inequalities the UK Government is committed to tackling.”

The spokesperson said the Home Office is making it easier for officers to use body worn video and giving communities opportunities to scrutinise incidents of police force.