Use of Force - Q2 2025 (July-September)
Our officers respond to hundreds of incidents across Gloucestershire every day, upholding the law and keeping people safe. The majority of these incidents are resolved safely and without any kind of conflict, but there are occasions when our officers need to use force to protect themselves and others from harm.
The ‘use of force’ includes deploying of specialist resources such as dogs or Taser trained officers, using handcuffs or a baton to help make an arrest or even taking hold of someone’s arm to calm them.
Every time one of our officers use force we log it so that there is transparency in the way that we police the county.
The data is used to ensure that we police the county fairly and is also used to help inform and train officers.
We publish our data so that you can see what force has been used during a particular year.
Neighbourhood Policing Area |
Total |
As a percentage |
| Gloucester | 1121 | 50.6% |
| Cheltenham | 446 | 20.1% |
| Stroud | 240 | 10.8% |
| Forest | 160 | 7.2% |
| Tewkesbury | 133 | 6.0% |
| Cotswolds | 92 | 4.2% |
| Unknown | 22 | 1.0% |
Reason for Force |
Total |
| Protect Self | 1519 |
| Protect Other | 1446 |
| Protect Other Officer | 1446 |
| Arrest | 1228 |
| Prevent Escape | 1139 |
| Prevent Harm | 1052 |
| Protect Subject | 1016 |
| Prevent Offence | 777 |
| Protect Public | 744 |
| Search | 489 |
| Handcuffs | 162 |
| Other | 61 |
Outcome |
Total |
| Arrested | 1560 |
| Other | 496 |
| Hospital | 153 |
| Detained | 100 |
Force used |
Total |
| Tactical Communications | 1379 |
| Unarmed Skills | 1169 |
| Handcuffing | 1145 |
| Other Improvised | 237 |
| Ground Restraint | 166 |
| Limb Body Restraints | 139 |
| Taser Red Dotted | 69 |
| Taser Drawn | 49 |
| Irritant Spray PAVA Used | 42 |
| Firearms | 35 |
| Irritant Spray PAVA Drawn | 33 |
| Spit Guard | 17 |
| Taser Aimed | 11 |
| Taser Fired | 9 |
| Dog Deployed | 9 |
| AEP Drawn | 6 |
| Baton Used | 5 |
| Taser Arced | 4 |
| Irritant Spray CS Drawn | 3 |
| Shield | 3 |
| Baton Drawn | 2 |
| Irritant Spray CS Used | 1 |
| AEP Used | 1 |
| Taser Fired - Cartridge 2 | 0 |
| Taser Drive Stun | 0 |
| Dog Biting | 0 |
| Horse | 0 |
Gender |
Total |
As a percentage |
| Female | 577 | 26.1% |
| Male | 1629 | 73.6% |
| Other | 4 | 0.2% |
| Unknown | 4 | 0.2% |
Age group |
Total |
As a percentage |
| Under 11 | 5 | 0.2% |
| 11 To 17 | 247 | 11.2% |
| 18 To 34 | 947 | 42.8% |
| 35 To 49 | 748 | 33.8% |
| 50 To 64 | 230 | 10.4% |
| 65 and over | 37 | 1.7% |
Ethnic group |
Total |
As a percentage |
| Asian | 49 | 2.2% |
| Black | 171 | 7.7% |
| Mixed | 77 | 3.5% |
| Other | 22 | 1.0% |
| White | 1895 | 85.6% |