Guiding Principles on Use of Force (2016)
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This report, the 30th in PERF’s Critical Issues in Policing series, represents the culmination of 18 months of research, field work, and national discussions on police use of force, especially in situations involving persons with mental illness and cases where subjects do not have firearms.
The Critical Issues series has always focused on the most consequential emerging issues facing police agencies. In 2016, no issue is of greater conse- quence to the policing profession, or to the communities we serve, than the issue of police use of force. Beginning in the summer of 2014 and continuing over the past year and a half, our nation has seen a series of controversial cases, many of them captured on videos taken by the police, bystanders, or nearby security cameras.
These events have sparked protests across the country and soul-searching among police executives. They have also threatened community-police rela- tionships in many areas and have undermined trust.
