Police use of force rises over pandemic in Nottinghamshire

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.

Home Office figures show the number of incidents in which Nottinghamshire Police used force rose 4 per cent to 7,286 in 2021-22, from 7,039 in 2019-20, the year before the coronavirus pandemic.

Of the incidents last year, 348 resulted in the subject being injured.

Assistant Chief Constable Rob Griffin, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Our highly-trained officers are entrusted with the power to use force to carry out their duties in protecting the public and themselves from danger.

“Force is used only if absolutely necessary, reasonable and proportionate in the circumstances. Any use of force is recorded and scrutinised to ensure it has been used correctly.”

Across England and Wales, 608,000 use-of-force incidents were recorded in 2021-22, up from 492,000 in 2019-20, with 79 per cent of incidents involving restraining the subject – such and handcuffing or forcing them to the ground.

Restraint tactics were used 7,169 times in Nottinghamshire.

Men aged 18-34 are most likely to be subject to police force nationally – 47 per cent of incidents in Nottinghamshire, 3,422, involved people in this category.

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

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 this is often not true for black people.

“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 18-34 account for 7 per cent of all use-of-force incidents, despite comprising just 0.5 per cent of the population.

A Home Office spokesman said sometimes force can be a “vital tool” in policing and the Home Office is making it easier for officers to use body-worn video and giving communities opportunities to scrutinise incidents of police force.