Police Use Of Force Continuum Essay

777 Words2 Pages

The use of force is defined as physical restraint by a police officer when dealing with the public. There has been many cases in which there have been instances in which excessive necessary force which has led to many tragic events. It leaves a lot of confusion on what is the role of force, when does

The police are authorized to use coercive force to control a variety of situations and this authority defines the police role. When it comes to police – citizens interactions officers are required to use some type of force even the lowest amount which would simply be their presence. The point of them using this force is to in some way control and or prevent crime from occurring. Especially since their job is to enforce the law, protect …show more content…

The Police Use-of-Force Continuum simply lays out the five levels of force used by officers from the presence of an officer to the use of deadly force. The force continuum is used to guide an officer's reaction and to focus his or her perception of risk. For example, if a complaint is made the corresponding force an officer would use is his presence, engaging in communication, such as verbal commands. The federal Law Enforcement Training Center also designed a nationally recognized force continuum. This model shows the different applications of force that color codes appropriate officer perceptions based on a suspect's level of resistance and the level of legitimate force and it includes the necessary tactics associated with each of the levels. There's three different levels: Blue for normal day to day law enforcement activities, Orange for harmful threat perception, and Red for lethal threats. There is no clear definition of what excessive force actually is. In order to know if an officer's force is excessive people such as the supreme court refer to the Fourth Amendment’s standard of "Objective

More about Police Use Of Force Continuum Essay

Open Document