Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department provides to ensure proportionality when police use force in (a) cases where lawful occupiers attempt to defend property and (b) other property-related incidents.

The government is clear police use of force must be reasonable, proportionate and necessary in all circumstances.

The College of Policing is the body responsible for setting out the guidance and training for the police. Guidance on the use of force is set out in Authorised Professional Practice which can be found here APP (authorised professional practice) | College of Policing. Given the operational nature of use of force, the College of Policing is best placed to set these standards.

Before officers can be authorised to use force, they must pass comprehensive training in Public and Personal Safety each year. This training reinforces the importance and legitimacy of use of force at every level.

The government publishes annual statistics on police use of force. The latest publication can be found here - https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-use-of-force-statistics. These statistics have been developed in coordination with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and other stakeholders to ensure there is transparency and accountability around the police use of force,

The Home Office does not hold any data on the number of police use of force reports that involved individuals recorded as property owners, occupiers or complainants.

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