Increase in use of force by police in Cumbria
There's been a 4.5 per cent rise over the last year
New data from Cumbria Constabulary shows the use of force has increased since last year.
In 2023/24, Cumbria Police recorded 15,835 instances where use of force tactics were used against the public.
This includes handcuffing complaints, ground restraints, batons used or drawn, and firearms aimed. The constabulary also filed 11,498 use of force forms.
In 2024/25, 16,555 use of force tactics were recorded, with 11,637 use of force forms submitted – this represents a 4.5 per cent increase in the use of these tactics.
Despite an overall increase in the use of force, injuries caused by police have dropped – 688 people were injured by police in 2024/25, compared with 701 in 2023/24.
Compared to the number of instances where force was used by Cumbria Police, just four per cent resulted in injuries to the public.
For both years, the primary justification for officers using force was to “protect self”, accounting for 15.5 per cent of incidents in 2023/24 and 17.5 per cent in 2024/25.
Tactics that saw increased use included the drawing of batons, which represented a 76.9 per cent rise to 23 instances, and the use of limb/body restraints, which saw a 4.6 per cent rise.
However, the majority of tactics saw decreased use, and neither year recorded an instance of a firearm being fired.
Chief Superintendent of Cumbria Constabulary Matt Kennerly told the Local Democracy Reporter Service: “Force is used only where necessary and as a last resort by our officers, often in response to violent situations where there is a need to protect themselves or other members of the public.
“We have strict oversight in place around use of force, with internal and external scrutiny. We use and scrutinise our submitted forms and body worn video, and for more serious uses of force e.g. Taser, a full expert review is completed.”
He also said that Cumbria Police is under scrutiny from an independent panel made up of people from local communities and that the force publishes their use of force figures for transparency.
“The figures in the document highlight a proportionate approach to use of force with low numbers of use of more impactive tactics,” he added.