MONITORING PLACES OF DETENTION : A PRACTICAL GUIDE 114 USE OF FORCE 1 Standards “1. Officers of the institutions shall not, in their relations with the prisoners, use force except in self-defence or in cases of attempted escape, or active or passive physical resistance to an order based on law or regulations. Officers who have recourse to force, must use no more than is strictly necessary and must report the incident immediately to the director or the institution. 2. Prison officers shall be given special physical training to enable them to restrain aggressive prisoners. 3. Except in special circumstances, staff performing duties which bring them in direct contact with prisoners should not be armed. Furthermore, staff should in no circumstances be provided with arms unless they have been trained in their use. (…)”. SMR, Rule 54 (see also EPR Rule 63) “Law enforcement officials may use force only when strictly necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty.” Code of conduct for law enforcement officials, Article 3 “Law enforcement officials shall not use firearms against persons except in self defence or defence of others against the imminent threat of death or serious injury, to prevent the perpetration of a particularly serious crime involving grave threat to life, to arrest a person presenting such a danger and resisting their authority, or to prevent his her escape, and only when less extreme means are insufficient to achieve these objectives. In any event, intentional lethal use of force may only be made when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life”. UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, Principle 9