PART III.  INSTRUMENTS OF FORCE restraining the application of means capable of causing death or injury to persons. For the same purpose, it should also be possible for law enforcement officials to be equipped with self-defence equipment such as shields, helmets, bullet-proof vests and bullet-proof means of transportation, in order to decrease the need to use weapons of any kind”. Law enforcement officials should be trained in solving conflicts without having to resort to using force, and when they do have to resort to force, they should be able to choose among a range of types of force in order to opt for the minimum force necessary to achieve the required objective and ensure that such use of force is proportionate to the threat faced, and scale up when needed or down whenever the situation allows; this is sometimes referred to as the “scale of force”, which is a useful guide to train officers. USE-OF-FORCE “CONTINUUM” The scale of force, or continuum of force, should not be understood to imply that law enforcement officials should be going up and down step-by-step depending on the resistance encountered. Indeed, in reality law enforcement officials will not (and should not) try every means at their disposal one by one but will, based on their assessment, in line with the legal framework and the policies in use, choose what they believe to be the most appropriate response to a given situation.a Rather, the “scale” concept entails that law enforcement officials should be able to choose between different instruments and types of force allowing them to escalate and de-escalate depending on the situation. This requires for them to be equipped with and trained in the use of various different instruments and techniques of force, so that they are aware of the potential impact of the different instruments and can make an informed decision as to when to choose what instrument. a See Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), 2015, p. 9: “We also need to review use-of-force policies, many of which rely on outdated concepts of a use-of-force ‘continuum,’ in which levels of resistance from a suspect are matched with specific police tactics and weapons.” It is unfortunately common to have firearms as the only instruments of force law enforcement officials are provided with. This may lead to an overreliance on these weapons, resulting in unnecessary injuries and loss of life. An overview of the more commonly used types and instruments of force in law enforcement includes: Not using instruments: • • • • • Open-hand techniques, such as a raised open hand or pushing someone back with the palm of the hand Pressure point techniques Body impact (pushing) Hard empty hand techniques, such as holding someone’s arm behind the back Closed hand techniques (fists) 65