58 Resource book on the use of force and firearms in law enforcement Testing and certification Principle 19 of the BPUFF states that governments and law enforcement agencies “shall ensure that all law enforcement officials are (…) tested in accordance with appropriate proficiency standards in the use of force”. Recruits must show they can apply what they were taught in practice, preferably in the context of realistic scenarios. An important element of the test should be to assess whether law enforcement officials know how to employ communication and other tactical skills in order to avoid using force, and also whether they know how to determine the minimum necessary level of force to be used and how they assess the proportionality of the force used to the threat encountered. Principle 19 also states that “those law enforcement officials who are required to carry firearms should be authorized to do so only upon completion of special training in their use”. To be authorized to use a firearm, the recruit should be certified for that particular instrument, meaning they should regularly be re-tested and lose their licence or certification or have it suspended when they fail a test. In such cases, law enforcement officials should be required to hand in the respective instrument. This may also benefit from being extended to other instruments of force. Follow-up and refresher training Training does not stop after the newly recruited law enforcement officials have finished their basic training. The norms and standards governing law enforcement work should be reinforced in all subsequent training and refresher courses. This need is also emphasized in principle 18 of the BPUFF which highlights the obligation of law enforcement agencies to provide “continuous and thorough professional training”. In many countries it is common for law enforcement officials to receive regular refresher training on the use of firearms, but this is not enough. Rather, refresher training should reinforce constant awareness of the need to avoid the use of force whenever possible and of the tools that facilitate law enforcement that do not rely on force. As by that point the participants have practical experience, it is important to allow for reflection on how they dealt with certain situations, how they could have done things differently and avoided the use of force and how they can use their experience to improve their law enforcement skills and competencies. Police academies or colleges should have a training record of every officer who got initial training and call officers back for follow-up and refresher courses based on the institutional schedule. 4.3.  Performance management Principle 18 of the BPUFF states that the “continued fitness [of law enforcement officials] to perform [their] functions should be subject to periodic review”. Ensuring a human rights-based approach to law enforcement requires an effective performance management process, which involves regular assessments of each member of staff on the basis of previously established indicators, and (jointly) developing a plan on how to improve performance, where required.