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This report is the culmination of public hearings, numerous meetings and many hours sorting through testimony, and scientific data and research. The report includes 60 recommendations and seven proposed legislative agenda items. Over 14,200 law enforcement agencies in over 40 countries deploy electronic control weapons (ECWs). A survey by the Task Force of Maryland law enforcement agencies found… (read more)

This report is the culmination of public hearings, numerous meetings and many hours sorting through testimony, and scientific data and research. The report includes 60 recommendations and seven proposed legislative agenda items. Over 14,200 law enforcement agencies in over 40 countries deploy electronic control weapons (ECWs). A survey by the Task Force of Maryland law enforcement agencies found… (read more)

This National Consensus Policy on Use of Force is a collaborative effort among 11 law enforcement leadership and labor organizations in the United States (see back panel for list). The purpose of this policy is to provide law enforcement officers with guidelines for the use of less-lethal and deadly force. This document is intended to serve as a template for law enforcement agencies to compare… (read more)

"ICAT: Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics is PERF's new report in the Critical Issues in Policing Series. This report builds on PERF's work over the last two years on re-engineering policies and training on use of force. ICAT represents a new way of thinking about how police officers can be taught to effectively and safely defuse critical incidents by bringing together… (read more)

This report, the 30th in PERF's Critical Issues in Policing series, represents the culmination of 18 months of research, fieldwork, and national discussions on police use of force, especially in situations involving persons with mental illness and cases where subjects do not have firearms. The report presents guiding principles that are designed to provide officers with guidance and options, and… (read more)

This is the 28th report in PERF's Critical Issues in Policing series. PERF recently conducted three national conferences to discuss the use of force in American policing. The first conference, Defining Moments," addressed the key issues that came out of the protests and rioting in Ferguson and a report on that meeting was released in February 2015. This report summarizes PERF's second post-… (read more)

The 2011 Electronic Control Weapon Guidelines is based on information gathered from workshops, interviews, and a national survey that examined the use of Electronic Control Weapons (ECW). In August 2010, an executive session comprising police, medical, and legal professionals convened in Philadelphia to focus on ECW policy and practice. Afterward, a concentrated working group spent a second day… (read more)

This study looked at injuries that occur to law enforcement officers and citizens during use-of-force events. This NIJ-sponsored study included six police departments and evaluated the results of 962 real world CED uses. Policymakers and law enforcement officials want to know whether Tasers are safe and effective, and how (if at all) they should be used to match police use-of-force choices with… (read more)

This guide is designed to provide a comprehensive view of less-lethal technologies, their evolutionary role in criminal justice, and considerations when acquiring such devices to meet operational needs. It is segregated into six self-contained chapters which provide information and insight into specific areas of inquiry. The first three chapters provide background information on less-lethal… (read more)

The Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) invested considerable time and resources examining the impact that CEDs have had on law enforcement agencies and communities across the country. While the guidelines and glossary in this document are not meant to represent the final and definitive perspectives on conducted energy devices (CED), they do provide needed clarification and information that… (read more)

Relations with the community are often strained due to incidents of use of force. This document examines the core use of force issues and identifies strategies that can be employed to address these issues and build community trust.