GlossaryStaffing, accountability, and public reporting
Use of force
Use of force is physical force applied by law enforcement in an encounter, as defined by the relevant policy, law, or reporting system.
Use of force is physical force applied by law enforcement in an encounter, as defined by the relevant policy, law, or reporting system. The term covers different actions in different datasets. A recorded force event is not, by itself, a finding that the force was lawful, unlawful, reasonable, or contrary to policy.
Identify what is included
The FBI's National Use-of-Force Data Collection has a defined scope and does not assess whether an officer complied with policy or acted lawfully. Local agencies may collect additional levels of force under their own rules. A local total and a national submission can therefore cover different events.
A dataset also needs a counting unit: incidents, officer actions, people subjected to force, or reports. Several officers or actions can relate to one encounter. A simple row count is not necessarily an incident count.
Example
Hypothetical example: One encounter involves two officers, one person, and several recorded force actions. The agency's table contains one incident record and linked action records.
Counting each action as a separate encounter would overstate incidents. Conversely, counting one incident does not describe every action taken. The correct total depends on the question and the source's record structure.
Common confusion
Excessive force is a conclusion under an applicable legal or review standard, not a synonym for every recorded use of force. A complaint is an allegation; an investigation and final finding are separate stages.
An officer-involved shooting is a particular kind of event whose local definition may be narrower or different.
Scope and comparison
Read the force-reporting threshold, exclusions, review status, participation coverage, and revisions. A low published total can reflect narrower reporting or incomplete coverage. It should not automatically be presented as evidence of either safer conduct or underreporting without further support.