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Halton police used less force last year, says report By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF OPENING SOON Smart Little Children Daycare Centre Ages 9 · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, March 13, 2009 Halton Regional Police were a little less forceful last year -- at least according to the service's 2008 Use of Force Analysis released recently. Recorded to establish the goals and priorities of future police training, the summary looks at many areas including how many times officers drew and or pointed their firearms, how many times they actually discharged their firearms, how often officers used empty hand techniques to restrain suspects and how effective these techniques were. In total, the analysis notes there were 152 use of force incidents reported for 2008 -- down from the 207 incidents reported in 2007. Of the 2008 incidents, 57 involved officers drawing and or pointing their firearms (down from 130 incidents in 2007). According to the report, most of the firearm incidents occurred when officers responded to a call indicating a suspect was armed with a weapon. Other incidents where officers drew or pointed their firearms included disturbance calls, robberies, break and enters and high-risk traffic stops. The report cited 26 incidents where officers actually discharged their firearms in 2008 (down from 35 incidents in 2007). In all but two of these incidents, weapons were fired to destroy severely injured animals. In one incident an officer discharged his firearm by accident within his home. In the other incident, Halton police were forced to shoot and kill a suicidal man when he pointed his rifle at them. This last incident actually took place in December 2007, but the use of force report was not filed until 2008. The use of hand-to-hand techniques by Halton police remained about the same with 48 soft empty hand techniques (i.e. joint locks, defensive blocking) reported in 2008 while 47 incidents took place in 2007. The story was similar for hard empty hand techniques (i.e. kicking, punching) with 17 incidents reported in 2008 and 17 reported in 2007. However, the success rate in gaining control of suspects through the use of these hand-to-hand techniques dropped. The report noted Halton police achieved a success rate of 82 per cent when it came to using hard empty hand techniques in 2007, but only 65 per cent in 2008. Halton Police Chief Gary Crowell attributed this decline to the growing popularity of mixed martial arts among the `combatants' encountered by the police. Crowell also noted officers are being trained in new techniques to deal with this. While most of the use of force statistics showed a downward trend in use, the expandable police baton proved to be the exception to the rule with four incidents reported in 2008 compared to one incident in 2007. The report noted that in two of these incidents the baton was used in a striking motion, while in two others it was simply used to get a suspect's arms out from underneath him. Police resorted to using their Tasers fewer times in 2008 with 18 incidents compared to 32 in 2007. Of this year's 18 incidents, the Taser was only deployed against actual suspects in four. The other incidents included two accidental firing and on two other occasions it was used as a stun gun. Ten other times, the drawing of the Taser was enough to convince the suspect to give up. The report's conclusion described the Taser as an invaluable tool, which has minimized the potential of injury to both officers and subjects alike. The report also listed 12 incidents in which pepper spray was used, one take down involving a canine unit and one incident involving the use of a ballistic shield. While the December 2007 fatal shooting made its way into 2008's statistics, this was the only serious injury recorded. During 2008, 30 injuries to suspects were reported, 22 of which required medical treatment. However, in all cases this was characterized as minor. The report also noted seven incidents in which officers were injured and required medical attention, but again the degree of the injuries were classified as minor. 0-9 For every order placed before March 31st you will receive GET THE REAL HD INSTALLATION Dancing with the Stars! special offer 5 SESSIONS OF DANCING $ NEW STUDENT OFFER By yourself or with a partner FREE Whatever you can imagine we can make it a reality 25 New Students Over 21 Only The exclusive Gallery Gold Guarantee ensures that all customers are 100% satisfied with their purchase. 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