As part of the Saint Paul Police Department’s ongoing commitment to transparency, the 2023 data for use-of-force incidents involving SPPD personnel has been compiled and shared below.
Among the detailed data included in this report are the number of times force was used, types of force used, demographics of those involved in use of force incidents, and number of injuries that resulted from use-of-force incidents.
While our officers strive to de-escalate situations whenever possible, there are circumstances in which the use of force is necessary to effect an arrest or protect officers and our community from harm. Our department is constantly evaluating our use-of-force training, which we refer to as “response to resistance or aggression” (RRA). That evaluation and resulting evolution of our training has led us to become a national leader among police departments for being at the forefront of use-of-force techniques that help keep everyone involved in these incidents safer. As a result, many other departments are now modeling their response to resistance or aggression (RRA) training after that of SPPD.
Our department’s commitment to de-escalation of incidents, as well as providing the safest and most effective means of RRA techniques has produced a data outcome that shows use-of-force having been used in only .33% of police encounters in 2023. That means that 99.67% of SPPD encounters in 2023 resulted in no force being used. Further, of the incidents in which force was used, the overwhelming majority of force incidents involved low levels of force, including soft empty hand techniques.
The police department intends to release annual use-of-force reports as data is compiled.