RT journal article
T1 A Legal and Forensic Medicine Approach to Police Physical Intervention Techniques in High-Risk Situations
A1 Vera Jiménez, José Carlos
A1 Lorente, José A.
A1 González Herrera, Lucas
A1 Álvarez Saura, José Ángel
A1 Ferreiro González, Marta
A1 Ayuso Vilacides, Jesús
A2 Química Analítica
A2 Química Física
K1 police force
K1 operational tactical procedures
K1 physical threats
K1 arrest and self-defense skills
K1 prevention of leaf injuries
K1 legal and forensic medicine
AB Background: The physical intervention techniques (PITs) typically used by the police in troublesome situations are examined in terms of injuring potential depending on whether they target a body zone of high, medium or low vulnerability. Based on legal and forensic considerations, and principles of congruence, opportunity and proportionality, a need exists to favor opponent locking and arrest techniques targeting non-vulnerable zones to minimize the risk of severe damage. Methods: A search of the training manuals for the different kind of law of enforcement officers was carried out. Revision of injuries was available from electronic databases of academic o medical journals. Results: Three different locking and arrest PITs based on operational tactical procedures (OTP) that avoid zones of high or medium vulnerability are proposed. The new techniques use blocking, diverting and grabbing of the upper and lower limbs, followed by dislocation and locking of the same targets. Conclusions: The damaging potential of such PITs was assessed in terms of anatomical region and most were found to have a high risk of severe damage. The alternative PITs proposed here, which rely on OTP, improve in legal and forensic medical terms on existing choices and dramatically reduce the risk of injuring arrestees.
PB MDPI
SN 1660-4601
YR 2020
FD 2020-04
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/23265
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/23265
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 05-nov-2026