Primarily supporting government, our UoF/RoL capability supports clients by delivering operational capabilities that utilize Human Rights, due process and use of force as levers of operational effectiveness rather than as political necessities forced upon the client organization(s). Our fundamentals benefit military operations - particularly counter-insurgency and MACA - and domestic law enforcement equally.
The Use of Force practice was established to advance our convictions that force should be used proportionally and ethically. There are times, such as in combat and when suspects are involved in armed confrontation with law enforcement, where the use of force is unaviodable. We work with clients to ensure that their use of force has the maximum effect for the minimum expenditure, is compliant with both legal and moral restrictions, and remains ethical – an issue that not only creates reputational problems immediately, but may create deeper problems over the long term.
The Use of Force practice works with providers, their contractors and insurers to deliver its audit and consultancy services.
Audit Services
An audit can be required for many reasons; for assurance, for investigation or for review. When completing an audit we work with our client to fully identify the issues, and to explain and document them before providing recommendations and solutions.
Audits can be provided for individual incidents that are contentious and require an outside body to investigate; to assess an organisations’ capabilities and methodologies and/or performance or for an organisation, to evaluate their techniques, procedures and culture.
Example of Service:
A military force with significant experience of public order operations was experiencing higher than previous casualty rates. Members worked with the operational troops to understand the problem, and create potential solutions. A change in tactics had been adopted, but this had not been accompanied by a change in equipment; the higher risk of the tactics was not matched by a higher level of protection. The current and future operational requirement was examined, and an equipment, tactics and training suite developed to comprehensively address the future requirement.
Consultancy Services:
Our consultancy service can work alongside our audit service. We can assist clients in assessing the need for, and methods to deliver, new capabilities. We work with law enforcement, the military and other organisations to enhance their ability to use force, in a manner that is appropriate and proportional to the situation.
A capability may be a non-lethal means of restraining or subduing a suspect, or a command and control network. We work with clients to understand their requirements, and to deliver the training, operating procedures, equipment, logistical and equipment support and financing essential to make the capability introduction, and sustainability, a success.
We work with our clients to develop or rework procedures that are not appropriate, or no longer appropriate, to the legal, cultural or other environmental factors that apply. We help our clients to understand new areas of operation and the factors that will affect their use of force in those environments. We work with our clients to establish the framework for using force in those environments and understanding what is proportional under the new conditions.
Consultancy Example:
An international security firm that was expanding into the high-risk executive protection field wanted to create a set of standard operating procedures that were world class. We worked with the client to understand their requirement; the areas they would be working in, the threats posed in those areas, the competency and ongoing training level of their employees, their equipment types and the company culture. We then designed a set of operating procedures, tactics and techniques that maximised their effectiveness by exploiting their core competencies.