Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the Future of Policing Institute fellows are theirs and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.
The Role of Martial Arts Training for Police Officers
In the future, cops will probably have access to tools that incapacitate resisting arrestees without hurting them. But those tools don’t exist today, and we are forced, as a first level use-of-force, to resort to putting our hands on them to try and restrain them. The extent to which officers are proficient in the use of “hands-on” techniques directly relates to the reduction of injuries to arrested persons. This is where martial arts-centered defensive tactics comes into play.