Book Review: Police use of force under international law

• Author: Viviana Andreescu
• Published date: 01 September 2021
• DOI: 10.1177/1057567719899156
• Date: 01 September 2021
• Subject Matter: Book Reviews

Casey-Maslen, S., & Connolly, S. (2017).

Police use of force under international law. Cambridge University Press, 423pp. $41.99, ISBN: 9781316510025.

Reviewed by: Viviana Andreescu , University of Louisville, KY, USA

DOI: 10.1177/1057567719899156

In Police Use of Force under International Law, Casey-Maslen and Connolly thoroughly discuss the

international legal standards regarding the use of force by law enforcement agents and critically

examine various domestic legal standards in order to determine how the use of force by the police

ensures the citizens’ compliance with the law and, second, how the police use of force complies with

the international law of law enforcement (LOLE). Written by an academic, who was also Head of

Research at the Geneva Academy of Humanitarian Law and Human Rights and by an intelligence

and policy analysis expert, the book examines the law enforcement use of force from a human rights

perspective. This well-researched book is not only of academic interest but also of notable practical

relevance.

The first chapters of the book present the economic, legal, and social contexts that contributed to

the development of policing as a state institution. Starting with policing in antiquity, Chapter 1

provides a brief and selective history of law enforcement, presenting key features of three different

policing systems that shaped modern policing in England and Wales, France, and the United States.

The authors continue the discussion in the second chapter of the book, which illustrates how

contemporary societies perceive and conduct policing. This chapter presents various forms of poli-

cing (e.g., policing by consent, reactive policing, community policing, and intelligence-led policing)

and addresses the economics of crime and criminal justice, showing why private provisions of police

services have not been widely pursued at the global level. Although at the beginning of the book, the

authors note that reliable statistical information on police use of force at the global level is

“desperately poor” (p. 3), they acknowledge intercountry differences in the police use of force.

In the final section of the second chapter, which could have been expanded, the authors select

examples from three countries to demonstrate that differences in social and cultural contexts

affect the interpretation of the law and the evaluation of police actions. However, in the end, the

reader has to decide why police actions (i.e., use of force vs. restraint) toward suspects vary

considerably across nations.

The third chapter of the book highlights the core principles governing the use of force for law

enforcement. The authors offer a detailed explanation of the principles of necessity, proportionality,

and precaution in regulating the use of force in international law. Additionally, the chapter explores

the use of force by law enforcement agencies in a range of scenarios and considers the impact of

human rights when assessing the legality of police actions.

Using a human rights framework, the fourth and the fifth chapters of the book focus on the use of

firearms and less-lethal weapons by law enforcement agents. A good selection of case studies from

various parts of the world further our understanding of particular circumstances where the contro-

versial use of firearms may be lawful under the LOLE. Examples of serious violations of interna-

tional law (e.g., death squads in Brazil and the Philippines) are included as well.

Chapters 6, 7, 8, and 10 examine the use of force by law enforcement agents in particular

contexts, such as during mass protests (lawful and unlawful), in custodial settings, and in counter-

terrorism and counterpiracy operations. Based on a selection of examples from different countries,

the reader learns in what circumstances law enforcement’s decisions to use (excessive) force are

considered legal or illegal from a human rights perspective. Although the authors explained earlier

in the book why private policing has not been widely pursued at the global level, in Chapter 9, they

acknowledge the increased use in law enforcement of private security service providers. Following

the format used throughout the book, this chapter offers examples of private policing in various

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