A Herald analysis of the data shows police stationed in Sydney City Police Area Command (PAC) used force most often, in excess of 2100 times from 2014 to 2018. Penrith based Nepean PAC was the second most forceful in Sydney, recording about 1750 events, Campbelltown City ranked third (about 1450 events), followed by Sutherland (1300) and Liverpool (1275). Force was used least in Quakers Hill PAC (310) and Camden PAC (500) over the same five-year period. NSW Police use an escalating series of options, including force, to respond to a suspect's behaviour. The data shows Sydney City and Kings Cross police areas recorded the biggest drop in the use of force from 2014 to 2018 - 200 fewer incidents - following the introduction of lockout laws. In the suburb of Potts Point, force was used half as much in 2018 as it was in 2014. Camden and Surry Hills logged the largest increases over the same period, more than 50 extra cases each. Tasers were used most often in the regional city of Orange and in Surry Hills, both more than 50 times. In Coffs Harbour, Tasers were drawn 40 times.

Different regions of NSW reported different reasons for forceful interactions with police. Offensive language was cited 4800 times over the five years, most often when using force in Parramatta, Sydney, Wollongong, Blacktown and Manly. The Hills Shire police recorded the least use of force with offensive language flagged on 20 occasions. Intoxicated people and those intoxicated plus refusing directions from police were dealt with forcefully about 4000 times. People labelled intoxicated were dealt with forcefully most often by officers in Byron Bay, at more than 120 events. Sydney City officers dealt forcefully with intoxicated people in more than 100 cases. Inner West police ranked second in Sydney, recording more than 80, followed by North Shore police who logged about 70. Mount Druitt police logged force used against intoxicated people about 15 times. Kings Cross and Sydney City officers saw the most intoxicated people refuse police directions - more than 80 instances each. The Northern Beaches and Surry Hills were the next most obstinate areas for police who dealt forcefully with intoxicated people more than 50 times each.

Unlawful and forceful arrests tended to occur more often in western and south-western Sydney, Eugene Schofield-Georgeson from UTS law school said, based on his research reviewing court cases. "The further west you go, the more violent crimes you get and the more inexperienced police get," Dr Schofield-Georgeson said. "This leads to more use of force against a working-class population that suffer other health issues, which are exacerbated as a result." On an average day, police officers used force 32 times across the state between 2014 and 2018 but on New Year's Day the average was 108 and Australia Day also spiked to an average of 80. Mental-health issues were the second most common category noted by officers who responded to 243,181 mental-health related events between 2014 and 2018, using force about 5 per cent of the time, in 13,394 cases. These events are increasing by 5000 or more a year, the NSW Police Association said.

In 2012, police dealt with 38,534 mental-health incidents; in 2016 officers faced 61,441 cases. "NSW is becoming increasingly reliant on police responses [to mental-health issues] rather than support or treatment in a health setting," an association spokesman said. "NSW spends less per capita on community-based mental health care than any other state or territory." Use of excessive force is one of the most common complaints raised by clients at Redfern Legal Centre's police accountability advice clinic, head of the division, Samantha Lee, said. "Unfortunately, the cases we see suggest that some police are relying on the use of excessive force as routine procedure," Ms Lee said.

Police use of force options from their training manual. Credit:NSW Police "A common story is: police get called to an incident of threatened self-harm and they are asked to detain and convey the person to a mental-health facility," Ms Lee said. "The person at the scene is in a high state of distress and shocked when police turn up on their doorstep. This is a situation that often escalates quickly from verbal instruction to either physical restraint or sometimes the use of a Taser or firearm." A NSW Police spokeswoman said of all the mental-health related events, 0.4 per cent involved the use of Tasers and, three-quarters of the time, Taser use involved officers only drawing but not "actively using" their Tasers. "NSW Police officers are often the first people on the scene when there is a crisis situation involving someone with mental illness, whether it be as a victim or alleged offender," the spokeswoman said. Since February 2014, a mental-health intervention workshop for frontline police has been completed by more than 18,000 officers.