Seven Core Principles: Sanctity of Human Life, Force as Last Resort, Duty to De-escalate

Seven Core Principles of the 2022 NJ Use of Force Policy

The December 2022 revision of the New Jersey Attorney General's Use of Force Policy is the single most-tested NJ law-and-policy topic on the NJ LEE. It replaced the prior 2001 policy and brought NJ in line with modern policing standards. The policy is organized around seven core principles that govern every force decision an officer makes. Learn them in order — the LEE often asks which principle is paramount and which principle applies to a given fact pattern.

The Seven Core Principles

1. Sanctity of Human Life — Officers shall preserve and protect human life as their paramount duty and highest value. This principle overrides every other consideration. No property offense, no flight risk, and no tactical advantage justifies a force decision that unnecessarily risks death or serious bodily injury (SBI). The LEE frames this as the "paramount value" — memorize that exact phrase.

2. Force as a Last Resort — Officers shall use force only when no reasonable alternative is available. Before any hands-on action, officers must consider and, where feasible, attempt: tactical communication, creating distance, using cover, slowing the pace, requesting additional resources (supervisor, CIT, EMS, negotiators, K-9), and verbal persuasion. The key word is reasonable — alternatives need not be tried if they would be ineffective or impracticable under the circumstances.

3. Duty to De-escalate — Officers have an affirmative duty to use de-escalation techniques when safe and feasible. NJ uniquely codifies de-escalation as a duty, not a suggestion. Acceptable techniques include active listening, verbal persuasion, tactical repositioning, creating distance, using cover, requesting specialized units, and using time to advantage. De-escalation does not require an officer to retreat from a lawful objective or to tolerate violence aimed at the officer.

4. Proportionality — The level of force used must be proportional to the threat posed, the level of resistance, and the severity of the offense. A minor offense and a compliant subject never justify intermediate or deadly force. Proportionality is ongoing — it must be continuously reassessed as the subject's behavior and the tactical situation change.

5. Duty to Intervene — Officers must intervene to stop another officer from using unreasonable, excessive, or unlawful force. Intervention is mandatory and is reinforced and detailed in AG Directive 2022-14, which establishes the intervention continuum (signal → verbal → physical). Failure to intervene can result in discipline and criminal prosecution.

6. Duty to Render Medical Aid — After any use of force, officers must immediately assess the subject for injuries, request EMS when needed, and provide first aid consistent with their training until medical personnel arrive. This duty attaches the moment force ends and continues regardless of whether the subject complains of injury.

7. Duty to Report — Every use-of-force incident must be documented and reported through the Use of Force Portal (UFP) within 24 hours, and supervisors must conduct a command-level review. Even pointing a firearm at a person is a reportable use of force under the 2022 policy.

How the Principles Interact

These seven principles are not a post-hoc checklist — they operate dynamically throughout the encounter. The officer perceives the subject's behavior, selects the lowest level of force reasonably likely to overcome the resistance, continuously re-evaluates as conditions change, and must stop using force the instant resistance ceases. Continued force after resistance ends is itself excessive force and violates proportionality.

NJ-Specific Language the LEE Tests

The NJ LEE rewards candidates who know NJ's specific wording, not generic use-of-force doctrine. Watch for these distinctions:

• "Paramount value" — NJ calls sanctity of human life the paramount value, not merely a "guiding principle" or "consideration."
• "Affirmative duty" — De-escalation is an affirmative duty in NJ; many other states treat it as a best practice. If a question asks whether de-escalation is required or optional in NJ, the answer is required when safe and feasible.
• "Reasonable alternatives exhausted, ineffective, or impracticable" — The last-resort test does not require an officer to try every softer option before harder force. If a subject presents a knife and verbal commands have failed, the officer is not required to attempt soft empty-hand control first; that would be impracticable and unsafe.

Common LEE Trap Questions

Trap 1: Proportionality as a one-time decision. A question describes an officer who uses a baton, the subject drops to the ground and stops resisting, and the officer strikes again. The trap answer is that the initial baton use was proportional, so the force was lawful. The correct answer is that proportionality is ongoing and force must stop when resistance ends.

Trap 2: Last resort means try everything. A question lists five de-escalation tactics and asks which the officer was required to attempt before using force. The trap is to pick "all five." The correct answer is that the officer must use force only when reasonable alternatives are exhausted, ineffective, or impracticable — not every tactic must be attempted if some are unsafe or futile.

Trap 3: De-escalation requires retreat. A question asks whether the duty to de-escalate means an officer must retreat from a lawful arrest. The answer is no — de-escalation does not require abandoning a lawful objective or tolerating violence directed at the officer.

Why the Seven Principles Matter for Scoring

The LEE's NJ Law & Policy section does not merely ask you to list the principles — it gives you a fact pattern and asks which principle was violated, which principle governs, or what the officer should do next. Knowing the principles in order and their exact NJ wording lets you eliminate distractor answers that describe generic doctrine or that misstate the standard (e.g., "force may be used to gain compliance" rather than "force is a last resort").