Police use of force is an area of significant concern both within and outside the police. In the United Kingdom, deployment of chemical incapacitant sprays is a key initiative in protecting officers and enforcing the law. But the sprays are controversial, and they are part of the debate about what constitutes acceptable use of force. This paper relates the history of the sprays in the British police; examines the implications for appropriate use of force of introducing the sprays; outlines the legitimation strategies at work regarding the sprays; considers the way in which their use relates to questions about authority and responsibility and the link between policy prescriptions and practice. One of the most wide-ranging debates about the use of force and the contribution of specific forms of policing to public disorder relates to the alleged movement towards "paramilitarism" within British policing. Here, the police response to particular public order incidents is portrayed as a manifestation of many more deep-seated changes in the organization, tactics, coordination, and function of forces. This paper argues that police use of force is a social problem about which there is much disagreement. As a social problem, the use of force requires careful deliberation. The paper has forwarded a perspective thinking about interpretations of the use of force and how to talk about the acceptability of force options. Notes, references