The common police baton is essentially a stick about half-three quarters of an arm’s length made of wood, plastic, or metal. The truncheon is intended for non-lethal deployment and self-defense and is often used in situations requiring the control and or dispersal of combative and non-compliant groups. A nightstick is often used to in striking, jabbing and blocking techniques as well as assisting in the application of locks and holds.

Nightsticks are used albeit to a lesser extent by amateurs because they can be easily hidden, yet this is illegal in most countries and US states. Further applications include the breaking of windows and or doors in the rescue of individuals trapped inside burning buildings or cars.

In the 1800s, London police had truncheons which were around one foot long and popularly known as bully clubs. This famed high-impact club has developed into the several models today. The contemporary baton is a straight stick made from wood or a synthetic material, approximately one and one quarter inches in diameter and around one and a half to two and a half feet long. These nightsticks are most often adorned with decals or relief sculptures of their organizations’ emblems and or coats of arms.

Long batons are normally known as ‘riot batons’ due to their deployment in riot control. Straight batons consisting of rubber have a softer impact as some of the impact energy is absorbed by the baton as it bends and compresses upon impact. For this reason, the rubber baton is popular and the Russian police standard-issue nightstick is rubber, except in places such as Siberia which are cold enough to leave the rubber brittle on impact.

Until the mid 1990s, British police carried old fashinoed wooden truncheons which were little different to those wielded in Victorian times but they soon forces replaced such truncheons with new collapsible and or side-handle truncheons for everyday use.

According to most American law-enforcement agencies’ use-of-force policies, a baton should be used when lethal force is uncalled for but greater force than that which can be provided by bare hands is required. A police officer with no nightstick may be forced to choose between either of those two extremes (bare hands or firearms) so the truncheon fills an important middleground.

It is appropriate to use a nightstick if an unarmed suspect attempts to attack an officer with a non’lethal weapon or with great physical force. In such instances, many handbooks advocate the use of non-critical hits with a nightstick.

In recent times, the primary targets for such strikes designed to pacify suspects are nerves endings and large, fleshy muscles like the quads or biceps (these areas are much less likely to seriously or permanently injure a suspect). Unless lethal force is warranted in the absence of firearms, the modern officer must avoid directing nightstick strikes to the head, neck, face, spine, organs, knees, elbows, collarbone, and groin.