In political philosophy, a monopoly on violence or monopoly on the legal use of force is the property of a polity that is the only entity in its jurisdiction to legitimately use force, and thus the supreme authority of that area.
A Guatemalan Policía Nacional Civil officer holding a suspect at gunpoint during a security checkpoint exercise. Due to the monopoly on violence held by the state, the police officer is allowed to use violence legally, while the suspect is not.
Anarchist placard, 12 December 2020
The use of force, in the context of law enforcement, may be defined as the "amount of effort required by police to compel compliance by an unwilling subject".
A St. Paul police SRT indexing a firearm in a gun holster
A baton used by riot police
Japan Coast Guard officer firing handgun