What is the goal of physical confrontation?

• A. Custody and Control
• B. Deterrence
• C. Survival
• D. Compliance

Answer: (A)

The goal of physical confrontation is to gain custody and control of the subject while keeping everyone safe. This means using the minimum amount of force necessary to temporarily restrain the person, prevent harm, and transition to handcuffing or detainment so that the situation can be brought under control and the incident can move toward resolution.

Deterrence looks to prevent actions through the threat of consequence, which isn’t the immediate outcome of a physical restraint. Survival is about personal safety in the moment, important for decision-making, but it isn’t the formal objective of the confrontation itself. Compliance refers to voluntary cooperation, which isn’t guaranteed in a confrontation and is not the defined aim when force is used to gain control.

So, custody and control best captures what the confrontation seeks to achieve: safely securing the individual and moving the incident toward resolution.