Policing of the G20 Protests

HC 418, Eighth Report of Session 2008-09 - Report, Together with Formal Minutes, Oral and Written Evidence

Author:

House of Commons - Home Affairs Committee

Publisher:

TSO (The Stationery Office)

The policing of the G20 protests was a remarkably successful operation; more than 35,000 protesters demonstrated in the centre of London with a police presence of several thousand, yet there was a minimum of disruption. Aside from a few high-profile incidents, the policing of the G20 protests passed without drama.

However, these incidents and the tactics that led to them caused considerable adverse comment and have the potential to damage the public's faith in the police. The use of containment (detaining people in a confined area for a sustained period of time), and distraction tactics (the controlled use of force against those who appear hostile) while legitimate according to the police rule-book, shocked the public. Whether they should continue to be used must form the basis of a wide-ranging discussion on the future policing of public protests.

The Committee's conlclusions and recommendations include:

• Police communications with the media and the protesters must also improve. This would require the police, media and protesters to engage better with one another, both before and during the protest.

• There are no circumstances in which it is acceptable for officers not to wear identification numbers and urgent action must be taken to ensure that officers have the resources to display identification at all times; those officers found to be consciously removing their identification numbers must face the strongest possible disciplinary measures.

• While the vast majority of officers on duty performed very well, the Committee is concerned that untrained and inexperienced officers were placed in such a highly combustible atmosphere.

• The Committee cannot condone the use of untrained, inexperienced officers on the front-line of a public protest and feel that an element of luck must be attributed to the success of the operation.

Extent	115 pages	ISBN	9780215532503
Size	A4	Price	£15.50
Binding	Paperback	Published	29 Jun 2009
Availability	Colour copy: 3 - 5 days	Delivery	Delivery options and charges

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