UK: Police handling of protests needs national overhaul, says review

By Gideon Swift | Published: July 7, 2009

There should be a national overhaul of the policing of protests that reasserts the state’s obligation to allow lawful demonstrations, a scathing report into how the Metropolitan police handled the G20 protests recommended today.

Advocating major reforms in the way such marches are handled, Denis O’Connor, the chief inspector of constabulary, said national tactics for policing protest were "inadequate" and belonged to a "different era".

"What the review [of policing protest] identifies is that the world is changing and the police need to think about changing their approach to protest," O’Connor said.

The impact of "kettles", or containment policies that trap thousands of people inside police cordons for several hours, should be "moderated" by providing officers on the ground greater discretion to allow peaceful protesters and bystanders more freedom of movement.

Commanders appeared not to properly understand basic human rights laws or the legal requirements surrounding the use of kettling, the report said. However, O’Connor said this was the case for only some senior officers, and refused to identify those at fault.

The 60-page report, Adapting to Protest, was commissioned after condemnation of the Metropolitan police’s handling of the London demonstrations in April, which ended in the death of the newspaper vendor Ian Tomlinson.