Sean O’Neill, Crime Editor
The Chief Inspector of Constabulary has given warning that public confidence in policing will be dangerously eroded unless there is urgent reform of the way officers deal with protests.
Criticising the way that police dealt with the G20 protests, Denis O’Connor said that the national police training manual for public order, published in 2007, was “inadequate for the world police are operating in”.
He said that during the London demonstrations in April police had concentrated on the danger of disorder, rather than realising that their job was to facilitate the “very precious freedom” of peaceful protest.
Some commanders planning for the protest were unaware of the legal situation around the use of “kettling”, or containing protesters, and ill-informed about human rights legislation.
A range of issues crystallised on April 1 when thousands of protesters gathered for a series of demonstrations around the G20 summit: a newspaper vendor, Ian Tomlinson, died as officers tried to clear the streets; communications broke down between between police, protesters and the media; and every aspect of the day was relayed instantly via the media and “citizen journalism”.
Mr O’Connor advocated significant reforms in his report into policing at the G20, Adapting to Protests. “If these recommendations are not adopted, there will be more disruption to our lives, there will be more very problematic incidents, police will be challenged in the courts and the public will be progressively more aware of it,” he said.
“Consent will be withdrawn. It won’t necessarily be a cliff face but another sad erosion of the basis of British policing. We live in an age where public consent of policing cannot be assumed, and policing should be designed to win consent. Future events like the Olympics 2012 make change all the more critical.”
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