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(2018) Police legitimacy and the policing of protest: identifying contextual influences associated with the construction and shaping of protester perceptions of police legitimacy and attitudes to compliance and cooperation beyond the limits of procedural justice and elaborated social identity approaches. Ph.D. thesis, Canterbury Christ Church University. Contact: [email protected] Police legitimacy and the policing of protest: Identifying contextual influences associated with the construction and shaping of protester perceptions of police legitimacy and attitudes to compliance and cooperation beyond the limits of procedural justice and elaborated social identity approaches. by David Lydon Canterbury Christ Church University Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. 2018 1 Abstract Police legitimacy is fundamental to the relationship between the state, citizens and their police, and this is nowhere more challenging than in public order policing contexts. Procedural Justice (PJ) and the Elaborated Social Identity Model (ESIM) have gained dominance in UK policing as the means of establishing greater perceptions of police legitimacy and public compliance and cooperation with the police and the law. Much of the theorising and empirical research in this field has been conducted with regard to police reform, complaint handling, crime reduction and sporting event policing. However, there are limitations to both PJ and the ESIM approaches within public order contexts. PJ and the ESIM assume that violence and disorder stem from a failure of policing to create perceptions of police legitimacy. However, this is problematic for the policing of protest and public order for three interrelated reasons. Firstly, there are occasions when violence occurs despite the police use of PJ and ESIM approaches. Secondly, ignoring or underplaying this detail serves to demoralise the police and undermines their trust in using PJ and the ESIM. Thirdly, an insistence on police use of PJ and ESIM as the exclusively legitimate means of dealing with violence and disorder, ignores different approaches to police legitimacy that are not found within the PJ or ESIM literature. The findings presented in the thesis suggest that PJ and the ESIM do not necessarily work in protest contexts, because protesters’ self-policing, a key claim of the ESIM, does not necessarily equate to compliance with the law and authority. Personal values and moral legitimacy are important aspects of protest contexts that feature less prominently than required within the PJ and ESIM research. The thesis argues that police legitimacy, defined empirically, needs to be understood with regard to the policing context. It is in this respect that the thesis claims an original contribution by identifying and explaining contextually based influences associated with the construction and shaping of protester perceptions of police legitimacy and their attitudes to compliance and cooperation. The thesis uses a mixed method approach to examine the claim of PJ and the ESIM that fair and respectful treatment garners increased perceptions of police legitimacy and creates compliance and cooperation with the law and the police. The empirical research comprises an exploratory quantitative survey (n=40), qualitative interviews (n=79) and non-participant observations at thirteen protest events in London between 2010 and 2015. The findings establish that while the general claims of PJ hold and that social identity forms part of perceived police legitimacy, protesters’ perceptions need to be understood contextually. A contextually driven model of police legitimacy (CDM) developed from empirical data is presented, it suggests that additional influences other than fair and respectful policing play a determining role in constructing and shaping protester perceptions of police legitimacy and their attitudes to compliance and cooperation. The theoretical implications are considered and professional practice recommendations for the policing of protest are presented. Key words: police legitimacy, procedural justice, protest, ESIM, compliance and cooperation. 2 List of figures and tables Figures 0.1 The contextually driven model of police legitimacy 12 5.1 Visual representation of the coding and categorisation process used to 154 construct the CDM 6.1 Phase 1 age range histogram 165 6.2 The CDM of police legitimacy: An explanatory model of factors associated with 174 the construction and shaping of protesters’ perceptions of police legitimacy and attitudes to compliance and cooperation Tables 5.1 Illustrative extract from the coding of interviews and observations 150 6.1 Distribution of self-defined ethnicity 166 6.2 Distribution of scores for previous contact with the police 166 6.3 Summary of tests for association related to protester perceptions of police 168 treatment at events 6.4 Summary of tests for association related to protester levels of compliance and 169 cooperation at events 6.5 Summary of interviews and observations 173 3 Glossary ACPO The Association of Chief Police Officers was a not-for-profit private limited company that led the development of policing practices in the UK. It was established in 1948 as a forum for chief officers to share ideas and coordinate their strategic operational responses. It was replaced in 2015 by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC). Antifa A term originally used to describe the Anti-Faschistische Aktion group (a German anti-fascist organisation), often used as an umbrella term to denote a protest network opposed to fascism. BF Britain First are a far-right British political organisation formed in 2011 by former members of the British National Party. Bitcoin A cryptocurrency and worldwide payment system. It is the first decentralized digital currency without a central bank or single administrator. Black Bloc A Black Bloc is the name given to a protest tactic usually carried out by protesters who wear black clothing. It involves direct action and sometimes the use of violence at protests. The term refers to the activity and is not an identifiable movement or protest group. BNP The British National Party is a far-right political party formed in 1982 by former members of the National Front in the United Kingdom. CIA The community impact assessment is used by the police to identify issues that may affect a community’s confidence in the ability of the police to respond effectively to their needs, thereby enhancing the police response. Climate A protest camp organised by the Campaign against Climate Change. They Camp bring people together to push for action to prevent the destabilisation of global climate. Containment A police tactic for controlling crowds. It involves the formation of cordons (lines) of police officers who then move to contain a crowd within a limited area. It is sometimes referred to as “kettling” outside of the police service. CoP The College of Policing is a professional body for the police in England and Wales. It was established in 2012 to take over a number of training and development roles that were previously the responsibility of the National Policing Improvement Agency. EDL English Defence League is a far-right movement which focuses on opposition to immigration, Islamism and Sharia in the United Kingdom. EG Evidence Gatherer – a uniformed police officer with the remit to record audio- visual evidence during the policing of protest and disorder. Usually deployed in pairs as an EG team. 4 ESIM The Elaborated Social Identity model proposes that conflict in crowds emerges directly from social identity processes and inter-group dynamics, usually between the police and crowd members. FIT Forward Intelligence Team consisting of two or more uniformed police officers who are deployed to gather intelligence during protests. G20 The Group of Twenty is an international forum founded in 1999 for the governments and central bank governors of selected countries. It discusses policy relating to international financial matters. HMIC Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary was the body responsible for assessing and reporting on the performance and effectiveness of the police service in England and Wales until 2017. HMICFRS Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Service. In 2017 HMIC also took over the inspections of England’s fire & rescue services, assessing and reporting on their efficiency, effectiveness and leadership. The name changed from HMIC to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Service (HMICFRS). IPP Imprisonment for Public Protection were sentences created by the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and used from April 2005, they were designed to protect the public from serious offenders whose crimes did not merit a life sentence. They were abolished