BRIEFING PAPER Number 5013, 19 May 2021 By Jennifer Brown Police powers: protest David Mead Contents: 1. Legislation 2. Police tactics 3. 2009: A landmark year for the policing of protests 4. Recent legislative reform 5. Proposals to amend the police powers www.parliament.uk/commons-library | intranet.parliament.uk/commons-library | [email protected] | @commonslibrary 2 Police powers: protest Contents Summary 3 1. Legislation 4 1.1 Human rights 4 1.2 Police powers 5 1.3 Offences 7 1.4 Injunctions and orders 10 2. Police tactics 12 2.1 Planning 12 2.2 During a protest 13 2.3 Review 16 3. 2009: A landmark year for the policing of protests 17 3.1 Events at the G20 summit 17 3.2 Recommendations 21 4. Recent legislative reform 23 4.1 Decriminalising ‘insulting’ language 23 4.2 Amending ‘no suspicion’ stop and search powers in Terrorism Act 2000 24 4.3 Relaxing the rules for protests around Parliament 25 5. Proposals to amend the police powers 26 5.1 Why are the Government proposing to amend the 1986 Act? 27 5.2 What impact might the proposals have? 30 5.3 Recent protests 31 Contributing Authors: David Mead, Proposals to amend the police powers, Section 5 Protest march London 2018 by David Holt. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 / image cropped. 3 Commons Library Briefing, 19 May 2021 Summary Current Law The right to peacefully protest is protected under the European Convention of Human Rights. Articles 10 and 11 of the Convention protect an individual’s right to freedom of expression and assembly. Together they safeguard the right to peaceful protest. However, these rights are not absolute, and the state can implement laws which restrict the right to protest to maintain public order. In the UK several pieces of legislation provide a framework for the policing of protests. The Public Order Act 1986 provides the police with powers to place restrictions on protests and, in some cases, prohibit those which threaten to cause serious disruption to public order. There is also an array of criminal offences which could apply to protestors including aggravated trespass and obstruction of a highway. In addition to the relevant criminal law there are civil remedies that can be used to disrupt protests. Provisions in the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 allow individuals and organisations to apply for civil injunctions to prevent protestors from demonstrating in a way which causes harm or harassment. Reform to police tactics in the early 2010s Following criticism of the police’s approach at the G20 protests in 2009 there was reform of policing tactics at protests. The police were criticised for their use of force and for not facilitating constructive dialogue with the G20 protestors. Partly in response to this criticism, the current police guidance emphasises that officers should start from a presumption of peaceful protests. It advocates for the use force only as a last resort and advises officers to maintain open communication with protestors before, during and after a demonstration. Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill Recent protests have raised some questions about the current framework for policing demonstrations. Some have argued that police powers against protestors should be strengthened. Stronger legislation, it is argued, could enable the police to intervene more robustly against peaceful protests that cause lengthy and serious disruption. In response to these concerns the Government has introduced new legislation to strengthen the police powers. Part 3 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill (the PCSC Bill) would make major changes to the way protests are policed in England and Wales. It would (amongst other things) significantly amend the police powers in the Public Order Act 1986 to impose conditions on protests. The Bill is currently making its way through Parliament. It’s Committee Stage started on 18 May 2021. The Library has provided clause by clause analysis of the whole of Part 3 of the Bill in its briefing for 2nd Reading. 4 Police powers: protest 1. Legislation The right to peacefully protest is a corner stone of a liberal democratic society. In the UK this right is protected under the European Convention of Human Rights. However, the right is not absolute, and restrictions can be imposed on protests in order to maintain public order. The Public Order Act 1986 (as amended) is the main piece of legislation that provides the police with powers to restrict protests. However, there are many more pieces of legislation which contain provisions associated with protest. 1.1 Human rights The right to freedom of expression and assembly are fundamental aspects of a liberal democratic society. These rights ensure that people have the freedom to peacefully protest. Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) provide for these rights. Article 10 of the ECHR provides for the right to “freedom of expression”. It states that individuals have: freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.1 Article 11 provides for the “freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association with others”.2 The UK is a signatory of the ECHR and therefore obliged to ensure that ECHR rights are protected. UK citizens can take cases to the European Court of Human Rights if they think their convention rights have been breached and they have exhausted any potential domestic remedies. The Human Rights Act 1998 gave domestic effect to the ECHR. This means that individuals can bring claims based on breaches of Convention rights before the UK courts. Schedule 1 of the Act sets out the Articles of the Convention. Section 2 of the Act requires UK courts to ‘take account’ of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) when considering a claim concerning Convention rights. However, the UK courts are not bound to follow judgments of the ECtHR. The rights to freedom of expression and assembly guaranteed by Articles 10 and 11 are ‘qualified rights’ rather than ‘absolute rights’. This means that interference with these rights may be justified if the basis for doing so is clearly set out by the law; it is necessary in pursuit of a legitimate aim; and the interference is proportionate to that aim. Legitimate grounds for restricting these rights include national security or public safety; the prevention or crime or disorder; and, the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. Police powers to restrict protests must therefore be exercised in a way that is proportionate to one of these aims in order to be compatible 1 European Convention on Human Rights, Article 10 2 Ibid, Article 11 5 Commons Library Briefing, 19 May 2021 with the ECHR. This includes a positive duty to protect those exercising their right to protest peacefully.3 1.2 Police powers Part II of Public Order Act 1986 provides police with powers to manage protests. The Act classifies two types of protest: a ‘public procession’ and a ‘public assembly’. A ‘public procession’ is a protest march intended to demonstrate support or opposition for a particular view, publicise a campaign or commemorate an event.4 Processions that are “commonly or customarily” held in a certain area are excluded from the definition. A ‘public assembly’ is a gathering of “two or more people that is wholly or partly open to the air” (essentially, gatherings which are outside).5 This briefing will use the term static protest when referring to the concept of ‘public assembly’ as defined in the Public Order Act 1986.6 Police powers associated with protest marches and static protests are similar. However, there are stronger powers to police protest marches. The 1986 Act provides the police with three powers: • It requires individuals to notify the police when they are planning a protest march. • It allows the police to request a protest march is prohibited if they have a serious public order concern. The police have more limited powers to request certain types of static protests are prohibited. • It allows the police to impose conditions on any protests they suspect will cause serious damage to property, serious disruption or will incite unlawful behaviour. Notifications Section 11 of the Public Order Act 1986 requires those organising a protest march to notify the police. The notice must specify the date, time and route of the proposed march and provide the police with the details of those who are organising it. The 1986 Act requires the notice to be given six days prior to the march unless it is “not reasonably practicable”.7 There is no requirement to notify the police of plans to conduct a static protest. It is an offence to organise (not to take part in) a protest march without notifying the police. It is also an offence for the organiser to change the route, date and time of a march once the police have been notified. Those convicted of these offences can be fined.8 3 Ibid 4 s11(1), Public Order Act 1986 5 s16, Public Order Act 1986 [as amended by s57, Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003] 6 The term static protest is used frequently in official guidance documents. The consist use of the term ‘static protest’ is used in this paper to avoid confusion. 7 s11(2) and s11(6), Public Order Act 1986 8 s11(7) and s11(10), Public Order Act 1986 6 Police powers: protest The government has provided some advice on notifying the police of a protest march on their website Protests and marches: letting the police know. Most police forces also provide information on their websites.