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Abuse of police powers in Derby

L | 17.03.2005 18:09 | G8 2005 | Repression

Police in Derby this afternoon made around a dozen arrests during a critical mass bike ride in the city center. The arrests were made using section 14 of the public order act which is supposed to be used in relation to public assembles and allows police to limit numbers and restrict the location and duration of an assemble. Further more, offences under sections 14 are minor offences only punishable by a fine and not an “arrestable offence” under Section 24 of PACE. The police are increasingly abusing their powers in relation to section 12 and 14 of the public order act and charges are frequently dropped and many people have successfully sued the police for compensation in relation to unlawful detention.

Useful information about your rights, abuse of the law by police and the possiblity of sueing the police can be found on  http://www.freebeagles.org/articles.html


From the BBC...
Protestors arrested at G8 summit

Twelve environmental protestors have been arrested for public order offences on the first day of a G8 summit meeting in Derbyshire.

About 100 demonstrators gathered in Derby city centre to raise awareness of Africa's need for water.

Calle Lister from Friends of the Earth said police overreacted to what was intended as a peaceful protest.

Government ministers from around the world are meeting for an environment summit at nearby Breadsall Priory.

'Water not oil'

Dozens of protestors staged a "go-slow" bike ride through the city streets and some were arrested for ignoring orders against public protests.

A meeting later in the city's Market Square passed off peacefully.

Campaigners sent an oil barrel containing hundreds of water bottles to the G8 summit to raise awareness of drought conditions in some parts of Africa.

"People in Africa need clean water, not oil," Ms Lister said.

Derbyshire Police said the summit is the biggest operation the force has had to deal with since the miners' strike.

The force successfully requested powers from the Home Office to ensure protestors have to meet at an agreed central meeting place.

L

Comments

Hide the following 8 comments

S14

17.03.2005 20:20

>>The police are increasingly abusing their powers in relation to section 12 and 14 of the public order act and charges are frequently dropped and many people have successfully sued the police for compensation in relation to unlawful detention.


when the police are sued has it been possible to show that the order to harrass people through "abusing their powers in relation to section 12 and 14" has come from a senior police source? because this is what is happening.

- -


S14 & S12

17.03.2005 23:01

If they were on a bike ride when arrested then that comes under S12 as it is a procession. S14 is for static assemblies. This fact, which police often confuse is something quite a number of protestors have managed to get off on.

Even though S14 is not an arrestable offence, you can still be arrested in the process of committing the act. What they cannot do is arrest you is afterwards - they can only issue with a summons, or arrest you under S25 if they dont think you have given your right name. All this is laid out in the freebeagles booklet - see above link.

There are also conditions on who can issue the S14 notice, but I dont have these to hand.

For those arrested, strongly recommend that people use the solicitor Kevin Tomlinston of KieranClarke & Co who are based down the road in Chesterfield as he is very experienced in dealing with public order issues and protests.

Ciao

Freedom To Protest
mail e-mail: freedomtoprotest@doond.com


protest

18.03.2005 10:03

>>police often confuse...

you seem to suggest that there is nothing orchestrated about police harrassment of protesters or that abuse of the law is down to individual officers on the ground when it looks very much like orders have been given from top level police and / or government. there is also a long history of low rank law enforcement officers being encouraged to abuse the law by high level officers or politicians who agree to turn a blind eye. they are, they think, unaccountable. there's some justification for them to think this way as we all know. there is then also the question of whether these anti demonstration/ anti protest laws, even if they were enforced without prejudice, are good laws anyway.

- -


extremely aggressive policing

18.03.2005 10:26

i was there yesterday and witnessed first hand the extremely aggressive tactics. the police (including the merseyside 'robocops') were lining up at each junction and attempting to pull people off their bikes unless they proceeded to the designated protest area immediately. they soon realised this wasn't working so they started nicking people one at a time. when the critical mass still continued they ambushed us from a side road knocking one woman off her bike onto the road and making mass arests of anyone who stopped to protest. the message was clear - we decide where, when, and how you can protest, so it's as ineffective as possible. dissent will be brutally stamped out.

lenton cyclist


effect

18.03.2005 10:32

>>we decide where, when, and how you can protest, so it's as ineffective as possible. dissent will be brutally stamped out.

i think not. hadn't you noticed, the government is on its knees.

- -


justifying the operation

18.03.2005 11:48

I suspect they were looking for arrests so the whole operation which apparently cost over £2 million didn't look quite so ridiculous when reported on BBC / ITV.

lenton cyclist 2


ridiculous

18.03.2005 12:36

>>I suspect they were looking for arrests so the whole operation which apparently cost over £2 million didn't look quite so ridiculous when reported on BBC / ITV.

yes, and to send out a message to anyone considering anticapitalist but democratic protest that the right wing heavies are in charge and it's going to stay that way. this kind of policing, which is neither just nor necessary, is a political act. the police are trying to save the labour / tory grip on government. whether they decided to do this on their own or were told to do so by the government is the only question of interest. the 2 party monopoly is on its way out regardless.

- -


Exactly!

18.03.2005 15:22

The arrests of the critical mass cyclists happened away from the tv cameras and the large nukmber of journalists who were later in the main square for the midday demonstration.

A police spokesperson reported to the local paper (the Evening Telegraph) that "there had been about 12 arrests across derby for various public order offences".

This was nothing to do with avoiding disruption to the local community - if anything the biggest disruption was the closing of the two schools after warnings from the police and the closure of several local roads outside of Derby city near to where the ministers were meeting.

The other disruption was felt by journalists, several of whom reported taking up to two hours to get through the many roadblock checkpoints near to the Priory Hotel where the ministerial meeting was taking place. The guardian article about the protests published today also said some of the delegates experienced inconvenience due to the massive security operation.

The police said this was their largest operation in the area since the miners strikes - that was political policing too.

policing cynic journo


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