http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/4321000.Sussex_Police_chief_warns_officers_to_behave_at_Brighton_protest/
Sussex Police chief warns officers to behave at Brighton protest
7:30am Monday 27th April 2009
By Ben Parsons, Crime Reporter »
The head of Sussex Police has ordered officers to respect the public in the wake of controversy over the G20 protests in London.
Chief Constable Martin Richards’s comments come as the force prepares for a test of its own public order policing when a planned demonstration takes place on May Day against the EDO MBM Technology arms factory in Brighton.
More than a thousand people are expected to turn up on Bank Holiday Monday and organisers have refused to reveal their plans as police prepare for a repeat of disorder at two protests last year.
Protests in central London earlier this month have led to claims of Metropolitan Police brutality.
Amateur videos and photographs appeared to show unprovoked attacks on demonstrators.
Every officer and member of staff in Sussex Police has now received an email from Mr Richards warning them to behave.
He said: “People’s confidence in policing has been shaken by things they have seen on their TVs and read in their newspapers, most of it relating to the policing of the G20 protests in London.
“It is time, I suggest, for a re-statement of our values, loud and clear.
“They include integrity, fairness, compassion, courage, openness, generosity of spirit - and humility.”
He said officers should see themselves as public servants and reminded them of the force’s watchwords, Serving Sussex.
He said: “In the debate that is gathering about whether the police see themselves as the servants or masters of the people, let there be no doubt where I stand.
“As I have said repeatedly, though in a different context, Serving Sussex is neither a slogan nor a catchphrase – it’s what we do.”
The protest against weapons components factory EDO MBM Technology in Home Farm Road, Moulsecoomb, is planned for midday on May 4.
The location of the “mass street party” is not being released until just before it begins.
Hundreds of demonstrators clashed with police at a Carnival Against The Arms Trade at the Home Farm Road plant in June last year.
A further protest in October was also marred by confrontation. Ten people were arrested and the police estimated the cost of the operation at £50,000.
Smash EDO issued a statement this week in response to an article in The Argus in which police said the cost and the chance of disorder at the May Day event are much greater because they have been unable to negotiate with the organisers.
It said: “In a climate where our civil liberties are being rapidly eroded why should we grant more rights to the police in order for them to control us?“ Ben Duncan, a Green councillor for Brighton and Hove City Council’s Queen’s Park ward who is a member of Sussex Police Authority, said he was encouraged by the comments of Mr Richards.
He said: “I hope whatever happens on May 4 we do not see a repeat of what we saw at the G20. I hope no demonstrator or police officer is made to feel threatened or suffer violence or intimidation.“
7:30am Monday 27th April 2009
By Ben Parsons, Crime Reporter »
The head of Sussex Police has ordered officers to respect the public in the wake of controversy over the G20 protests in London.
Chief Constable Martin Richards’s comments come as the force prepares for a test of its own public order policing when a planned demonstration takes place on May Day against the EDO MBM Technology arms factory in Brighton.
More than a thousand people are expected to turn up on Bank Holiday Monday and organisers have refused to reveal their plans as police prepare for a repeat of disorder at two protests last year.
Protests in central London earlier this month have led to claims of Metropolitan Police brutality.
Amateur videos and photographs appeared to show unprovoked attacks on demonstrators.
Every officer and member of staff in Sussex Police has now received an email from Mr Richards warning them to behave.
He said: “People’s confidence in policing has been shaken by things they have seen on their TVs and read in their newspapers, most of it relating to the policing of the G20 protests in London.
“It is time, I suggest, for a re-statement of our values, loud and clear.
“They include integrity, fairness, compassion, courage, openness, generosity of spirit - and humility.”
He said officers should see themselves as public servants and reminded them of the force’s watchwords, Serving Sussex.
He said: “In the debate that is gathering about whether the police see themselves as the servants or masters of the people, let there be no doubt where I stand.
“As I have said repeatedly, though in a different context, Serving Sussex is neither a slogan nor a catchphrase – it’s what we do.”
The protest against weapons components factory EDO MBM Technology in Home Farm Road, Moulsecoomb, is planned for midday on May 4.
The location of the “mass street party” is not being released until just before it begins.
Hundreds of demonstrators clashed with police at a Carnival Against The Arms Trade at the Home Farm Road plant in June last year.
A further protest in October was also marred by confrontation. Ten people were arrested and the police estimated the cost of the operation at £50,000.
Smash EDO issued a statement this week in response to an article in The Argus in which police said the cost and the chance of disorder at the May Day event are much greater because they have been unable to negotiate with the organisers.
It said: “In a climate where our civil liberties are being rapidly eroded why should we grant more rights to the police in order for them to control us?“ Ben Duncan, a Green councillor for Brighton and Hove City Council’s Queen’s Park ward who is a member of Sussex Police Authority, said he was encouraged by the comments of Mr Richards.
He said: “I hope whatever happens on May 4 we do not see a repeat of what we saw at the G20. I hope no demonstrator or police officer is made to feel threatened or suffer violence or intimidation.“
Comments
Hide the following 5 comments
Ha!
27.04.2009 08:49
"Human Machine, Portslade says...
8:24am Mon 27 Apr 09
A friend of mine is a police officer and last time there was an EDO protest this person was off duty due to an injury. They were bitterly disappointed, they told me, as they couldn't wait toget "stuck in". Worrying."
The rest of the armchair bigots' violent incitement reads like a bad psyop.
Beat Nick
every single one of the 9 comments on the link are anti protester.
27.04.2009 10:01
comment people
complain an' all
27.04.2009 12:17
somebody's mum
This outrageous press release cost the taxpayer
27.04.2009 14:37
From the reporting of June and October last year it appears that offences committed were done so due to the presence of the Police. It is all very well for a private property owner to make claim of "trespasslike offences" but it is an entirely different thing for the Police to do so. Where the Police do arrest for such offences they are not acting in a public interest but in favour of private interests. How does that "serve the public"?
Since the June and October events were specifically "Smash EDO" then it is entirely wrong for the Police to presume that people with other interests, choosing to visit Brighton, will act in the same way. Even people present at those events must be presumed to act differently. That the Police will be "acting differently" is exactly what the Police are asking the Public to accept. The Police seem unwilling to accept that the Publice will always "act differently" to stereotypes endlessly presented in press releases. In short, they seem to want and relish the opportunity for heroic confrontation with the forces of darkness. How does that "serve the public"?
The Police are releasing financial estimates of the economic impact of the protest through press releases. Yet, when Freedom Of Information requests for exactly the same kind of information are made, the responses range from "not held" to "too expensive to collate". There is either an unwillingness to tell the Public the truth or a willingness to overspend in order to create press releases. Just how much taxpayers money the latest media management exercise cost can only be guessed at. The transparency is not there. How does that "serve the public"?
Like most normal people, Anarchists, Climate Activists, Anti-Capitalists and a whole range of other interest groups like to visit places. There is nothing sinister in that. There is not a huge secret cabal plotting in caves marked "agitator". Policing is a duty, not a whim. If duty calls for large amounts of Police officers to be available, then that is for the Pubic to decide as masters not the Police to presume as Servants. Give the repeated unsubstantiated claim that nobody has informed the Police, the world at large can only presume some hidden intelligence is being witheld. How does that "serve the public"?
Assuming nobody has contacted the Police then it might be reasonable to suppose the Public assume there will be no need to Police Brighton any differently. The Police, repeatedly, intimate differently. Unless there is clear and compelling evidence that the Police are witholding, this situation is self evidently self serving media manipulation. Unless the evidence is taken to the appropriate authorities then it serves as nothing but rumour. How does that "serve the public"?
The Department of Public Prosecutions might prepare an appropriate Prosecution. A Judge might apply Judicial Review and determine a course of action. Given the claimed gravity of the situation, Parliament might be able to decide what is to be done. The Police are not and never have been the determining authority for public policy on Policing. The outrageous presumption that dripping out press releases prior to Public events that seriously undermine their Employers is unacceptable. If the Police hold evidence, they should take it to the appropriate authority or keep to their duty of care and remain silent in order to avoid perverting the course of justice. How does that "serve the public"?
Uriah Heep
Good point
27.04.2009 21:57
Stroppyoldgit