Summary
The Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) has reported on the policing of recent protests in central London including the preparations put in place for the large-scale 'March for the Alternative' which occurred on 26 March 2011.
'Facilitating Peaceful Protest’ (HL Paper 123 / HC 684) encouraged cooperation between the police and organisers prior to the Trades Union Congress (TUC) march, and the planned involvement of human rights observers in the control room on the day of the march itself.
The policing of protest engages several human rights, including freedom of expression and assembly, the right to life, the prohibition against inhuman or degrading treatment, and rights to liberty and privacy.
It also welcomes police initiatives to communicate better with protestors by using leaflets and Twitter.
Concerns remain about kettling and the use of batons, including:
- a lack of clarity about the circumstances in which the police can resort to containment or 'kettling', and the apparent lack of opportunity for non-violent protesters to leave; and
- the lack of specific guidance setting out the circumstances in which the use of the baton against the head might be justifiable.
To meet the human rights requirement that the use of force should be proportionate, operational guidance to frontline officers needs to address this issue specifically and directly.
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