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Making Contact with the Police
Whenever it is anticipated there may be police interest in a proposed action, as part of your preparations it will be worth weighing the benefits and costs of speaking to the police well in advance. Sometimes it will be a legal obligation to do so (see Giving Advance Notice of a March). Making contact with the police in advance of a protest is likely to promote co-operation between protestors and the police.
On the other hand, contacting the police might mean that they use your information to trigger the use of their powers to restrict a protest or, exceptionally, to ban it altogether. It is worth remembering that communications to police - especially those in writing - could be used in court if the police wanted to show that a particular person was an organiser of an illegal demonstration.
In practice, many police forces like to know that someone who is organising a demonstration has anticipated the likely numbers and thought about the route, stewarding and safety. They also like to know that there will be someone at the protest whom they can talk sensibly to in an emergency. In a protest that continues over days or weeks, maintaining clear channels of communication with a senior officer, even if you consider police tactics to be unhelpful, can have positive benefits for protesters.
Meeting the Police in Advance
When you tell the police you are holding a demonstration they will often ask you to a meeting with them. There is no requirement that you attend, but it is quite sensible that you do. You will have to prepare for the meeting quite carefully, with details of arrangements for stewarding and crowd control, first aid and access by emergency vehicles, maps and plans, a detailed timetable and an estimate of numbers..
For the police, this meeting can be an information-gathering exercise. The Metropolitan Police, for instance, have an official-looking form, which asks you for the information you must give in advance by law, but also a lot of other information - names of speakers, for example. It is important to be aware of the information you must provide and to decide in advance how much you wish to say to the police beyond that. If in doubt at the meeting on how to respond, you can always say that you want to consult your committee or co-organisers. You don't have to agree to everything the police propose. You can tell the police directly that you do not agree to a certain condition, or that you will consider whether to or not.
If the demonstration is likely to be big in size or impact, especially if it is in the centre of a major city, there may be a large number of police present at this meeting - traffic police, public order police, local area police and note-takers, and so on. It is always worth taking another person with you (or maybe one or two more) - a fellow committee member, a friend or even a friendly solicitor. It is best to agree in advance on how you will handle this, so that everyone is clear who is there to speak to police, to make decisions or to take notes. Since police forces probably differ quite a lot, it may be worth talking to other groups who have organised demonstrations in your area before going to a meeting with the police.
Who to Put Forward
Choose as your own representative(s) for such a meeting the person on your team who is likely, for whatever reason, to get the most constructive and sympathetic response from the police side. This person need not be a 'spokesperson' in a formal sense, or have any position of responsibility for your organisation or even for the direction of the protest itself. Indeed it is often better that the person's only role is to facilitate communication between the parties rather than to be a decision-maker in her/his own right. This ensures the person has a good reason to report back to others to consider police proposals, and it may lessen the personal pressure that can be brought to bear on the negotiator by police.
On the other hand, contacting the police might mean that they use your information to trigger the use of their powers to restrict a protest or, exceptionally, to ban it altogether. It is worth remembering that communications to police - especially those in writing - could be used in court if the police wanted to show that a particular person was an organiser of an illegal demonstration.
In practice, many police forces like to know that someone who is organising a demonstration has anticipated the likely numbers and thought about the route, stewarding and safety. They also like to know that there will be someone at the protest whom they can talk sensibly to in an emergency. In a protest that continues over days or weeks, maintaining clear channels of communication with a senior officer, even if you consider police tactics to be unhelpful, can have positive benefits for protesters.
Meeting the Police in Advance
When you tell the police you are holding a demonstration they will often ask you to a meeting with them. There is no requirement that you attend, but it is quite sensible that you do. You will have to prepare for the meeting quite carefully, with details of arrangements for stewarding and crowd control, first aid and access by emergency vehicles, maps and plans, a detailed timetable and an estimate of numbers..
For the police, this meeting can be an information-gathering exercise. The Metropolitan Police, for instance, have an official-looking form, which asks you for the information you must give in advance by law, but also a lot of other information - names of speakers, for example. It is important to be aware of the information you must provide and to decide in advance how much you wish to say to the police beyond that. If in doubt at the meeting on how to respond, you can always say that you want to consult your committee or co-organisers. You don't have to agree to everything the police propose. You can tell the police directly that you do not agree to a certain condition, or that you will consider whether to or not.
If the demonstration is likely to be big in size or impact, especially if it is in the centre of a major city, there may be a large number of police present at this meeting - traffic police, public order police, local area police and note-takers, and so on. It is always worth taking another person with you (or maybe one or two more) - a fellow committee member, a friend or even a friendly solicitor. It is best to agree in advance on how you will handle this, so that everyone is clear who is there to speak to police, to make decisions or to take notes. Since police forces probably differ quite a lot, it may be worth talking to other groups who have organised demonstrations in your area before going to a meeting with the police.
Who to Put Forward
Choose as your own representative(s) for such a meeting the person on your team who is likely, for whatever reason, to get the most constructive and sympathetic response from the police side. This person need not be a 'spokesperson' in a formal sense, or have any position of responsibility for your organisation or even for the direction of the protest itself. Indeed it is often better that the person's only role is to facilitate communication between the parties rather than to be a decision-maker in her/his own right. This ensures the person has a good reason to report back to others to consider police proposals, and it may lessen the personal pressure that can be brought to bear on the negotiator by police.
