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Police ordered to review use of ‘kettling’ after G20 clashes
Martin Bentham, Home Affairs Editor7 Jul 2009
The Met was today told to overhaul the “kettling” tactic used in the G20 protests in a report by the Government's police watchdog.
Chief Inspector of Constabulary Denis O'Connor said the Met should abandon the blanket containment policy used during the demonstrations and instead adopt a more flexible and less confrontational approach.
He also called for better communication between police and protesters to help defuse tension and misunderstanding during demonstrations and suggested that those who were not posing a threat should be allowed to move more freely instead of being corralled behind police lines for hours.
Mr O'Connor's conclusions come in a 100-page report on the future of public order policing that was commissioned in the wake of controversy over the G20 protests in April.
The report said: “We are in an age where consent cannot be assumed and policing, including public order policing, should be designed to win the consent of the public.
“Public authorities, including the police, are required to show a certain degree of tolerance towards peaceful gatherings where demonstrators do not engage in acts of violence.
“Training in both tactics and the use of force needs to be adjusted to meet the challenges of 21st-century protest.”
The Met's actions during the protests — during which news vendor Ian Tomlinson died after clashing with police — prompted widespread public concern.
Five incidents, including the death of Mr Tomlinson, are being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which has received a record 277 complaints about policing on the day.
In his report, Mr O'Connor suggests the Met's use of “kettling”, a policy officially known as “containment”, contributed to the problems because the force failed to distinguish between those who wanted to make a legitimate protest and a hardcore minority of troublemakers intent on violence.
He suggests the Met was too focused on the risk of disorder and not enough on the needs of orderly demonstrators.
He proposes a more sophisticated approach in which containment is used only against those protesters who present a clearly established threat to public safety. This would require better communication to allow protesters to easily contact senior officers during events and to ensure that demonstrators wanting to leave can depart.
He did not recommend the total abandonment of containment because of the risk that it could lead to disorder spreading through the streets and put the public in danger.
Mr O'Connor also said that it was unacceptable that some officers had not been wearing their identification numbers.
Reader views (15)
The Police should have their names printed on their uniforms not identification numbers. They are human beings not machines.
- Cliff Steele, Melbourne australia, 07/07/2009 22:41
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I agree with Denis O'Connors comments. However when faced with large crowds, crap communications and adreniline, it is unfortunate that some more ill-disciplined officers will react in ways that undermine the good work that 99 percent of police officers do for the public.
- Gary, Leicester, 07/07/2009 22:10
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Who are the victims here? Why do the police - and their apologists - always seek to portray themselves as helpless victims?
- Chuck Unsworth, London, 07/07/2009 21:30
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This country is going down the drain with the stains on society being allowed to get away with anything as the police have their hands tied by political correctness / human rights and the management (home office) being too bothered about figures! etc etc.
Get rid of the Police Service and bring back the Police FORCE!
- Jh, London, 07/07/2009 17:16
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It seems to me that the Home Office, with the conscent of the Home Secretary have created a Police Force full of thugs. A police officer that thinks he is above the law inevitably becomes an out of control brute.
- Joe Jones, Leicester UK, 07/07/2009 15:57
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@Gary
Where did I say that people weren't allowed to protest?
I'm certainly not defending the heavy-handed actions of some officers and I quite understand that they are meant to be the servants of the public.
However, I guarantee you that if the police were less hands-on and thus there were injuries to protestors/public or mass vandalism by the bad eggs in the crowd the police would still get it in the neck for supposedly not having done their job properly.
Therefore, they are damned if they do and damned if they don't.
- Steve, London, 07/07/2009 15:52
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I notice there is not a mention of ordinary people going about their business, who actually have the right to be in these area's at the time, and that one of them was assaulted by a so called Police Officer, I just feel sorry for those officers trying to do their everyday duty, and being labelled by these shaven headed thugs, who look like police. I's a bit like the Nazi's of the thirties, interesting that when the East Germans, and Russians, had the Stasi and KGB, nkvd etc. etc. it was a bad thing, now we have the self same it's ok. And you idiots who stick up for them, will probably be the first to be locked into the usual Football Stadium.
- Baz Bazzan, London UK, 07/07/2009 15:08
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The policing in this country, thanks to Civil Liberty and Political Correctness, has become wishy-washy. Our town centres on Friday and Saturday nights are ruled by drunken yobs and teenage thugs. The way they snigger at the law and protest that "You can't touch me".
Lets stop this rot and give the police the power they need to stop the country going to the dogs and lets not cloud the issue with the behavior of a handful of rotten apples from both sides.
- Anybodyoutthere, London, 07/07/2009 15:00
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The police are damned if they do and damned if they don't.
Steve, London
No Steve the police went in with the wrong plan, they prejudged the events and decided before they arrived what they were going to do, which is 100% wrong. The police are just public servants not a self elected dictatorship. Protests are not illegal in this country though you could be fooled for thinking otherwise given the manner in which the police have handled events for the past few years.
I like others would have protested if I was not aware of what the police are really like. Protestors are to be admired not vilify. Look through history and all significant changes in public policy started with a protest. Shame on labour hiding behind the police
- Gary, Brentwood, 07/07/2009 13:25
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The police are damned if they do and damned if they don't.
We all know that at the next big demonstration, if the police are forced to go in with softly softly tactics, they will still take the blame when there's mass vandalism, injuries and deaths from crowd surges and general disorder.
All the self-righteous mob will be up on their high horses asking where the police were and why they weren't controlling the crowds effectively.
- Steve, London, 07/07/2009 12:26
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kets be honest the Police are in ano-win situation here.
If they respect the right to protect and there is trouble they will be slated.
If they Police the event hard, like the G20, based on intelligence gain they will and have been slated.
- Stuart, Dunstable, Uk, 07/07/2009 12:22
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"the force failed to distinguish between those who wanted to make a legitimate protest and a hardcore minority of troublemakers intent on violence." Why should they have to. The damage caused at the first May Day demo was sufficient evidence for the police to take the view that if you go to these demos you should be regarded as intent on committing damage and violence.
- Bj, London, 07/07/2009 11:49
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What's so bad about inconveniencing the demonstrators by kettling? They themselves are VERY happy to inconvenience the rest of us by their actions.
- Ethan, UK, 07/07/2009 11:41
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If we don't have the policing resources to cope with these demonstrations, Why are they allowed to go ahead?????????????
- Jonny, London, 07/07/2009 11:20
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Officers not wearing there identification numbers while policing football matches seems to be common practice with the Met !
- Paxton, N17, 07/07/2009 10:41
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