Source: Network for Police Monitoring (Netpol)
The policing of pro-Palestine protests in the wake of October 7
has been driven by an ‘increasingly co-ordinated campaign' of
pressure from the government, media and opponents of Palestine
solidarity movements, according to the new report ‘In Our
Millions' by the police monitoring network Netpol.
The resulting policing, driven by a political furore and pressure
to ‘crack down', was confused and inconsistent, with protests
increasingly subject to ‘disproportionate' restrictions.
Netpol's report draws together eyewitness accounts, arrest
figures and testimony from legal observers to paint a picture of
a police response characterised by racial profiling and
Islamophobia, as well as unusually high levels of surveillance
and harassment. Numerous accounts included in the report note
racist police targeting young Black and brown people,
particularly when using powers to disperse protesters from public
spaces or demand that face coverings be removed.
In other incidents detailed in the report, protesters were
targeted for arrest or harassment by police based on their use of
Arabic writing or the wearing of keffiyehs. In one incident, a
woman carrying a sign written in Arabic was arrested on suspicion
of a racially aggravated public order offence despite giving the
police a translation of her sign, because the police didn't have
a translator available to verify it.
Eyewitness accounts also show children as young as 10 being
subject to police violence, and in some cases, police appearing
to target children deliberately. Meanwhile, there are accounts of
police violence against older people, with a 71-year-old legal
observer knocked unconscious by the police on one occasion, and
on another a 79-year-old woman having her hip fractured by the
police.
The report shows that calls for new and tougher police powers are
not supported by evidence, and new public order powers have not
been widely used. Analysis of the Metropolitan Police's arrest
data shows that between 14 October 2023 and 31 March 2024, there
were 305 arrests under ‘Operation Brocks', of which almost half
(44%) immediately resulted in no further action. Of the total
arrests, only 45 were for racially or religiously aggravated
offences, with only 11 resulting in an immediate charge; 15
arrests were made for terrorism offences.
The data also reveals that despite plans by the government in its
Criminal Justice Bill for new powers to tackle mask-wearing at
protests, the Met's own data states that only 8 people have been
arrested for allegedly refusing to remove a face mask, and only
two of these were charged.
Kevin Blowe, Campaigns Coordinator at the Network for Police
Monitoring (Netpol), said:
“In recent months, people of all ages and from all walks of life
have come together in marches, demonstrations and vigils to
express their sorrow, anger and horror at the devastating images
we're seeing come out of Gaza.
“But instead of seeing these protests as an expression of our
fundamental rights to make our voices heard in a democratic
society, the government has treated those involved as a nuisance
to crack down on, and piled pressure on the police to respond
increasingly violently.
“The result, detailed in this report, has been confused and
inconsistent policing relying heavily on racial profiling and
Islamophobia. We've seen children as young as ten targeted, and
people in their seventies injured by the police.
“It's clear that ramping up police powers and threatening more
people with arrest won't stop these protests. Instead, we need to
see government engaging with the public's real concerns about
genocide and violations of international law.”
Professor Gargi , author of the ‘In Our
Millions' report, said:
“The picture painted by this report, and the many testimonies
included within it, is stark: an escalation in aggressive
policing in the face of mass participation in protests, with
young Black and brown people at the sharpest end of police
violence and harassment.
“We have also seen an alarming weaponisation of anti-racism
legislation around hate crime, new police interventions on
freedom of expression, and incredibly intrusive forms of
surveillance of people involved in protests.
“But in response to this ramping up of policing, the public have
developed a greater understanding of police aggression and how to
resist it, intervening in a variety of ways to prevent arrests
and protect children and young people from police.
“With the government's only response to widespread outrage and
dissent being to hand ever more powers to the police to clamp
down on protest, it is increasingly vital for the public to know
how to continue to make our voices heard, how to use our
collective power, and how to protect one another as we call for a
better world.”
ENDS
For more information contact Georgia on georgiaelander@gmail.com or
07503318543
Notes
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The full report ‘In Our Millions' can be read here from 30 May
