A clearer definition of ‘serious disruption’ will stop slow
marching protesters causing hours of delay and distress to the
public from tomorrow (15 June).
This will further clarify existing public order laws to help the
police respond to new highly disruptive protest tactics like slow
marching.
156 of these highly disruptive protests have taken place in
London since April. While the right to peaceful protest remains a
cornerstone of our democracy, causing traffic to halt, delaying
people getting to work and distracting the police from fighting
crime will not be tolerated.
Police officers can now assess the cumulative impact of protests
on the community over a period of time, rather than treating each
incident in isolation. This will give officers the authority to
move quickly and firmly to stop this campaign of disruption,
ensuring Londoners, commuters and tourists can move freely around
the capital without delay.
A handful of protestors have swallowed up almost 13,770 police
shifts, deliberately burdening police time and keeping officers
from our neighbourhoods where they are really needed.
Home Secretary said:
The public are sick of Just Stop Oil’s selfish and self-defeating
actions, which achieve nothing towards their cause.
Chief Constables and I agree that police officers should be out
fighting crime. They shouldn’t be forced to stand by as
protestors block our roads and the public shouldn’t have to take
matters in their own hands.
This new definition of serious disruption means police can stop
slow marchers, to reclaim our right to get to work, hospital and
go about our daily lives.
Chief Constable BJ Harrington, the National Police Chiefs’
Council lead for public order and public safety said:
Our priority is always to keep people safe and in every decision
around policing public order and protests we must balance the
right to freedom of expression with the right to tackle crime so
we can ensure public safety. Policing is not anti-protest, but we
are anti-crime.
We welcome clearer definition of serious disruption provided by
parliament in this statutory instrument as this will help
officers to take proportionate action when it is necessary.
The law has been amended today and will take effect from
tomorrow. It comes following scrutiny and approval by the House
of Commons and Lords, empowering officers to take action swiftly
and spend more time protecting our communities.
The move supports the Public Order Act 2023, which brought in new
criminal offences and proper penalties for disruptive protest
acts such as locking on. Repeat offenders can be hit by the
courts with a Serious Disruption Prevention Order, seeing them
face six months in prison if they try to disrupt lives again.
