header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
07 February 2025 / Neil Parpworth
Issue: 8103 / Categories: Features , Local authority , Criminal , Public , Environment
printer mail-detail

Policing public gatherings: crunching the numbers

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
207245
Data is available for the first time on the policing of public processions & assemblies: what does it reveal? Neil Parpworth looks behind the figures
  • In December 2024, data relating to the use of police ‘protest powers’ under ss 12, 14 and 14ZA of the Public Order Act 1986 was published for the first time.
  • 434 public processions and 39 public assemblies had conditions imposed upon them; 277 persons were arrested.
  • ‘Environmental’ was by far the most common theme for a procession subject to at least one s 12 condition.

For more than 20 years, the Home Office has published annual data gleaned from police forces in England and Wales relating to officers’ use of statutory powers of stop and search and arrest. It has provided a useful insight into the exercise of these important and intrusive powers, and has enabled commentators to identify variations and trends in practice across the years.

Until now, there has been no publication of equivalent data

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
NLJ Career Profile: Daniel Burbeary, Michelman Robinson

NLJ Career Profile: Daniel Burbeary, Michelman Robinson

Daniel Burbeary, office managing partner of Michelman Robinson, discusses launching in London, the power of the law, and what the kitchen can teach us about litigating

Wedlake Bell—Rebecca Christie

Wedlake Bell—Rebecca Christie

Firm welcomes partner with specialist expertise in family and art law

Birketts—Álvaro Aznar

Birketts—Álvaro Aznar

Dual-qualified partner joins international private client team

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Driving test fraudsters steer towards jail
Cheating in driving tests is surging—and courts are responding firmly. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort Law School charts a rise in impersonation and tech-assisted fraud, with 2,844 attempts recorded in a year
NLJ this week: Deepfakes demand data law muscle
As AI-generated ‘deepfake’ images proliferate, the law may already have the tools to respond. In NLJ this week, Jon Belcher of Excello Law argues that such images amount to personal data processing under UK GDPR
NLJ this week: 40% penalty for coercive control
In a striking financial remedies ruling, the High Court cut a wife’s award by 40% for coercive and controlling behaviour. Writing in NLJ this week, Chris Bryden and Nicole Wallace of 4 King’s Bench Walk analyse LP v MP [2025] EWFC 473
NLJ this week: Mbappé row spotlights ‘ethics bonuses’
A €60.9m award to Kylian Mbappé has refocused attention on football’s controversial ‘ethics bonus’ clauses. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Estelle Ivanova of Valloni Attorneys at Law examines how such provisions sit within French labour law
NLJ this week: CPR tweak closes third-party disclosure gap
A seemingly dry procedural update may prove potent. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ this week, Stephen Gold explains that new CPR 31.12A—part of the 193rd update—fills a ‘lacuna’ exposed in McLaren Indy v Alpa Racing
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll