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Policing public gatherings: crunching the numbers

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07 February 2025 / Neil Parpworth
Issue: 8103 / Categories: Features , Local authority , Criminal , Public , Environment
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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

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