Wednesday, 10 April 2024 — NETPOL
Serious Disruption Prevention Orders are here. The controversial measure, introduced in the Public Order Act 2023, came into effect on the 5 April and campaigners are already warning of the “chilling effect” they will have on the right to protest.
Serious Disruption Prevention Orders (SDPOs) are essentially anti-protest banning orders. Part of the Conservatives on-going war against “disruptive” protests, SDPOs are aimed at identifying and targetting people the police think are planning to take part in direct action and civil disobedience.
SDPOs can be used to prevent an individual from associating with particular people or groups (including contacting them online), going to certain areas, attending protests, or encouraging others to protest.
For the prominent organisers who are targeted by these orders restrictions could include being banned from contacting friends in your anti-racist or environmental group, banned from attending meetings or protests, and police demanding access to your social media and messaging accounts to check you aren’t breaking the order.
You can find out everything you need to know about SDPOs in the explainer on our website.
Although the Home Office and police claim the number of people they want to target with SDPOs is small, the surveillance operation required to make SDPOs work in practice is huge. Police will need to track an individual’s movements, contacts, and gauge their influence in protest movements – effectively placing everyone in the group under surveillance.
It is likely the police are already seeking to gather this intelligence now, in preparation for future applications for SDPOs. That’s why Netpol are working on a new set of anti-surveillance resources for groups and individuals. It’s vital that we take action to keep ourselves and our friends safer as we stand against repressive policing.
You can see Netpol’s existing guide to police surveillance on our website, and stay tuned for a new set of resources dropping soon!
The New Dark Age 
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