The New Dark Age

Although the legislation will undoubtedly change as it moves through Parliament, the direction of travel is clear. The proposed law would expand the existing police powers to more easily shut down protests by placing conditions on them, such as restricting the duration, location or activites.

It means the police “must” take into account past, present and possible future protests which may take place in that location – regardless of whether anyone broke any existing laws, or whether it is even the same people carrying out the protest. If this sounds bad, that’s because it is.

It’s useful to know a little bit about how these powers are currently operating, so we can understand the new proposals in context. The biggest single user of these powers is just one force: the Metropolitan Police. The Met have faced widespread criticism and repeated legal action when they used these powers to try and shut down protests, and in 2019, their use was deemed unlawful.

If we’ve learnt anything from previous parliamentary action, it’s that ultimately the wording of individual amendments matters less than the clear message from government to the police: shut these protests down. The real test of police powers is on the streets.

We have simple advice for anyone who thinks their protest may face this kind of restriction: Don’t see it, don’t say it, sorted.

In order to be found guilty of an offence under sections 12 or 14, it must be proved that you knew, or ought to have known, that the conditions had been imposed and then broke them anyway. Passing on information about conditions is doing the police’s job for them – so don’t.

You can find out more about the new proposals on our blog, and check the Green and Black Cross resources page on Section 12 & 14 to understand what the law says now.