A Fair Cop?

The documentary series 'Coppers' provided an interesting insight behind the scenes of the police force, from patrolling the traffic to attempting to keep order on the streets of a hairy Saturday night. The last episode focused on the topical subject of protest crowd control. After the much criticised conduct during the recent student fees protests, it's difficult to watch the program with fresh eyes and to see how the police will come across in a favourable light.

This episode follows the Greater Manchester Police Tactical Aid Unit- or the Riot Squad, to you and me- and their handling of a protest by the EDL (English Defense League) and a counter protest by the UAF (Unite Against Fascism). It's clear from the off what the police attitude to the UAF will be; they're the kind of people that go to Glastonbury. One of the protesters points out he's never been to Glastonbury and prefers a bit of jazz. Another policeman insists that the EDL should have the right to protest and the UAF should recognise this. Surely though this means that the UAF also have a right to counter protest? Yes, that is what it means. Not going well for the police so far.

The majority of the crowd control seems to be bizarrely aimed at the UAF when the EDL in their manner and their language show real aggression. There's a particularly interesting exchange between an officer and a UAF protester, debating lawful violence and justifiable force.

On the day of the protests we are told there were 52 UAF arrests and only 18 EDL. In the end only 6 were prosecuted and questions were raised about police conduct that day.

It comes down to a question of interpretation. With views voiced from all sides: the police, the UAF and the EDL, of course they all defend their own actions. With all these conflicting versions of events and an unclear picture of what happened on the day, history will always be unclear on exactly what happened and whether police actions were justifiable. However, when situations arise like the kettling of students at last weeks protests for several hours in dropping temperatures and mounted police charging the crowd, the majority of which were harmless protesters, an overall calculation of police conduct will inevitably be carried out. In this case, the police haven't done themselves any favours and the issue of crowd control is always going to be a thorny a much debated topic in future protests. This can only be a good thing, hopefully ensuring so-called justifiable force is kept to a minimum.

This final episode shouldn't mar police work in other areas such as emergency response and traffic patrol, which, as has been shown through out this fascinating series, is clearly tough and fraught with risks to the officers' personal safety. It's a serious job but, like any, it's not without comedy as the officers from police custody describe items found up an offender's 'Chatham Pocket' (use your imagination), the best haul being 2 mobile phones and 2 chargers. Try not to dwell on that thought...