Policing Large Scale Disorder: Lessons from the disturbances of ...

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Home Affairs Committee: Evidence Ev w43 Human Rights (ECHR) with the help of British lawyers. The HRA incorporates the ECHR into UK law and allows British judges to adjudicate its values rather than requiring British citizens and residents to take human rights challenges straight to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. When, on the basis of myth and popular misunderstanding, the Prime Minister so casually denigrates the Act and its values he does a grave disservice to the sacrifice of earlier generations. The Prime Minister’s comments were in stark contrast to those of ACPO President, Sir Hugh Orde, who robustly defended the role of human rights in public order policing, writing in the days that followed the rioting that: Equally, to suggest human rights get in the way of effective policing is simply wrong. The proportionate use of force up to and including lethal force is both lawful and human rights compliant. 60 Police Accountability In the wake of the riots, members of the Government have spoken often about plans for directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners—one of the Prime Minister’s flagship policies—as part of the solution to the disorder. The proposal contained in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill, has already been subject to scrutiny by the Home Affairs Select Committee and recently subject to a significant revolt in the House of Lords. In his piece in the Daily Express in response to the riots the Prime Minister wrote: We need a stronger presence on the streets, deterring crime and catching criminals instead of filling in forms or wasting time on phony targets. That is what people want. That is why elected Police and Crime Commissioners is a powerful idea; they will make policing more responsive to what the people in your neighbourhood need, to keep you safe. 61 Liberty believes that the Government would do well to re-examine this revolutionary reform. 62 As several MPs pointed out in the emergency debate on the riots on the 11 August, plans for directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners come at an increased cost to the public purse and risk worsening police credibility and community relations. The policy is largely an import from the USA where political “sheriffs” have overseen endemic corruption and damaged race relations. As tensions have simmered in our towns and cities, and as politicians have sought to explain the events, the political independence of the police has meant that expertise, and not partisanship, has led the response. At times of strife and civil disorder it is more important than ever that the police act and are seen to act, as independent professionals, applying the law in a firm but even handed way. If the British model of policing is reformed in the way proposed, the operational independence of the police would be badly undermined. Independent police leadership during times of unrest would not be guaranteed in similar circumstances in the future. September 2011 Written evidence submitted by Birmingham City Council The majority of the terms of reference of the Home Affairs Committee inquiry are police specific. A few are particularly relevant to Council services, due to their broader nature. These are highlighted in bold in the table below and then considered in turn in this response. 1 Police relations with the communities where violence took place before the riots, including similarities with and differences from previous public disorder events: 2 The role of social media in spreading disorder and in the response to it; 3 The role of organised groups in promoting disorder; 4 The role of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), and Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO)/National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) public order guidance; 5 The techniques used by the police to quell the rioting, including: a) Decisions taken over the deployment of police officers (availability of officers, response times), b) The use of standard techniques: containment, dispersal, specialist public order officers, dogs, horses, c) The deployment of non-standard techniques: armoured police cars, baton rounds, water cannon, curfews 6 Variations in the responses of different police forces; 7 Lessons to be learned from the police response to previous public disorder incidents; 8 Training of officers to deal with riots; 9 Whether there were any constraints on the police such as limited resources or powers; 60 See Sir Hugh Orde: Water Cannon can make for good headlines—and bad policing, Independent, 11 August 2011 available at www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/sir-hugh-orde-water-cannon-make-for-good-headlines-ndash-and-bad-policing- 2335676.html 61 See David Cameron: Human Rights in my sights, Daily Express, 21 August 2011, available at www.express.co.uk/posts/view/ 266219/David-Cameron-Human-rights-in-my-sightsDavid-Cameron-Human-rights-in-my-sightsDavid-Cameron-Human-rightsin-my-sightsDavid-Cameron-Human-rights-in-my-sightsDavid-Cameron-Human-rights-in-my-sights 62 See Liberty’s Second Reading briefing on the Bill, available at www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/pdfs/policy11/liberty-s-secondreading-briefing-on-part-1-of-the-police-reform-bill-april-.pdf
Ev w44 Home Affairs Committee: Evidence 10 Whether there should be any changes to the legislation regulating normal policing processes during times of major disorder; 11 Whether the age of many of the rioters constrained the police in their use of anti-riot technique; 12 The application of the Riot (Damages) Act 1886; and 13 To revisit relevant recommendations made in previous Home Affairs Committee reports into Policing the G20 protests and Knife crime, and other relevant recommendations, to assess if they have been implemented by successive governments. Whilst it is appropriate for West Midlands Police to comment on the detailed issues around policing, the Council would like to record our appreciation for the close working between the Police and Council during the disturbances. Council officials were engaged in Gold Command and the Control Room which was very helpful in ensuring an effective and coherent response. Community Relations West Midlands Police and Birmingham City Council (BCC) have sophisticated networks to engage with different groups in this extremely diverse city. Whilst West Midlands Police have established a Community Reference Group in consultation with the City Council, the City Council already has long established Community Networks as well as a Faith Round Table which enables it to gather intelligence regarding tensions between and across communities. An area that we may have to look at more closely for future developments is our relationship with young people. Consequently, the City Council is working closely with its Youth Service to ensure that we develop networks with young people in general but in particular with those who are disengaged. Social Media BCC and West Midlands Police provided regular updates to internal and external contacts via a range of communication methods, including social media. The Birmingham Resilience Team (bhamresilience) twitter account saw a significant increase in followers throughout the week, and received over 200 direct messages of support and appreciation for accurate, trusted and speedy tweets. Birmingham Resilience twitter account was utilised to reinforce police tweets to counteract rumours and incorrect information. BCC appreciates the challenges that social media presented in these events. The use of social media in emergencies is increasingly regarded as a valuable addition to the range of warning and informing methods used to communicate with the public. The www.birminghamprepared.gov.uk website, which was also regularly updated, received positive feedback and experienced its highest number of hits since its launch. This reinforces the role of the internet in providing a source of information and advice during emergencies. Role of Organised Groups Whilst organised groups do not appear to have had a significant role in initiating the disturbances, some did respond to the disturbances in an opportunistic fashion. West Midlands Police will be able to provide further details in their response. The Techniques used by the Police to Quell the Rioting and Issues Around the Age of Many of the Rioters Upon notification of the disorder and that a Police Operation was being established for the West Midlands, The Council’s Resilience Team (BRT) immediately linked with the Police and activated the relevant Corporate Major Emergency Procedures. As per agreed multi agency procedures, Birmingham Resilience staff were based at the Police Events Control Suite 24 hours a day throughout the police operation. This enabled swift deployment by the Council in support of the police operation. For example, Resilience officers liaised with Council fleet and waste management colleagues at 4am each day, to relay information about sites affected by disorder so that street cleaning / debris removal could be undertaken without delay and in line with police forensic confirmation that their site investigations were complete. Police strategies were shared with multi agency partners and were necessarily adapted as a consequence of a highly dynamic situation. Senior Resilience officers from the Council attended all Police led multi agency Strategic (Gold) and Tactical (Silver) Meetings, which included input into the Multi Agency Gold Strategy. There was also strong political input, notably from the Deputy Leader. BCC officers worked in the Control Room itself. Based on the information available at the time, the police response was appropriate given the age and behaviour of most of the looters. We are concerned at the apparent mismatch between media images of what was happening in London and the actual nature of the disturbances in Birmingham—which led unnecessarily to heightened fear and public/ media calls for stronger interventions.
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