1,700 additional officers are required for policing London's protests
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The Metropolitan Police should enforce the law and crack down on the worst offenders at public protests, according to former Home Secretary Priti Patel, at an event hosted by conservative think tank, Policy Exchange.
At the event, which scrutinised the police’s handling of recent protests across the capital, Priti Patel said, “it’s not beyond the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice to work together” to secure swifter sentencing.
Former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lord Hogan-Howe, also on the panel, said the court system has to be looked at: “Delayed justice is denied justice. An eighteen month wait for sentencing protesters is simply unacceptable”.
Lord Carlile, former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, agreed: “let’s get the legal system working properly on this”.
Calls for tighter law enforcement follow an increase in the number of protests on the streets of London after the October 7 attacks and the deepening of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
“Delayed justice is denied justice. An eighteen month wait for sentencing protesters is simply unacceptable”.
Lord Hogan-Howe , Former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police
Protest Policing
Assistant commissioner Matt Jukes said the conflict has led to a 700% increase in calls to the police’s counter terrorism hotline, a 1400% increase in anti-Semitic incidents, and a 300% increase in Islamophobic incidents across the capital.
Lord Hogan-Howe noted the fundamental challenges posed by protest policing amid the situation in the Middle East:
“When bullets are fired in other parts of the world, the ricochets can be felt in London”
He added: “If debates take place on the streets, that’s the least effective way to have them”.
He also noted the police’s limited resources for policing protests. The additional 1,700 officers required on the streets have to be drawn from the body of the policing service at the expense of first response officers and neighbourhood patrols.
Lord Hogan-Howe said trying to get new protest legislation through parliament is tough, and encouraged the police to use their current resources to better effect.
The police can currently arrest protesters under section 7 of the Public Order Act 2023 and the Terrorism Act 2000, among others.
Lord Hogan-Howe commented on former Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s criticism of current Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley in November 2023.
He said, “we must preserve operational independence. Debates with the Home Secretary are best carried out privately”. Priti Patel added: “The Home Secretary should be above the fray, and not publicly involved in it”.
Policing Reform
All the panellists agreed that legal structures must be more efficient in dealing with the worst offenders at protests.
Lord Carlisle said, “It’s high time for us to reform the structure of the police service, and to restructure them into a smaller number of police forces with a more strategic approach”.
In addition to the increased focus on dealing with protests, terrorism, and extremist offences, he suggested the police also channel their efforts towards tackling serious sexual crime and online fraud.
But Hazel Blears, former policing minister and communities secretary, said a lack of community policing is at the root of the force’s problems and a cause of public distrust towards their handling of protests.
She also added that we need our officers to be a more familiar face on the street: “We need confidence in the police. Community policing will save us and continue to keep communities safe”.
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HeadlineDame Priti Patel: ‘The Metropolitan police must crack down on protesters’
Short HeadlineCalls for tighter protest policing at Policy Exchange summit
StandfirstFormer Home Secretary and police commissioners call for Metropolitan Police reforms
The Metropolitan Police should enforce the law and crack down on the worst offenders at public protests, according to former Home Secretary Priti Patel, at an event hosted by conservative think tank, Policy Exchange.
At the event, which scrutinised the police’s handling of recent protests across the capital, Priti Patel said, “it’s not beyond the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice to work together” to secure swifter sentencing.
Former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lord Hogan-Howe, also on the panel, said the court system has to be looked at: “Delayed justice is denied justice. An eighteen month wait for sentencing protesters is simply unacceptable”.
Lord Carlile, former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, agreed: “let’s get the legal system working properly on this”.
Calls for tighter law enforcement follow an increase in the number of protests on the streets of London after the October 7 attacks and the deepening of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
“Delayed justice is denied justice. An eighteen month wait for sentencing protesters is simply unacceptable”.
Lord Hogan-Howe , Former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police
Protest Policing
Assistant commissioner Matt Jukes said the conflict has led to a 700% increase in calls to the police’s counter terrorism hotline, a 1400% increase in anti-Semitic incidents, and a 300% increase in Islamophobic incidents across the capital.
Lord Hogan-Howe noted the fundamental challenges posed by protest policing amid the situation in the Middle East:
“When bullets are fired in other parts of the world, the ricochets can be felt in London”
He added: “If debates take place on the streets, that’s the least effective way to have them”.
He also noted the police’s limited resources for policing protests. The additional 1,700 officers required on the streets have to be drawn from the body of the policing service at the expense of first response officers and neighbourhood patrols.
Lord Hogan-Howe said trying to get new protest legislation through parliament is tough, and encouraged the police to use their current resources to better effect.
The police can currently arrest protesters under section 7 of the Public Order Act 2023 and the Terrorism Act 2000, among others.
Lord Hogan-Howe commented on former Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s criticism of current Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley in November 2023.
He said, “we must preserve operational independence. Debates with the Home Secretary are best carried out privately”. Priti Patel added: “The Home Secretary should be above the fray, and not publicly involved in it”.
Policing Reform
All the panellists agreed that legal structures must be more efficient in dealing with the worst offenders at protests.
Lord Carlisle said, “It’s high time for us to reform the structure of the police service, and to restructure them into a smaller number of police forces with a more strategic approach”.
In addition to the increased focus on dealing with protests, terrorism, and extremist offences, he suggested the police also channel their efforts towards tackling serious sexual crime and online fraud.
But Hazel Blears, former policing minister and communities secretary, said a lack of community policing is at the root of the force’s problems and a cause of public distrust towards their handling of protests.
She also added that we need our officers to be a more familiar face on the street: “We need confidence in the police. Community policing will save us and continue to keep communities safe”.
