Liberal Objections to the Police State

IMC UK Features | 24.03.2009 13:06 | Repression

Just over a week ago a report was made to parliament into the abuse of police powers during the climate camp protests at Kingsnorth in 2008. The report and accompanying video documented systemic abuses of power including blanket stop and searches, arbitrary seizure of property, and a campaign of psychological intimidation which included sleep deprivation through helicopter overflying late into the night, mock night and dawn raids by tooled up riot police, and the infamous 'Flight of the Valkyries' incident.

Links: Police 'turn themselves in' over abuse of power claims | Report into police tactics at Kingsnorth climate change protest released | Summer of rage? It's a figment of febrile imaginations | Senior police officer warns of “summer of rage” | Protest against police state | Britain 2009 (are we in a police state?) | Right to protest under attack from state | Climate camp cops feel heat - piece about filming of protesters / journalists at the camp | over-policing | Police maintaining special database of thousands of political activists | Parliamentary scrutiny of political policing

Police display a warning before attacking protesters (Photo: Tash [alan lodge])

Following the report the Kent Police voluntarily referred complaints about the actions of their officers to the Independent Police Complaints Commission .

David Howarth, Liberal Democrat Shadow Justice Secretary said, “What happened at the Climate Camp was deeply disturbing and part of what seems to be a disturbing national trend. Political agendas have no place in policing."

The extent of political policing was further exposed the previous week the Guardian revealed that the police have been building up a database of thousands of political activists as well as harassing sympathetic journalists. The police also began their annual summer propaganda offensive against protesters in the form of 'the summer of rage' in which they began to lay the foundations to justify heavy handed suppression of the right to protest.

IMC UK Features