Sueing police en-mass may work but it takes time, evidence and money.

Defensive tactics need to be divised to deal with kettling. Is it illegal for protestors to carry shields or wear body armour like the WOMBLES? Can more skillful use of video, eg camcorder on a couple of metre pole looking down on a police charge, be used to bring clear evidence to the public?

Can the laws be used against the police? For example stating loudly that a line of police are blocking a highway, illegally detaining people and are breaching the peace or similar therefore are subject to citizens arrest using reasonable force (which, when faced with batons will likely be significant, probably involving weight of numbers, injuries to protestors and cableties as handcuffs) to effect and maintain arrest of all officers in the line until such time as they can be handed over to a law abiding authority (ie not thier unit/bosses). Lawyers among you may be able to answer this.

If protestors can show that they're using the tactics of the police then it is harder to condone police tactics whilst condemning protestor's tactics.

> Is it illegal for protesters to carry shields or wear body armour like the WOMBLES?

No. Carrying weapons is illegal, including for defensive use, but shields and body armour are not.

> Can more skillful use of video, eg camcorder on a couple of metre pole looking down on a police charge, be used to bring clear evidence to the public?

Yes, although there was certainly no shortage of photographers out & about last week, and it's not the police they're most likely to imprison. See the guardian's roundup of youtube videos:  http://is.gd/rpjG


>Can the laws be used against the police? For example stating loudly that a line of police are blocking a highway, illegally detaining people and are breaching the peace or similar therefore are subject to citizens arrest using reasonable force (which, when faced with batons will likely be significant, probably involving weight of numbers, injuries to protestors and cableties as handcuffs) to effect and maintain arrest of all officers in the line until such time as they can be handed over to a law abiding authority (ie not thier unit/bosses).

Not entirely certain of the law details on this one, but I'm thinking no. Where would you find a law abiding authority? Would you really expect such authority not to arrest the protesters instead? Not that the thought of a line of police all being arrested isn't a beautiful one.

I absolutely agree that there needs to be a stronger response generally on the use of kettles, stop and search, as well as photography and surveillance. Particularly as kettles are now routinely used not merely to contain a crowd, but also as a way of getting everyones name, address and photo.

I'm very glad that there is so much fuss about the use of kettles at the G20 / climate camp protests, but this post is absolutely correct in pointing out the use of kettles on the Gaza protests, and on many, many others that I have been involved with. It is also a technique that has been used in many places around the world to contain and control uprising, including (if my memory serves me correctly) apartheid South Africa.

Police pens / kettles are unacceptable, dehumanising and demeaning, In my view people who have been penned or kettled by police are entirely justified (morally, if not legally!) in using force to break the kettle open. A few ideas for dealing with them have been published on the Fitwatch blog
 http://fitwatch.blogspot.com/2009/03/fitwatch-suggestions-for-dealing-with.html
but there definitely needs to be more debate and organisation around the issue.

Had a few thoughts on the FIT. a large sheet held up above the crowd on poles, blocks line of site. This could be unwieldy, maybe dangerous, so what about everyone bringing their own umbrella? Would need to cushion the spikes, and would likely be stolen off some people as an offensive weapon but if everyone had one... Any seriously strong umbrellas out there that could double as defensive shields?

Also handing out cardboard face masks a-la V for Vendetta so everyone is masked up. would be cheap to print so many, easy to make: just needs a bit of elastic and 2 small staples and they can be handed out along with FIT, cop and Bust advice cards.

Looking at the footage perhaps next time protest observers can pre-arrange vantage points from offices/rooftops to video the kettle as a whole and zoom in on violence and injuries, also can be used to inform those on the ground where to move. Otherwise a few 'periscopes' for those in the middle of the crowd to see whats going on up ahead might be an idea.

before jan 10th i didnt have a particular problem with the met but now they sicken me. climate camp was a bit of a massacre as well. we need more action in relation to gaza, should have been more focus against israel than there was last week. the demograph of people taking part in the protests has changed since january. if there had been more anger about gaza then alot of those young
muslims who were so vocal in jan might have turned out in greater numbers.

more skillful use of video on pole...

good idea but for april 1st footage c4news were transmitting live from a chopper - showed the kettle going into place just after noon