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police tactics in Bolton at EDL/UAF demos

nerd | 21.03.2010 23:25 | Analysis | Anti-racism | Repression

More things to note on police public order strategies used in Bolton.

I'd have posted this as a comment to  https://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/03/447891.html where there's a good video, but it's descended into usual tangential comment nonsense!







The police used a standard mix of cops in riot gear, and not; they used snatch squads to go right into the crowd to nick pre-identified individuals; they used evidence gatherers, cameras on sticks to see into the crowd, and didn't let everyone join the main demo; they used lines of police backed up with cops with dogs to hold sterile space behind police lines in case anyone got through, and to help keep the two crowds apart.

There was also the usual focus on the anti-fascists, and not the EDL who were allowed unchallenged to Zieg Heil, throw lighters, rape alarms and more at the UAF, and were able to have nice chats with friendly Bobbies. The police also did their usual, though perhaps more polished/pre-planned press releasing about the nasty violent antifa thugs. The EDL had also evolved their use of flags to try to counter their racist tag. There were a relatively large number arrested, especially as this was also pretty stage-managed with a peaceful crowd later reacting to snatch squad tactics.

Interestingly, there are some tactics and kit which appear new (though do say if you've seen them used before - how and where please).

It was all highly stage-managed. As people arrived in the square, there was an electronic sign that told you which way to go, depending on if you were UAF or EDL. You passed first through police lines and new 'cordon fencing' (puns based on cordon bleu and thin blue lines welcome!), then through gaps in Harris fencing also controlled by lines of police. Between the two crowds in the middle of the square was new deluxe crowd control barriers, with police, and dogs in between. So the whole square was sealed off at the outer edges with cordon fencing, high solid metal with small windows, plastic flaps at the bottom, and topped with anti-climb/cut fence panels. Then inside that were two Harris fencing enclosures for the two crowds, with gaps in also sealed by police, and the middle/facing sides of these enclosures was the lower new deluxe crowd control barriers.

All the roads leading off the square were either completely blocked by the new cordon fencing, or left a gap at one end, filled with police; there was one street that was not blocked at all, except by cops on horses.

Hopefully the pictures are useful.

It would only be conjecture to try to figure out if these public order tactics are local (ie they haven't taken on board the G20 lessons like the Met police have), they are specific to anti-fascist mobilisations & nationally decided, or if they are a national evolution post-G20 to public order situations.

More info on public order situations and how to deal with them at
 https://earthfirst.org.uk/publicorderguide.htm or
 https://earthfirst.org.uk/publicorderguide.pdf

Recently updated.

nerd
- Homepage: http://https://earthfirst.org.uk/publicorderguide.htm

Comments

Hide the following 4 comments

UAF/SWP impotence in direct-action situations

22.03.2010 09:09

One arriving to Bolton on Saturday, we heard that there were 7000 police. Don't know if this was true (seems a massive exaggeration, even accounting for those cops on standby and MP2s), but certainly there were alot of cops needed to surround the demonstration, and many others we didn't see holding numbers of EDL suporters in adjacent streets off the main area of focus and congregation in Victoria Sq.

It is only the SWP who are saying that UAF supporters outnumbered EDL supporters.

Infact, I heard from two different people on the ground yesturday that there were more EDL people than UAF; apparantly, according to one witness, most EDL supporters did not even get anywhere near Victoria Sq, held and no doubt surrounded by police in the approach to Victoria Square on Knowsley St from the south of the city. Another group coming from the north of the city were surrounded by police; a group of local muslim youth confronted this group, who rose to the challenge in response, but were reported to have been beaten back by police (emphasising that there are 2 sides to the story regarding reports of police accommodation of EDL supporters).

To give the UAF some credit, Saturday's demo was actually well planned; there had been a decision to split into two groups to stop the two main access routes through Victoria Square so that the EDL route was completely cut off in both directions, and UAF occupied the square. In actual fact, the police enforced this situation, separating a smaller group off from most people in the square. This group then moved as one large block to the top of Knowlsey St - the top of the shopping pedestrianised area (though, as usual, because the SWP hierarchical command structure is so inflexible, this smaller group served no purpose after a while - pleas to SWP lieutenants on the ground fell on death-ears as several of us remonstrated that much of that body of people could have been more usefully confrontational at another location in an adjacent street; after an hour, this was no longer possible as police surrounded them).

Dudley and Bradford coming up. We need more people on our side than we had at Bolton. defence may need to also be stepped up for individual local groups after the incident at the UAF meeting in Bristol and EDL's seeming ability to employ more inventive tactics. Last year, an UAF coach was attacked by fash in London intending to leave for Codnor; one person was badly injured and the coach put out of service. Legal defence and anti-fash monitors are needed.

platformist

Not the first time

22.03.2010 16:50

Ah, how sweet. Last time I saw them was in Edinburgh for the G8.

Krop

first time is the sweetest

22.03.2010 17:18

not the first time for which, the big cordon solid fences, or the deluxe crowd control barriers?

I seem to remember seeing the latter somewhere, but don't remember where. At the G8 in Scotland I heard about fences that were attached to vans, that came out to form an instant pen, but they were just made of the anti-cut mesh fence that's on the top of these, or that's what I was told. I didn't get to see them myself...

nerd

details

23.03.2010 20:50

the fences on vans were definitely there at the G8. The description above is fairly accurate, but the EDL side of the square seemed to be open for most of the time, we came late on the train (EDL on the train too), and walked dstraight to the back of the EDL side. on the antifash side the people blocking Oxford St were solid and a good defence for back of the demo but were plit from the square, meaning that for the short period of time that the big crowd of EDL were actually in the square the arial pictures showed more of them. this doesnt take into account those blocked off further down on oxford st and more of us beyond them, including the asian contingent that gathered in increasing numbers from about 1.30 til 3.30 when we and they made our way around and into the square. i dont think this was through militancy or force of numbers, but police were happy to have them in the square/pen so that the two groups were separate when they wanted to move the EDL out and back to trains and buses, In between times, outide the back of the antifash demo, a group of about 30 EDL/hoolies (the asian locals said they were bolton hoolies) tried to attack from the train station side (south and east, first down a main shooping street, then backed off when faced by us and the asians and three mounted police, and tried the next street and the next. Each time the police were pathetically slow with their response and they were only forced off by the 100 odd asian lads and the few of us white faces mixed in. when police showed up the hoolies ran back and the asian lads did too. This was a well organised response (as well organised as street confrontation can be, anyway) with older asian blokes calling the lads back to the back oxford st blockade McDonalds but then letting them get kettled by 2 lines of police for a bit. Just thought people would like to know that there was an attempt at attacking the antifash demo and it was countered by greater numbers of largely asian lads (and black and white) rushing them. Scary shit but it worked.

lancs