I emailed one of our local senior police officers to convey my frustrations and concern about the way public order arrangements were made for the recent Barnet Council meeting. His response certainly cleared up a couple of misapprehensions I had about their role and responsibility. I thought I'd share a few comments with you (with his permission).
our role is explicit in that we were present to prevent crime and to prevent a breach of the peace. Not to control how the meeting is run, or who gets to be where or to deal with safety issues. I'm not normally one for drawing lines in the sand but those are strictly a matter for the chair of the meeting and his agents. In this case the LA. (clearly, we would advise, but there is no obligation for advice to be heeded and the decision is always that of the premises. This is the same principle in football stadia/concert venues etc). We could be asked to assist in removing a person from the premises, but it would have to be at the request of the chair and when that person had behaved in a disorderly way etc.
It can lead to some confusion in that people expect the police to lead, but as I say, we confine ourselves to preventing crime and preventing breaches of the peace. Happily there was no crime and a breach of the peace must include violence or damage to property (or likelyhood of) to empower us to intervene. Shouting is not enough to cause a breach of the peace
That is very clear, and we can all thank the police officer for that explanation.
ReplyDeleteSo video on your mobile in future, to your heart's content, in council meetings.
Even heckle a little if you wish.
But any request to leave should be firmly, but quietly and politely, declined.
(Thank the person asking you to leave the room for their interest, and say that any other matter they wish to query will be dealt with equally promptly. Do not say "Go to Hell.")
Even if they call the police, there will be no reason to leave, because there is no just cause.
As blogger DCMD/DH has said (sorry, forget which), we should not put up with only an official "Barnet Broadcasting Corporation" if they decide to officially video meetings (although they can do that as well.)
Non-disruptive recordings of meetings by the public are now going to be routine. For instance, anyone with a planning application that goes before the Planning and Environment Committee/Subcommittee can record the whole of their item on the agenda.
hello, I see somone has been two timing me, the cheeky monkey ... 'line in the sand'? That rings a bell ...
ReplyDelete