[Cc-webedit] Final version of policing thing for blog

[iggyp imc]

i removed the legal@ from the indymedia site
Iggy.

2009/8/24 Jonathan Leighton <j at jonathanleighton.com>

> Hey Danny,
>
> I've put this up now.
>
> Cheers
>
> On Mon, 2009-08-24 at 14:05 +0100, Danny Chivers wrote:
> > Hi Jonathan(s),
> >
> > See attached. Note this is different from the Indymedia version coz
> > Frances wanted the legal@ email taken off (we're also trying to do this
> > retrospectively on the IMC version).
> >
> > Not sure if it would really be appropriate to send the whole thing out in
> > the newsletter, but perhaps the intro paragraph and a link to the blog?
> >
> > After all this, I think I'm ready to take on completely non-cop-related
> > roles throughout the entire Camp...
> >
> > Dx
> >
> > > Wicked. Do you have this as a word doc or similar? (It's just easier to
> > > paste in without worrying about all the line breaks...)
> > >
> > > Cheers x
> > >
> > > On Mon, 2009-08-24 at 10:56 +0100, Danny Chivers wrote:
> > >> Hi Jon - see below. Note that the final paragraph has been removed coz
> > >> Frances was worried about people sending unhelpful stuff to the legal@
> > >> account...
> > >>
> > >> Dx
> > >>
> > >> *********************************************************************
> > >>
> > >> Strange Adventures In Copland
> > >>
> > >> Last Thursday, the Camp for Climate Action Police Liaison Team spoke
> at
> > >> a
> > >> "briefing afternoon", at the Metropolitan Police's Training Centre in
> > >> Gravesend. Why did they do this, and what on Earth could they possibly
> > >> say
> > >> to the police? Simon Stanley was at the scene...
> > >>
> > >> Let's be frank. It's a weird task to take on. One day you're doing
> your
> > >> best to avoid the cops as you try to invade a power station / airport
> /
> > >> corporate HQ. The next day, you choose to sit down in a room full of
> > >> police. Why?
> > >>
> > >> This isn't just an idle question – many people within the climate
> > >> movement
> > >> have suffered terrible treatment at the hands of the police, and are
> > >> understandably concerned about meetings between cops and Campers.
> > >> Meanwhile, the recent rapid pace of events has made it hard to keep
> > >> track
> > >> of what meetings are going on with the police, and why. This article
> is
> > >> an
> > >> attempt to clear things up a bit, to explain why last week's meeting
> > >> happened, and what we think it achieved.
> > >>
> > >> The main part of the Police Liaison Team's remit is to gather
> > >> information
> > >> first-hand about likely police tactics, strategy, personnel and
> > >> attitude.
> > >> However, the group has another important role as well: to give the
> Camp
> > >> credibility in the eyes of the public.
> > >>
> > >> Those of us who've had a lot of dealings with the police know how
> little
> > >> we can trust them, but many of the public haven't had that experience.
> > >> If
> > >> we refuse to talk to the police, then a lot of people will (rightly or
> > >> wrongly) think we're being unreasonable and so be less likely to get
> > >> involved with the Camp.
> > >>
> > >> Meeting with the cops also gives the Climate Camp a "human face" and
> > >> might
> > >> make some officers be a tiny bit less brutal towards us (we have no
> > >> definite proof of this, though). And of course, each meeting brings us
> > >> one
> > >> step closer to the day when the underpaid officers at the Camp gates
> > >> suddenly decide to lay down their truncheons, take off their riot
> gear,
> > >> stick two fingers up at Gold Command and join us in building a
> beautiful
> > >> eco-anarchist utopia. Possibly.
> > >>
> > >> The Police Liaison volunteers aren't "representatives" of the Camp –
> > >> they
> > >> don't negotiate with the police, make any concessions to them, or give
> > >> them any information that they wouldn't have found out anyway. In
> > >> previous
> > >> years, this has been a slightly frustrating, often uncomfortable, but
> > >> nonetheless important job.
> > >>
> > >> This year, however, things have gone a bit weird.
> > >>
> > >> Thanks to the police getting caught in the act at the G20 protests,
> and
> > >> the serious of vaguely critical official reports that followed, there
> > >> has
> > >> been unprecedented media interest in any meetings between the Camp and
> > >> the
> > >> police. The cops are on the back foot and are desperately trying to
> > >> repair
> > >> their image, and so rather than fobbing us off until the last minute,
> > >> they
> > >> are falling over themselves to drag us into meetings. It's pretty
> > >> bizarre
> > >> stuff – and it's not without its dangers.
> > >>
> > >> From their quotes in this recent Guardian article [link], it seems the
> > >> cops are keen to say "look, we're even having meetings with the
> > >> protesters, aren't we nice!". There's a real risk that by agreeing to
> > >> these meetings, we might be unintentionally helping out the police
> with
> > >> their propaganda – which is why we worked together with the Camp's
> > >> media
> > >> team on an Open Letter To The Met [link] to make the Camp's position
> > >> VERY
> > >> clear. While in the short term the idea that the police are going to
> be
> > >> all cuddly this time round may help to get more people to the London
> > >> Camp,
> > >> in the long term it could be very dangerous. If the public and the
> media
> > >> decide the police have mended their ways, then their interest will
> soon
> > >> wander, leaving the cops free to get the batons out again.
> > >>
> > >> Meanwhile, we aren't the only ones being harassed by the police.
> That's
> > >> why the Camp's Legal Team have been building connections with other
> > >> activist groups including Fitwatch and London Defence and Monitoring,
> as
> > >> well as organisations representing migrant communities, the Campaign
> > >> Against Criminalising Communities, the Muslim prisoner support group
> and
> > >> the Newham Monitoring Project. Plans are afoot to get funding for a
> new
> > >> umbrella group to keep monitoring the police and holding them to
> account
> > >> –
> > >> wherever and whenever they might operate.
> > >>
> > >> Let's not forget: the police's job is to enforce laws which defend the
> > >> status quo, protect the wealthy and the powerful, and stand in the way
> > >> of
> > >> social change. This has been their role throughout history, and not
> just
> > >> within the UK. Meanwhile, we're trying to build a movement to create
> > >> massive social change by directly confronting the Government and
> > >> wealthy,
> > >> powerful, polluting corporations. This doesn't make it very likely
> that
> > >> the police are ever going to be our friends.
> > >>
> > >> However, one thing that CAN change is the tactics available to the
> cops
> > >> –
> > >> the exact level of violence and intimidation that they're allowed to
> get
> > >> away with. It would be lovely to believe that we might influence this
> > >> just
> > >> by having meetings with the police. Sadly, experience shows that the
> > >> only
> > >> thing that really works is forcing them to change by exposing their
> > >> tactics to the world. It's annoying that we have to do this – we'd
> > >> much
> > >> rather spend the time on climate action – but if we don't, then
> things
> > >> will only get worse.
> > >>
> > >> We'd like to reassure the rest of the climate movement that the Police
> > >> Liaison team fully understand all of this, and that we are also
> actively
> > >> challenging attempts by the police (and the media) to separate our
> > >> movement into “good†and “bad†protesters. We've done our best
> > >> to explain
> > >> this at Gatherings and on email lists, and we're sorry if it hasn't
> been
> > >> totally clear! If you have any concerns or suggestions about the work
> > >> we're doing, please get in touch with us – or better yet, come and
> > >> join
> > >> the Police Liaison team and get involved yourself.
> > >>
> > >> So it was with all this in mind that I stood up in front of a crowd of
> > >> seventy police officers on Thursday afternoon, and explained to them
> why
> > >> the Climate Camp was happening, how non-hierarchical decision-making
> > >> worked, and what this year's Camp will probably look like. I then
> > >> described what it was like to be charged by a line of riot cops for no
> > >> discernible reason, to watch your friends being beaten over the head
> and
> > >> arrested on meaningless charges, to see people in front of you being
> > >> pepper-sprayed in the face, and to know you have to stand your ground
> > >> anyway with your hands in the air because the alternative is to let a
> > >> beautiful Camp be trampled under their steel-toecapped boots. They
> > >> listened, in silence. It was one of the weirdest things I've ever done
> > >> in
> > >> my life. Whether or not it will make any difference, I really couldn't
> > >> say; but it felt oddly liberating all the same.
> > >>
> > >> Next, we got to hear the police's pre-Camp strategy briefings
> > >> first-hand.
> > >> Then they took us on a tour of the place where they train riot police,
> a
> > >> kind of “Riotland†theme park with a life-sized fake Council
> estate,
> > >> tube
> > >> station and sports stadium...but no, that was far too strange to have
> > >> really happened. It must have been a bizarre dream.
> > >>
> > >
> > >
>
>
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