Archive
England: Police use of facial recognition technology growing rapidly
Police are using live facial recognition to scan millions of faces. A law governing its use is on the way, but campaigners warn it won't be enough. Read More
UK: London: Met announces stricter Covid enforcement approach
Press release published by the Metropolitan Police on 6 January 2021. London's police force is to enforce the new lockdown measures more strictly than previously, placing new emphasis on fining people and questioning people in the streets as to their activities. Read More
UK: Undercover Policing Inquiry: evidence must be heard in public
The Undercover Policing Inquiry, which was set up in 2015 to investigate undercover policing operations in England & Wales since 1968, has been mired in controversy from the start. At the beginning of November, hearings finally began - but they remain shielded from public view. Despite the best efforts of campaigners to ensure that the transcripts published are made more accessible, this is no substitute for genuine public hearings, as Donal O'Driscoll demonstrates in a recent article. Read More
UK: Protest exemption set to be removed from England lockdown rules
The UK's first lockdown and subsequent restrictions did not prevent huge protests being organised, most notably those for racial equality. In fact, an exemption in the English coronavirus regulations has allowed protests to take place where the organisers follow certain protocols intended to prevent the spread of the virus. The police have previously been accused of using the virus as a way to prevent protests from happening in the first place - but now, with the second lockdown looming, the government is set to remove the exemption for protests altogether. Read More
Deaths during or following police contact: Statistics for England and Wales 2019/20
The annual report on deaths during or following police contact has been published by the Independent Office for Police Conduct. Read More
UK: Police presence in schools ‘criminalises BME students’
A new report, Race and Racism in English Secondary Schools, argues that increasing the number of police in schools has particularly negative affects on black and other ethnic minority pupils. Read More
New Lockdown Restrictions – Clarification or Confusion?
"At 11am today, new Regulations came into force that amend the “lockdown” law in England" Read More
Review highlights discrimination in criminal justice system, but a missed opportunity to examine policing
The publication of the Lammy Review into the treatment of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people in the English and Welsh criminal justice system has demonstrated the significant racial bias that many have long suspected. However, the remit of the review was drawn so narrowly that it was unable to examine the relationship between the police and BAME people - a regrettable missed opportunity according to the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, whose director, Richard Garside, commented that: "The starting point of the disproportionate criminalisation and punishment of black and minority ethnic people is their disproportionate rates of arrest by the police." Read More
Vol 11(3/4): May-July 2001
Cover story: GENOA: An Italian view of "public order policing" Italian style: 482 people injured - 280 arrests - 2,093 people turned back at the borders - Carlo Giuliani shot dead by police Read More