Home Affairs Committee report on policing of protests

National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Protests, Chief Constable Chris Noble said:

“We welcome the observations made by the Committee and thank them for the opportunity to provide a perspective of policing protest on behalf of all police forces.

“The right to lawful protest is a key part of any democracy, which UK police uphold and facilitate. Our staff will continue to carry out this vital work for as long as necessary.

“After dealing with a prolonged period of activity like we’ve seen recently, it is only right that we collectively recognise the impact that this has had on our resources.

“In recent months, the level of activity that we’ve been responding to has meant that our people have worked long hours, had leave and rest days cancelled, and have had to travel across the country to support their colleagues. They do this in order to keep people safe, investigate crime that has occurred, and bring offenders to justice, and for that they have my gratitude.

“Inevitably when we push resourcing into one part of policing, that will mean that there are less people to fulfil the needs in another.

“We will take away the findings of this report, examine the recommendations, and work with the Government and our partners to ensure that we have the resources that we need to continue to deal with these events effectively and sustainably.”

The publication can be read here.