Netpol

@netpol.org

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Network for Police Monitoring monitors and resists excessive, discriminatory and violent policing in England, Wales and Scotland https://linktr.ee/netpol Secure 📩: NetpolAdmin@protonmail.com

Descent into Authoritarianism? Undermining the role of defence lawyers: the Rajiv Menon KC case
6 days left to Save Our Juries! New government ➡️ New ministers Secretary of State for Justice Alex Norris (left) & Attorney General Ellie Reeves (right) Tell them: ➡️Don’t destroy our juries! ➡️Stop the Prosecution of Rajiv Menon KC! ⬇️⬇️⬇️Sign the petition ⬇️⬇️⬇️ tinyurl.com/SaveOurJuries
A blue background has the Netpol and Defend Our juries logos, a picture of Rajiv Menon and the headline, "Stop the Prosecution of Rajiv Menon KC. Save Britain's Juries"
The cover of Netpol's "One Day in Manchester" report
Those the police violently attacked were often already contained (kettled) by the police and unable to disperse. Contributors described being trapped within police containment, exposed to violence and prevented from moving away without harm, or from receiving timely medical care when injured
Police repeatedly and often indiscriminately attacked individuals who were not posing any imminent threat. Testimonies document the use of PAVA spray, physical assaults, strangulation and choking, kettling, baton strikes, hair pulling, sexualised violence and the denial and obstruction of medical access
The cover of "One Day in Manchester", shoring two Greater Manchester Police riot officers on duty on 18 April, while in the foreground a protester speaks into a microphone
Campaigners from Stafford Campaign Against Racism & Fascism (SCARF) holding placards protesting against racist comments made by Reform UK councillors who control Staffordshire County Council
A protester in London with their face covered holds a megaphone and a placard
Join Us! Community Launch. Netpol and NPMP present: Dossier: Britain First demo and counter-protest in Manchester City Centre, Saturday 18th April 2026. This important community record evidence our collective experiences of police violent at the Resist Britain First demonstration and we demand action from Manchester's political leadership. Join us in community, in rage and in solidarity. Tuesday 7th July. 6pm, St Peter's Square
The cover of "One Day in Edgware", Netpol's report on a protest by anti-Zionists in north London on 14 June
AI-slop poster in blue and white, with the slogan "They Shall Not Pass" and a lion with a Star of David on its chest. Other slogans are "These Streets Are Our Streets", "Cable Street 1936—Edgware 2026" and "The Battle of Edgware"
Cover of Netpol report "One Day in Edgware" shows police officers on the blocked Edgware Way on 14 June
Cover of Netpol report "One Day in Edgware" shows police officers on the blocked Edgware Way on 14 June
The nature of Palestine Action 160. The first factor to be considered in favour of proscription is the nature of Palestine Action. As we have explained above, Palestine Action is not a transparent non-violent direct action protest group as it claims (see [149]-[150] above). It is a covert organisation that has revealed little about itself in these proceedings. The Underground Manual reveals that its activities are carried out by unidentifiable cells, whose objective is to avoid detection. 161. The essential characteristics of Palestine Action are, in fact, the antithesis of the kind of civil disobedience protest group explained in Jones and Cuadrilla at [145]-[146] above. First, Palestine Action’s activities are planned and undertaken secretly with the objective of avoiding detection (see, for example, the Underground Manual at Annex A advocating creating cells to take “actions without detection as part of Palestine Action Underground”, and explaining “how to get to the site and leave undetected”). Secondly, the members of Palestine Action do not vouch their sincerity by accepting the penalties imposed by the law. Thirdly, on a fair analysis, Palestine Action has little or nothing in common with the suffragettes or the anti-apartheid or Iran War protest groups (see [149]-[150] above).
Protester arrested and carried away by police officers outside the Royal Courts of Justice
Kevin Blowe, Campaigns Coordinator for Netpol, with an initial reaction outside the Royal Courts of Justice after the Palestine Action ruling
Telegraph headline"New pro-Palestinian group should be banned, says former anti-extremism tsarr – Lord Walney (sic) accuses People Against Genocide of ‘criminal violence’ tactics similar to proscribed Palestine Action movement
Protesters from Defend our Juries
A placard outside of Woolwich Crown Court reads "lock up the real terrorists" over images of Keir Starmer and Benjamin Netanyahu
A masked protester speaks into a microphone whilst a police officer watches on.
A GMP Inspector threatens a protest with PAVA pepper spray.
3 black lives matter protesters hold placards.
Headline? Accountability for protesters, but not police? Image shows protester with mask on, and the backs of two police officers in a line of police, facing the demonstration.
Photo taken by Netpol's Campaigns and Media Coordinator Kevin Blowe, whose flat was inside the police cordon, on the day of the police raid on 1 June 2006 at the end of Lansdown Road E7
A Palestine solidarity protester at night in London, with their face covered, holds a megaphone and a placard. In the background is the 19 bus to Hyde Park Corner
Placard reads "the Nakba never ended, the colonizer lied"
Joining the Palestine protest? Here's our key advice! 🍉NO COMMENT. You don't need to answer police questions, so don't. 🍉NO PERSONAL DETAILS. You don't have to give personal details under any stop and search power*, so don't. 🍉UNDER WHAT POWER? Ask "Under what power?" to challenge the police to act lawfully. They must have a legal basis for their actions. 🍉NO DUTY SOLICITOR. Use a recommended solicitor with protest experience if you are arrested. 🍉NO CAUTION. A caution is a legal admission of guilt. *There are a few situations in which police may have a power to require personal details: if someone is driving a vehicle (or another licensed activity); if they are being fined under a Fixed Penalty Notice; under a particular anti-social behaviour power (which should not generally be used against protesters); or if there is a particular by-law (for example, in a port or airport).
A protester in Trafalgar Square, wearing a brown jacket, holds a hand-made placard that reads "Fuck Your Ban (we will win and fuck you Shabana Mahood)". In the background are other protesters and a City of London Police officer
A close up of a dictionary pass highlights the word "legislation"
Flyer for event. Reads: Bristol Event. How Repression Became Routine. Annual State of Protest Report 2025. Community Cafe in St. Paul's Learning Centre, Bristol 7 - 8.30pm, Tuesday 5th May. Speakers from: Bristol Defendant Solidarity, Netpol, Bristol Anarchist Black Cross, Disarm Bristol and local antifascists. BOOK: netpol.org/events
CALL OUT WHAT: Accounts of police violence WHERE: Manchester protest against Britain First WHEN: Saturday 18th April 2026
Event flyer: How Repression Became Routine: Protest Policing in Manchester and Beyond Speakers: Simon Pook - Robert Lizar Solicitors - Manchester’s go-to protest solicitor. Zara - Northern Police Monitoring Project - Community resistance to police violence Milo - Manchester Feminist Coalition - Building a militant feminist movement Maya Fitchett - Netpol: Research Coordinator & author of the report Rosalind Burgin, Bethany Currie & Alexander McColl - Garden Court North - Protest specialist barristers Allerton Building, Frederick Road Campus, Salford Uni 6.30- 9pm May 14th BOOK: netpol.org/events
Greater Manchester Police, in riot gear, with their absent shoulder ID circled.
Greater Manchester Police, in riot gear, with their absent shoulder ID circled.
Greater Manchester Police, in riot gear, with their absent shoulder ID circled.
Greater Manchester Police, in riot gear, with their absent shoulder ID circled.
Greater Manchester Police, in riot gear, with their absent shoulder ID circled.
Greater Manchester Police, in riot gear, with their absent shoulder ID circled.
Poster for Everybody to Kenmure Street
The police inspector described.
Police inspector brandishing PAVA spray.
An injured protester is told to remove he mask by police whilst a legal observer looks on.
GMP police officer, his shoulder circled to highlight the lack of mandated ID.
GMP police officer, his shoulder circled to highlight the lack of mandated ID.
Unaccountable thuggery from Manchester Police
Police officers at a Merseyside Stand Up To Racism demonstration in Liverpool on Saturday March 21st
How Repression Became Routine cover that includes a photo of police officers with batons drawn
The Bristol ‘dance’ – a case study: In Bristol, legal observers have documented the repeated use of Section 50 at anti-fascist counterdemonstrations as part of a carousel of low-threshold powers employed against protesters, referred to as the ’34-60aa-50-35 dance’. This sequence is not random, but a deliberate tactic of layering legislation to ensure data capture and control of protests. • Section 60aa (Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994) requires the removal of face coverings and creates a pretext for stopping people without reasonable suspicion. • Section 34 (Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014) provides authorisation for police to disperse protesters for up to 48 hours, effectively criminalising protesters for assembling once deemed as ‘likely’ to cause disorder. This, in turn, sets the precedent for the steps that follow. • Section 50 follows, criminalising non-compliance and providing an easy arrest mechanism while also acting as an intelligence-gathering model which allows police to identify movement actors. • Section 35 (Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014) is then evoked, allowing the police to clear out protesters once data collection has been completed.
The inside of the main hall at Proposition Studios
‘I can’t imagine why a Christian wouldn’t support Palestine Action. If I was younger, then I would probably be smashing up the weapons myself, but at 84 I can still do my small bit by being arrested, going to court and potentially going to prison.’
Officers arresting a protester in Trafalgar Square
Officers arrest a protester opposing the ban on Palestine Action