The Serious Organised
Crime and Police Act 2005 (SOCPA) deals with a range
of issues - from the establishment of the Serious
Organised Crime Agency
to a series of laws that place severe restrictions on freedom
to protest in this country. It is these restrictions that we
wish to see repealed. see
more on SOCPA legislation
The most controversial of the restrictions
is the ban on unauthorised protest in a large 'designated
area' around Parliament under sections
132-138 of SOCPA. However, there are also a growing number
of 'designated sites' within
which trespass is now a criminal offence under sections
128-131 of SOCPA. Currently these extend to a number of
military bases, royal, governmental
and parliamentary sites. SOCPA also includes a range
of other measures related to harassment and 'interference
with contractual relationships' which are currently
being used to clamp down on
animal rights
protests
and to impose harsh penalties including substantial
periods of remand and prison sentences.
March 2008: The
Government announce that restrictions on protest
around Parliament will be repealed but we must still
pay attention!
"Managing Protest around Parliament:
The Government proposes the repeal of sections 132-138
of the Serious Organised
Crime and Police Act 2005. Repeal of these sections will
remove the requirement to give notice of demonstrations
in the designated area around Parliament. It will also remove
the offence for such demonstrations to be held without the
authorisation of the Metropolitan Police Commissioner." 'The
Governance of Britain – Constitutional Renewal', March 2008
However, Jack Straw left the way open for
restrictions to creep back in, saying, 'Our view is
that Parliament itself is best placed to decide what needs
to be secured to ensure Members are able freely to discharge
their responsibilities'. While continued monitoring is
needed, the Government's acceptance
that
the law "appeared to be pretty heavy handed" represents
an inspiring, if yet to be fully realised, victory for everyone
who spoke out, and stood up, against these restrictions
on freedom of speech.
See details on the repeal
of sections 132-138 SOCPA announced in March 08.
See SOCPA elsewhere for
how the legislation is affecting protest around the country.
April 2008: The
Joint Committee on Human Rights have issued a Call for
Evidence for an enquiry into Policing
and Protest
This enquiry is about SOCPA but also about many other
aspects of how protest is policed. See
here for more details. Anyone may submit evidence - this should
be done by 9 June 2008. More details on this site later...
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"I am outraged that the centuries old
right to protest outside Parliament has been changed to a 'right
to protest with police permission'. This change has been extended
to other places in Britain too. I am going to introduce legislation
to try and force a Government rethink on this...It has
made the normal law abiding citizen wary of holding a placard
or marching in the wrong place in case they get a criminal record.
That is a shocking state of affairs for a country that used
to pride itself on its democracy."
Baroness
Miller, the Lib Dem
peer who introduced this private members bill.
“The Serious Organised Crime
and Police Act is a very good example of unscrutinised,
ill considered
and under-discussed legislation... civilians with no criminal
intent...have suffered receiving a criminal offence simply
because they have expressed their views within 1 kilometre
of the Houses of Parliament.”
Baroness Williams (Lib Dem)
26/01/07
“When I pass protestors every day
at Downing Street, and believe me, you name it, they protest
against it, I may not like what they call me, but I thank
God they can. That's called freedom."
Tony Blair 7/04/2002
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