In a new age of protest we must legislate wisely

We pride ourselves in our tolerance of peaceful protest as a right , and for the most part our protests are peaceful and well ordered . But when we do suffer these occasional periods of disorder it tests our resilience to breaking point.

All these outbreaks of violent protest have things in common . In all cases there is a genuine kernel of grievance, which can be fanned by small numbers of malcontents, and in the worst cases develop a life of their own, spreading, and becoming a firmament. Once established such protest movements can become a sport for the anti-authority minority, simply looking for some action at the weekend.

This is the situation we face right now with the weekly pro Palestinian demonstrations, especially in London , that are stretching our police to their limits.

The truth is that our police service is not structured or equipped to deal with ongoing violent protest . Unlike our European neighbours we do not have a dedicated Riot Police , like The French CRS.

We only have our single tier of policing , the officers you see in riot gear on our streets are the same men and women who should be patrolling our neighbourhoods, preventing and detecting crime. Long periods of protest and disorder strip out our community policing, and if it goes on too long the damage can be lasting.

Wise heads know this , so you might think that in periods of tension, our political leaders would tread carefully, so as not to further inflame passions. Alas, recent evidence suggests that our leaders either know little or care less, for the recent proscription of The Palestine Action Group was a grossly inept act of self harm, which will have long term consequences for our criminal justice system.

Let’s be clear, there is no doubt that the hard core of ‘ Palestine Action’ are violent individuals determined to attack and damage our armed forces and defence establishment. The group’s attack on RAF Brize Norton last June was a serious breach of security demanding a robust response. And there were adequate remedies under existing law, instead of which, in what appeared to be a knee jerk act of rage, the entire Palestine Action Group, was proscribed as a Terrorist Group under the Terrorist Act of 2000. It was a gift to Palestine Action, for now after weekends of protest nearly two thousand people have been arrested under the provisions of the proscription. Most are not hard core activists but well meaning ordinary folk drawn to a cause they see played out on the nightly news. The ongoing passage of this group through our already beleaguered criminal justice system will compound the folly of this decision with years of trials and appeals.

The current phase of protest and disorder will recede , if the Middle East peace deal holds and colder weather sets in . But we should hope that lessons will be learned.

In times of raised tensions our legislators should tread carefully and think through the consequences of their actions.

Tom Wood is a writer and former police officer