Policing Protest

A Review of Current Regulation and practices in England & Wales by Austin Hill

Public protest has long been recognised as a vital democratic practice in the United Kingdom, serving as a means for individuals and groups to express dissent, influence political debate, and hold power to account. Protest rights enshrined in international law have increasingly come under pressure in the UK from expanding legislative and policing powers.

A series of high-profile protest movements have prompted successive governments to redefine the boundaries of ‘acceptable’ protest. This has resulted in a growing body of law that seeks not only to regulate public order but also to deter forms of disruptive protest traditionally understood as central to democratic engagement. Alongside these legal developments, policing practices have become more militarised, technologically sophisticated, and oriented toward pre-emptive control, raising concerns among civil liberties organisations, academics, and international human rights bodies.

Policing Protest Brief Austin Hill 101225, examines the legal foundations of protest rights in England and Wales, recent evolutions of the statutory framework, and the shifting landscape of policing dissent. Together, they illuminate a broader trend: the steady expansion of state power over protest in ways that increasingly test the limits of the UK’s human rights commitments.