Author Archives: eveline lubbers

POLICING Stricter lockdown measures have been announced in Leicester because of a rise in coronavirus cases in the city. Leicestershire Police immediately stated they don’t know how to enforce the localised lockdown in place for least two weeks. Chief constable Simon Cole said his force was “thinking about all of our options”. Leicestershire County CouncilContinue reading “28 – 30 June Update”

POLICING Ministers risk ‘considerable unrest’ during the next phase of lockdown easing if they continue ordering tough crackdowns on disorder, police commissioners have warned. Clampdown on lockdown-breaching parties ‘could provoke considerable unrest’, after the police have clashed with residents breaking up raves in Brixton and Tottenham, with people arrested and officers injured. Instead of communityContinue reading “25 – 27 June Update”

POLICING Chief constables claim that in their hurry to publish data on lockdown fines, forces have understated how many were given to members of black and minority communities, but deny they were trying to hide a deeper problem of racism in policing across England and Wales. Amnesty International has called on police in the northContinue reading “22 – 24 June update”

POLICING Police enforcing the coronavirus lockdown in England and Wales were almost up to seven times more likely to issue fines to black, Asian and minority ethnic people than white people. These figures published by Liberty Investigates confirm what we have been reporting since we started this blog three months ago. Bias and lack ofContinue reading “17 – 18 June Update”

POLICING Youth worker Kusai Rahal is launching a legal challenge against a fine issued by the Metropolitan Police for breaking lockdown rules by attending the arrest of a teenager in his capacity as head of community support at the charity 4Front. His arrest was shared on a video that was widely circulated on social media.Continue reading “15 – 16 June Update”

POLICING The weekend has been dominated by what was essentially a white supremacist riot in central London, largely involving what one charity has described as football firms fighting with the police after a Black Lives Matter protest was postponed. There were similar confrontations involving far-right groups in Glasgow after a protest organised there was alsoContinue reading “12 – 14 June Update”

POLICING Data released by the National Police Chiefs Council shows that a total of 15,715 Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) have been recorded by forces in England up to 8 June for breaches of government public health regulations. In Wales, 2,282 FPNs have been issued in the same timeframe. Dyfed-Powys Police has issued more coronavirus finesContinue reading “10 – 11 June Update”

POLICING Offences under current emergency legislation were only one of the reasons the Metropolitan Police relied upon to arrest 86 people across the Black Lives Matter demonstrations over the weekend, although it remains unclear why a small number were detained for participating in gatherings of more than six people when there were thousands who wereContinue reading “8 – 9 June Update”

POLICING Large Black Live Matters demonstrations around the country, challenging the lockdown rules’ ban on large gatherings. There was a significant difference in approach by the police in different areas, with on Avon and Somerset Police deciding not to intervene when the statue of slave trader Edward Colston was toppled and thrown into the harbour,Continue reading “5 – 7 June Update”

POLICING Solicitors from Hodge Jones and Allen have written to the Metropolitan Police, on behalf of Netpol, London Black Live Matters, UK Student Climate Network and Extinction Rebellion, to express their concerns about the policing of protests under the coronavirus regulations. The letter argues that in particular, the use of Regulation 7 fails to provideContinue reading “3 – 4 June Update”