URGENT CALL OUT: Have you received a fixed penalty notice under coronavirus laws?

May 26, 2020 | Rights

A dog walker talking to police patrolling the lockdown in Blackburn, April 12th 2020 (Photo: Shutterstock) Following the recent confirmation that a large number of prosecutions have been wrongly pursued under the coronavirus emergency legislation, there is increasing...

Netpol calls for restrictions to police powers and a strict time-limit on ‘draconian’ Coronavirus Bill

Mar 19, 2020 | Comment, Rights

PHOTO: Brian A Jackson | Shutterstock PRESS STATEMENT ON THE GOVERNMENT’S NEW CORONAVIRUS BILL While everyone is currently very anxious about the future, it is important that any emergency response the government plans to adopt and implement to contain the...

Climate strike campaigners tell Netpol that police surveillance is a growing threat to protest rights

Sep 19, 2019 | Protest, Rights

PHOTO: Shutterstock.com Following reports from solicitors and individual campaigners in several parts of the country saying that the police have been asking schools for lists of students taking part in climate strike protests, Netpol has canvassed the opinions of...

Netpol calls on opposition parties to embrace policies in 2019 protecting the right to participate in protests

Jan 3, 2019 | Rights

There is much speculation whether the chaos in Westminster could eventually lead to a snap general election. Governments come and go, but it seems the constant battle to protect the right to freedom of assembly remains unabated. Eight years ago the Coalition...

Victory for Netpol in legal challenge over scale of surveillance on anti-fracking campaigners

Jun 11, 2018 | Protest, Rights

In a judgment received today, a tribunal has ruled in favour of Netpol and said that the police cannot rely on safeguarding national security as a reason for refusing to release any information on how often opponents of fracking are referred to a secretive...

Injunctions: A Myth Buster for Anti-Frackers

Jun 7, 2018 | Protest, Rights

GUEST POST Injunctions are scary sounding things, but that’s exactly what they’re meant to be. Fear, rather than actual prosecutions, is the primary means by which injunction orders succeed in shutting down protest. And you can understand why: if a court...