Talking to the Cops – A Guide for Protest Groups

Mar 13, 2019 | Protest

Acknowledging a renewed debate about the merits and risks for protesters negotiating or communicating with the police, one of the co-founders of environmental group Extinction Rebellion claimed in February that concerns raised by other campaigners were “a proxy for...

It’s Time to Close Down the Police’s “Domestic Extremism” Databases

Feb 5, 2019 | Domestic Extremism

Drawing by John Catt, 2011 A European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) judgment in January, in a case brought by veteran peace campaigner John Catt, is extremely significant for the future of protest surveillance. For seven years John has argued that the decision by the...

Anti-fracking campaigners launch new network to coordinate complaints about police misconduct

Dec 14, 2018 | Protest

PHOTO: Netpol Ongoing evidence of confrontational and often violent and dangerous conduct by police officers at the shale gas fracking site at Preston New Road in Lancashire has sparked a coordinated effort to encourage campaigners to formally complain about their...

A War on Dissent?

Oct 31, 2018 | Comment, Domestic Extremism, Protest

This essay by Netpol was first published by the Transnational Institute and ROAR Magazine in October 2018. An accompanying short film is available here. Writing in 2016, Netpol observed that the government and the police in Britain are in a “permanent state of war”...

“Aaron-gate” – Prevent’s latest smearing of legitimate political dissent

Jul 31, 2018 | Domestic Extremism, Protest

A report on tackling ‘hateful extremism’ commissioned in the aftermath of the Manchester Arena attack has been caught up in a barrage of criticism entirely of its authors’ own making, after smearing anti-fracking campaigners and then admitting it...