Policing operation in place for city centre protest

A policing operation has been stood up in preparation for a protest taking place in Bristol city centre.

A protest and march are due to be held tomorrow morning (Saturday 7 March) from 10am gathering at the Cenotaph in St Augustine’s Parade, with another group set to counter-protest.

Officers are being deployed to enable a peaceful protest and to ensure the safety of all in attendance and the general public. They will not, however, tolerate criminality, disorder or hate.

A dispersal zone under Section 34 of the Antisocial Behaviour and Policing Act 2014 will be in place from 8am until 6pm tomorrow.

The dispersal zone will give officers the power to move on groups or individuals causing, or likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to others. A map of this zone is shown below.

In addition to this power, officers have also been granted with enhanced powers under Section 60AA of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act. This will be in place for the same period as the dispersal zone.

A Section 60AA power allows officers to ask people to remove face coverings if they have reason to believe it is being worn ‘wholly or mainly to conceal their identity.

Neighbourhood Policing Inspector John Shaddick said: “As with all previous protests, we will always seek to enable peaceful protests. What we will not tolerate, however, is any form of violence or disorder within our communities.

“In previous events of this nature, we have seen people try to conceal their identity with face masks and face coverings. On occasion, we have exercised our Section 60AA power if we believe the individual is planning to commit a criminal offence.

“By pre-authorising this power, as well as the dispersal zone, officers will be able to quickly and effectively take action in order to reduce the risk of criminal offences being committed.

“I will be in regular contact with our partners throughout the day, including local councillors, faith leaders and community group leaders, to provide timely and accurate updates throughout the event.”