New policing powers to be utilised at city centre protest 

A policing operation has been stood up ahead of a protest and counter-protest in Bristol city centre tomorrow (Saturday 8 August).  

The protest group are expected to muster in Queen’s Square at around 11am, with the counter-protest group expected to be in the area from 10am. 

Officers are being deployed to enable participant’s right to free speech and to ensure the safety of all in attendance and the public. They will not, however, tolerate criminality, disorder or hate of any kind. 

Dispersal zone in place 

A dispersal zone under Section 35 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 will be in place from 8am until 8pm tomorrow (pictured).  

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.  

New powers around face coverings 

For the same area, for the first time, the new face covering rules under the Crime and Policing Act 2026 will come into force. 

Similar to the Section 60AA powers under the Criminal Justice and Public Act, the newly introduced Section 157 powers, allow officers to ask people to remove a face covering if they believe it is being worn to ‘wholly or mainly conceal their identity’ and they intend to commit criminality.  

The key difference between the two powers lies with what happens after the request.  

When asked to remove a mask under Section 60AA, the individual would be able to move to another area of the zone and put the face covering back on. 

Under the new law, officers are able to make the request and the individual is not allowed to use a face covering again within the set area. If they are seen wearing a face covering, they can be arrested or be removed from the area under the dispersal order. 

Designated zone 

Another power that has been preauthorised ahead of the protest is a Section 14 order under the Public Order Act 1986.  

This power allows officers to set a designated area for a group to stand in, it also prohibits other groups from entering or blocking the area. 

For this protest, a zone has been put in place in Queens Square which is applicable for the protest group. All members of the protest group must stand in the designated zone (pictured) and will not be allowed to protest outside of this area or they may be arrested. 

The counter-protest group are not allowed to enter this zone and must not block people from entering this zone. 

Section 14 powers are used to ensure the safety of all parties, regardless of the group they are with. 

The designated area has been allocated to the protest group which first notified police of its intention to protest. The purpose of the designated area is to enable peaceful protest while reducing the risk of conflict between opposing groups.  Keeping the groups separate helps officers protect public safety and respond effectively to any incidents. 

Silver Commander for the operation Supt Karen Corrigan said: “This weekend is anticipated to have one of the largest turnouts for a protest this year and we have been engaging with representatives from both the protest and counter-protest groups to ensure it runs without incident and in a safe and lawful manner. 

“I would like to take a moment to publicly recognise and thank our officers for their commitment to keeping our community safe, especially those who have had rest days cancelled to assist in the policing of these protests. 

“We have sought mutual aid from eight different police forces for this operation and have worked collaboratively with our colleagues both locally within the region and further afield in the build-up to this event. 

“We will be utilising new powers during this protest, as well as well-used and practiced ones. 

“We will be utilising officers on the ground and via our Drone Team to monitor the protest and gather any evidence of a crime. Where offences are identified, officers will take appropriate action. This may include making arrests at the time or, where operationally safer and more proportionate, gathering evidence and pursuing offenders after the event. 

“We are a democratic society, people are free to share their views and opinions, and we will always do what we can to enable lawful protest, but hateful language and criminality will not be tolerated.”