Traffic Officers, Pigeons, Protests And Social Media Folly.

By Chris Hobbs – Retired Metropolitan Police Officer and now police commentator

Saturday looked as if would be relatively uneventful for the Met in terms of public order protest with two planned significant events: The first was a now familiar scenario in terms of a protest against the Iranian regime and its brutal repression of those who had taken to the streets. The second was a ‘short-notice’ pro-Palestine protest outside the British Museum: This appears to have been linked to the renaming of exhibits which resulted in the omission of the word ‘Palestine.’

The numbers attending the Iran protest were never going to match those of the previous week when there was an organised ‘global protest.’ Last week Whitehall was closed off to facilitate the significant numbers attending. On this occasion Whitehall remained open and the protesters were confined to the usual protest area opposite Downing Street and in front of the Ministry of Defence. Nevertheless, the numbers were substantial and, as on previous occasions, the rally would at its conclusion, march to the Iranian Embassy.

Those walking down Whitehall from Trafalgar Square would have noticed a number of traffic officers with their bikes in Horse Guards Avenue waiting to facilitate the march. They may also have noticed, as did I, that these approachable, smiling officers had become a tourist attraction in their own right much to the delight of young children and their parents.

On a personal level, my attendance at the rally itself was quickly marked, literally, by a passing pigeon which necessitated the production of a wet wipe by another seasoned protest observer. Pigeons remained a theme as those present watched intrigued as a group of pigeons strolled from the ranks of the protesters and began to cross the road.

These pigeons were quite distinctive; several were brown with white patches while others also had distinctive ‘plumage’ as opposed to the drab colouring of those normally found around our towns and cities.  To the alarm of the now intrigued protesters, observers and police, this group of pigeons seemed totally unconcerned as to the dangers posed by oncoming traffic. Somehow, they reached the centre of Whitehall which was traffic free and then continued to wander about as if unsure of exactly what they were supposed to be doing. Unlike their London cousins, these were clearly not ‘streetwise’ with a one notable exception who sat on top of a lamp post looking smugly down on proceedings.

The word then spread that these were ‘freedom birds’ and their release should have seen them flying away as so often seen when doves are symbolically released. These birds, however, were homing pigeons and perhaps the manner of their release confused them. It was an observant police response driver who managed to bring his vehicle, travelling to an emergency on ‘blues and twos,’ to a halt as a disorientated pigeon strayed into its path.

It was clear that action had to be taken; the ‘owner’ emerged with a cardboard box and began apprehending the offending birds with the assistance of others. Notable amongst the rescuers was Met Police Inspector Kenny who, fortuitously, prior to joining the Met was previously employed as an inspector…….by the RSPCA.

Pro-Palestinians at the British Museum.

Shortly after this drama concluded, those assembled at the rear of the rally surprised everybody by suddenly turning around and beginning their march up Whitehall. They halted, briefly blocking the entire road before setting off on their four-mile trek to the Iranian Embassy. There were no reported incidents during the march and subsequent gathering at the Iranian Embassy.

At this point, I opted to leave this event and make my way to the pro-Palestine protest at the British Museum. On arrival around 150 noisy protesters, were, with the aid of drums, making their feelings known. This had little effect on the crowds passing through the museum gates who were being scrutinised by security guards probably due to the fact that earlier, protesters had been able to gather on the steps and unfurl a banner from a balcony.

Apparently, there were two pro-Israeli ‘Inserts’ within the crowd but there was no disorder.  However, sometime later one was escorted from the protest by officers; he was followed by a group of jeering pro-Palestinians and placed in a carrier. There were no subsequent reports of arrests being made and a short time later the crowd decided enough was enough and dispersed.

Youthful disorder.

Unbeknown to me, a short distance away in the Soho Square, Oxford Street area, police were responding to hundreds of youths running amok due to a clothes marketing event which, when advertised, went ‘viral’ on social media.

During recent days, a further social media linked public order issue has emerged in various London boroughs where schools have been divided up into red and blue ‘teams’ and encouraged to meet and fight with each other at a given location. The potential seriousness of the situation has been enhanced by further social media suggestions that pupils participating come armed with weapons. As a result of this latest irresponsible social media fad, significant numbers of officers are having to be deployed in the afternoons as pupils leave their schools.

Sunday’s events and improved communication.

On Sunday, there was yet another Iranian march which again began in Downing Street and ended at the Iranian Embassy. There appears to have been no incidents while the abysmal performance of Tottenham Hotspur against Arsenal resulted in many Spurs fans leaving before the end of the match which ensured that police didn’t have to deal with violent, post-match exchanges seen during previous seasons.

There has been no Met social media summary of the weekends public order events which suggests that, despite fashion conscious youths running amok, the weekend went well which again will receive approbation from no-one.

There is however good news for hard pressed front-line officers, who are often the subject of distorted and unfair criticism on social media; the College of Policing has at last ‘smelt the coffee’ and is now stating that police forces must be both more agile and skillful in their communication with the public especially in terms of responding to social media. This will become especially relevant in terms of public order events.

It will be interesting to see how this develops. The link to the College of Policing article and download is here: https://www.college.police.uk/article/new-standards-police-communications-published  

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