ABSTRACT
In Keeping the Peace , David Williams asserted that the law of public order was a compromise which sought to balance the ‘competing demands of freedom of speech and assembly on the one hand and the preservation of the Queen’s Peace on the other.’ 1 Historically, this compromise has repeatedly failed, resulting in a considerable catalogue of public disorder and riot. As ‘keepers of the peace’, the police and their tactics are intrinsically scrutinised by the media in any event of disorder. At the same time, effective public order policing does not attract the same attention. In this respect, Reicher et al. state, ‘public order policing is a no-win situation.’ 2 The intention of this book is not to serve as a chronological record of events denigrating police tactics, but to provide a critical analysis of the development of public order law and the different approaches that have been utilised by the police from 1829 through 2014. By contextualising this historical development it serves as a stark warning towards future Government policy which aims to regulate public order by restricting fundamental rights and liberties. The relationship between such extensions of public order law and developing police tactics is integral to this investigation.
