Know your rights.
Image: Green and Black Cross
Green and Black Cross are an independent grassroots project which offer help and advice to protestors and activists for issues related to protest and political action. It’s important to remember their 5 key messages when protesting which we have shared below.
1. No Comment
You are not obliged to speak to the police on demonstrations.
They want to gather information about you, your friends and other people on the demonstration. You can and should say “No Comment” to them. If arrested, you do not need to answer police questions, so don’t. This is for your own protection and for the protection of others. The police will try to pressure and deceive you into incriminating yourself. Instead of trying to decide when it seems ‘safe’ to answer, just say “No comment” to all questions – during ‘informal chats’, in the police van, and especially in interview.
However, if you have been arrested and have been taken to the police station you may wish to give your name, address and date of birth at the custody desk to speed up your release.
For a longer discussion, the booklet “NO COMMENT” produced by the Legal Defence and Monitoring Group is excellent.
Under new changes, if you are arrested you are now also obliged to tell the police your nationality – but only if they have good reason to suspect you are not a British National.
You may also wish to speak to the cops if you are trans and being forced to interact with them (e.g. if you are being stopped and searched or arrested) and they are misgendering you. You have the right to insist that your gender be recognised.
UK law is currently unclear about non-binary people. However, government policy documents refer to non-binary people, and therefore by extension you can insist that your gender be respected.
If possible, just don’t engage with the police. No comment.
2. No Personal Details
You are not obliged to give your details under any stop and search power, so don’t. This includes your name, your address, and your gender.
On protests, the police often use searches as a way of finding out who is present, both for intelligence purposes and to intimidate you.
Police also use arrest as a means of gathering information, particularly when they arrest a large number of people together (“mass arrest”).
As a default, you do NOT have to give your personal details to the police at any point during the arrest process. However, since 2017, if you have been arrested, the police can require to say what your nationality is and can require you to produce nationality documents, if they suspect that you are not a British citizen.
We recommend not giving personal details to the police for as long as possible – for more information on why, see the page “Do I have to give my details?”. If you have been arrested and taken to the police station you may wish to give your name, address and date of birth at the custody desk to speed your release. Police will usually check the address and may visit at a later date.
Once you reach court, you can be required to give your name, date of birth and nationality.
There are a few situations in which police may have a power to require personal details: if someone is driving a vehicle (or another licensed activity); if they are being fined under a Fixed Penalty Notice; under a particular anti-social behaviour power (which should not generally be used against protesters); or if there is a particular by-law.
If you are being stopped and searched, ‘non-intimate’ searches (i.e. ‘pat-downs’ – being physically touched by an officer outside of your clothes) can be done by officers of any gender, but you have the right to ask to be searched by an officer of the same gender as you, and if it is ‘reasonably practicable’ this should be done. Therefore if you are being misgendered you can insist on being treated as your gender.
If you are non-binary, because the police only have to provide someone of the same gender as you ‘where reasonably practicable’, it is very unlikely you will be physically searched by a non-binary officer. This doesn’t mean you needn’t request this if you wish.
3. Under What Power
Ask “What power?” to challenge the police to act lawfully
Some police officers rely on you not knowing the law. If you are asked to do something by a police officer, ask them what power (i.e. what law) they are using and why they are using it. Make a note of what was said, by whom (numbers) as soon as possible afterwards.
If the police are demanding that you do certain things, ask “Am I legally obliged to do so?” then if they say yes, “Under What Power?” The police must have a legal basis for their actions. You can ask them “under what power” are they doing things.
4. No Duty Solicitor
The “duty solicitor” is the solicitor who is present at the police station. Use a recommended solicitor with protest experience.
They may come from any firm of solicitors, which means they almost certainly know nothing about protest.
Duty solicitors don't always know enough about protest law to advise you effectively; we recommend you always use a good solicitor who knows about protest.
Irvine Thanvi Natas (ITN): 020 8522 7707
Hodge Jones Allen (HJA): 0800 437 0322
Bindmans: 020 7833 4433
Kellys (outside London): 01273 674 898
5. No Caution
Cautions are an admission of guilt. Offering you a caution is a way the police may ask you to admit guilt for an offence without having to charge you.
It is an easy win for the police, as they don’t have to provide any evidence or convince a court of your guilt.
At the very least, you should never accept a caution without taking advice from a good solicitor.
This information is provided by Green and Black Cross.