NETCU – National Extremism Tactical Coordination Unit
Peaceful protest
Peaceful protest in the UK can take many forms, from collecting signatures on a petition, organising a rally or march or taking part in a creative stunt to attract publicity for a particular cause.
Thousands of people take part in protests across the country each year, and NETCU, along with the wider police service, fully supports people's rights to democratically express their views on issues they feel strongly about.
The police service and other law enforcement agencies also have a vital role to play in ensuring that where protest action takes place, it does so in a peaceful and safe manner and does not cause unnecessary disruption to a community.
We seek to strike an appropriate balance between everyone's rights; the rights of citizens to protest with the rights of a lawful business and its employees to continue working without unlawful disruption or intimidation and the rights of other members of a community to continue their daily lives without excessive disruption.
This section of the website will outline some of the legislation that is used to achieve that balance of rights, together with advice about some of the things you can do to ensure any campaign you might be involved with stays lawful and safe.
Unfortunately, within some otherwise peaceful campaigns, a few individuals resort to criminal activity to further their cause. These individuals sometimes try to hide their illegal activities by associating themselves with otherwise peaceful campaigners. It is this minority which police forces, together with units like NETCU, are determined to stop and bring to justice.
