Assaults and attacks
There was some trouble from counter protestors at SODEM's protest outside Parliament on Tuesday. I understand they were from a group called UK Unity, and that they filmed, stole flags, spat and verbally abused the SODEM protestors. It was demoralising, but nobody was injured.
It got me thinking. There are likely to be more counter-protests as things get more heated. And there may well be troublemakers among the counter-protesters.
So I've put together a little document: “Assaults and Attacks: A Quick Guide”. A 6 page PDF, 579Kb in length. It gives a few handy phone numbers, and outlines the various offences that any troublemakers may commit.
You do NOT have to be physically attacked for an offence to be committed.
For example, verbal abuse counts as “causing harassment, alarm or distress” and is an offence under Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986. Poking and pushing are “battery” under section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, while shoving, spitting and threats of violence count as “Common Assault” under section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988.
I hope we never have to use any of this stuff, but it may be worth downloading the document to your phone so you have it available for reference. Just in case.
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