ID :
203982
Sun, 08/28/2011 - 12:47
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/203982
The shortlink copeid
Record Number of Police on Alert in London Amid Fears about New Protests
TEHRAN (FNA)- Just three weeks after the start of the protests in Britain, the London Metropolitan Police (Scotland Yard) deployed twice as many officers in the city for the Notting Hill Carnival amid fears about new unrests.
After criticism of Scotland Yard's response to recent unrests, the law enforcement agency will have 16,000 officers at the Notting Hill carnival, a heavier than usual presence.
The carnival is taking place this year in "unusual and exceptional" circumstances, Commander Steve Rodhouse of the Metropolitan police said.
Rodhouse confirmed that police numbers would be around 16,000 throughout the Bank Holiday weekend across the capital.
Media reports said that the number of officers on duty at the carnival on Sunday and Monday will be more than ever before. In addition, it is understood police will use Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, which gives officers powers to stop and search individuals in a designated area without reasonable suspicion that they are about to commit an offence.
On Sunday, the children's carnival, 5,500 police will be on the streets. On Bank Holiday Monday, which attracts the biggest crowds, 6,500 police will be at the event, Rodhouse said.
A reserve of 4,000 additional officers will be available across London to cope with any unrest in other areas. They will also be complemented by the usual number of borough officers on duty, maintaining the total available at 16,000.
Rodhouse said there was some intelligence from social networking sites and elsewhere that protesters were intent on causing trouble during the carnival.
Unrest has rocked Britain on a scale unprecedented in 30 years following the police's killing of black male Mark Duggan in a shooting spree in the London suburb of Tottenham on August 4.
Tension erupted on August 6, when a few hundred people gathered outside a police station in Tottenham to protest the killing.
The protests then spread to major cities like Birmingham, Liverpool, and Bristol.
Despite London's claims about supporting freedom of expression and flow of information, Britain block access to social networking websites following the outbreak of social unrests in the country, London in particular.
The British police have arrested a number of internet users as part of a broader clampdown on social networking sites under security excuses.
After criticism of Scotland Yard's response to recent unrests, the law enforcement agency will have 16,000 officers at the Notting Hill carnival, a heavier than usual presence.
The carnival is taking place this year in "unusual and exceptional" circumstances, Commander Steve Rodhouse of the Metropolitan police said.
Rodhouse confirmed that police numbers would be around 16,000 throughout the Bank Holiday weekend across the capital.
Media reports said that the number of officers on duty at the carnival on Sunday and Monday will be more than ever before. In addition, it is understood police will use Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, which gives officers powers to stop and search individuals in a designated area without reasonable suspicion that they are about to commit an offence.
On Sunday, the children's carnival, 5,500 police will be on the streets. On Bank Holiday Monday, which attracts the biggest crowds, 6,500 police will be at the event, Rodhouse said.
A reserve of 4,000 additional officers will be available across London to cope with any unrest in other areas. They will also be complemented by the usual number of borough officers on duty, maintaining the total available at 16,000.
Rodhouse said there was some intelligence from social networking sites and elsewhere that protesters were intent on causing trouble during the carnival.
Unrest has rocked Britain on a scale unprecedented in 30 years following the police's killing of black male Mark Duggan in a shooting spree in the London suburb of Tottenham on August 4.
Tension erupted on August 6, when a few hundred people gathered outside a police station in Tottenham to protest the killing.
The protests then spread to major cities like Birmingham, Liverpool, and Bristol.
Despite London's claims about supporting freedom of expression and flow of information, Britain block access to social networking websites following the outbreak of social unrests in the country, London in particular.
The British police have arrested a number of internet users as part of a broader clampdown on social networking sites under security excuses.
