photography
St ry behind the
picture The Metropolitan Police’s public order training centre By Jess Hurd
In my 30-year photography career, I have covered public order situations globally. So I jumped at the opportunity to join a group of filmmakers, photographers and reporters on an NUJ-organised visit to the Metropolitan Police public order training centre at Gravesend in Kent. Sergeant Mills, a specialist instructor, started by explaining police
command structures. Gold were strategic, silver tactical and bronze implemented orders. He covered human rights, freedom of expression and citizen journalism, focusing on difficulties caused by antagonistic far-right vloggers while keeping bona-fide UKPCA press card journalists safe. The instructor and Met press officer in attendance faced tough questions. A Muslim colleague conveyed their experience of policing and tackling racial stereotyping. Another journalist recounted their arrest while covering a Just Stop Oil protest. In the past three years, more legitimate journalists have been arrested while covering protest than at any other time. From a rooftop, we witnessed the training. Unpaid volunteer officers acted as rioters, hurling wooden bricks and Molotov cocktails at regimented police lines.
Often the best police tactic is to withdraw, the press officer said, as a large police presence often antagonises situations. They also referred to the use of police liaison officers to both negotiate with protestors and gain intelligence. On another street, militarised police vehicles were lined up next to an
obstacle course of punchbags for training officers to manoeuvre through crowds. This suddenly made sense to me after years of direct experience. The first time I visited the Gravesend training centre more than a decade ago and our NUJ group was greeted with guarded impatience. At this second visit, there seemed to be a genuine interest in improving the professional relationship between police and press during public order situations.
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