Policing the Protectors: A Narrative Report of PSNI Policing of Environmental Protest in the Sperrins
CAJ has produced a new independent report: “Policing the Protectors: A Narrative Report of PSNI Policing of Environmental Protest in the Sperrins”.
The issues recorded in this report relate to a series of interactions between the PSNI and a small group of environmental activists (who prefer to be known as “protectors”), specifically around the issue of goldmining in the Sperrin Mountains. The origin of the report lies in a request to CAJ from Friends of the Earth (FoE) to assist in examining police conduct in relation to the protectors.
The allegations raised by the protectors can be grouped into three thematic areas namely allegations that:
• The PSNI had not adequately investigated offences that had been reported to them as crimes by protectors.
• The PSNI had unduly sought to deter protectors from taking part in lawful expressive protest activities; and
• Of undue criminalisation of protectors for legitimate acts of protest.
To read the report, click here.