Protests

Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request ref: 01/FOI/25/009208/R

Version Date: 29/12/2025

The Performance & Analysis Department has provided the following information:

Please provide the following information for your police force area for the period 1 June 2022 to the date of this request, relating to arrests, charges, and outcomes for breach of protest conditions under:
•           Section 12 Public Order Act 1986 (processions)
•           Section 14 Public Order Act 1986 (assemblies)
•           Section 14ZA Public Order Act 1986 (one-person protests)
For each of the above powers, please provide data separately for each statutory role, corresponding to the relevant sub-sections:
•           Organiser offences – e.g. s.12(4), s.14(4), s.14ZA(4)
•           Participant offences – e.g. s.12(5), s.14(5), s.14ZA(5)
•           Inciting others to breach conditions – e.g. s.12(6), s.14(6), s.14ZA(6)
For each role (sub-section) under each power, please provide (if held):
•           Number of arrests
•           Number of suspects charged directly by the police (without CPS decision)
•           Number of cases referred to the CPS for charging decision
•           Number of suspects charged following CPS authorisation
•           Number of prosecutions resulting in conviction (if known to the force)
•           Number of prosecutions resulting in acquittal (if known to the force)
•           Number of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) issued for breach of protest conditions
•           Aggregate equality-monitoring data, where recorded:
o          Sex
o          Age group
o          Ethnicity
o          Religion or belief
o          Disability
If the above information is not held in a fully retrievable format, please provide what is available and describe any gaps or limitations in recording.
If no use of these powers occurred during the period, please confirm this.

For the given time frame, there has been one arrest under the Public Order Act 1986 for the offence ‘Procession participant fail to comply with condition - Public Order Act (recordable)’

The detainee was not charged but was given an adult caution.

The detainee was male, aged 55-64 and self-defined their ethnicity as ‘White Irish’.

Religion and disability are not routinely recorded by the Force.