🔗 Share this article Law Enforcement to Receive Additional Powers to Crack Down on Repeated Protests, Says Interior Ministry Ministers are planning to provide law enforcement new authorities to target recurring protests, specifically aimed on cracking down against Middle East demonstrations, according to the Interior Ministry. Recent Detentions and Proposed Modifications This declaration follows just after almost five hundred individuals were arrested in the capital for expressing support for Palestine Action, a prohibited organization. The new measures could enable authorities to instruct regular protests to be relocated to different locations. Shabana Mahmood, is also set to examine existing legislation regarding demonstrations, with the potential to strengthen authorities to ban certain demonstrations completely. Proposed Legislative Modifications As part of these measures, Mahmood will push through swift changes to the existing public order legislation, enabling law enforcement to consider the "cumulative impact" of repeated protests. Specific details will be released "at a later date", according to the announcement. Should a demonstration has caused what officials called "ongoing disruption" at the same site for several consecutive weeks, authorities would gain the authority to require protest leaders to move the gathering elsewhere, with those who fail to comply facing detention. Wider Review and Public Safety Mahmood added that she would "examine existing legislation to guarantee that authorities are adequate and being uniformly enforced", including law enforcement authorities to prohibit certain protests completely. "The freedom to demonstrate is a basic right in our country. Nevertheless, this right must be balanced with the right of their neighbours to go about their daily lives without fear," the Home Secretary stated. "Large, repeated protests can cause sections of our country, especially religious communities, feeling unsafe, intimidated and scared to leave their homes. This has been especially noticeable in regarding the significant anxiety within the Jewish community, which has been communicated with me on numerous instances during these recent difficult days." "These measures mark an important step in guaranteeing we protect the right to protest while ensuring everyone feel safe in this nation." Current Situation and Law Enforcement Reaction These expanded authorities seem aimed at both large-scale Gaza-support demonstrations, which took place in the capital and various urban centers over a period of weeks, and those held to support Palestine Action. On Saturday, authorities detained about five hundred people at the latest similar demonstration. The event occurred even though government officials, including political leaders, requesting that it be delayed following the recent deadly attack on a Jewish place of worship in the northern city. Police Viewpoint After Saturday's protest, the chair of the Metropolitan Police Federation commented that officers policing protests in London were "emotionally and physically exhausted". "Enough is enough. Our focus should be on keeping people safe at a period when the country is on increased security from a security threat. Yet police are being drawn in to manage these relentless protests," the federation chair stated. Additional Legal Actions These changes follow demonstration-focused provisions in the crime and policing bill currently going through parliament, which bans the carrying of masks or pyrotechnics at demonstrations, and makes illegal the climbing of specific memorial structures.