The law
The police possess a wide range of powers to stop and search you for protest-related activity. Many of these powers are conferred by the Public Order Act 2023, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (PCSC), and the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE).
Public Order Act 2023
The Public Order Act 2023 aims to enhance police powers regarding protests, introducing measures to restrict and criminalise protest activities. The act introduces several new criminal offences related to protest activities, including locking-on, causing serious disruption by tunnelling, obstructing major transport works, and interfering with key national infrastructure. Click here for further information on the Public Order Act.
Suspicionless stop and search
The Public Order Act extends suspicionless stop and search powers. Clause 10 creates a new suspicionless stop and search power which allows a police officer of or above the rank of inspector to make an authorisation applying to a particular place for a period of up to 24 hours, whereby the police can stop and search any person or their vehicle without suspicion. The police will be able to do this if they reasonably believe that one of the following offences may be committed in the area:
Locking-on
‘Locking-on’ is a protest tactic where individuals physically attach themselves to people, objects, or structures to hinder/prevent certain activities. While historically used as a form of civil disobedience, the Public Order Act 2023 now criminalises locking-on if it causes serious disruption in a public place. This can include scenarios where individuals attach themselves to each other, to objects, or to land, with the intention of obstructing activities or causing inconvenience to others. The Act requires the intention to cause serious disruption or recklessness. This also criminalises those who are ‘equipped’ for locking on. This includes carrying objects with the intent of locking-on. If convicted, this is punishable with an unlimited fine.
Tunnelling
Tunnelling is a new government proposed offence that has been added to the Public Order Act. This applies to someone who has created a tunnel or is present in a tunnel in a way which causes or is capable of causing serious disruption. Someone found guilty of this offence is subjected to imprisonment (maximum three years), a fine, or both. This also applies to anyone found with objects that may be assumed to have been carried for the purpose of tunnelling.
Obstructing major transport works
This offence targets behaviour obstructing or interfering with the construction or maintenance of major transport works, such as HS2. Offenders can face imprisonment, fines, or both upon conviction. However, you will not be charged if you have a 'reasonable excuse' (see below).
Interfering with key national infrastructure
The Act criminalises actions that interfere with the operation of key national infrastructure, causing significant delays or prevention of use. ‘Offenders’ may be punished with imprisonment (up to 51 weeks), fines, or both. However, you will not be charged if you have a 'reasonable excuse'. ‘Key national infrastructure’ is defined in Clause 7 of the bill as road transport, rail, air transport, harbour, downstream oil, downstream gas, onshore oil and gas exploration and production, electricity generating, and newspaper printing infrastructure.
Reasonable excuse defence
A reasonable excuse as a statutory defence means that a defendant could argue that they had a reasonable excuse to commit the offence. The defendant may be able to invoke the ‘reasonable excuse’ defence if they can demonstrate that they had a legitimate reason for their actions that was not in violation of the order (e.g. legitimate roadworks).
The defendant could also argue that they were exercising their right to protest and that any arrest/conviction would be an interference with this right (as set out in article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights).
Serious Disruption Prevention Orders (SDPOs)
The Public Order Act 2023 laid out plans for Serious Disruption Prevention Orders (SDPOs), which allow courts to impose specific prohibitions or obligations on an individual previously convicted of a ‘protest-related offence’.
Scope and criteria for imposition
SDPOs allow for a range of restrictions to be imposed on individuals, including limitations on their movements, activities, and online behaviour. The criteria for imposing SDPOs include previous involvement in protest-related offences or breaches of court orders.
Breaching an SDPO is a criminal offence, carrying a maximum penalty of six months in prison and/or an unlimited fine.
Who can receive an SDPO?
SDPOs can be imposed on individuals over 18 years old who have received two protest-related convictions or breached an injunction within five years of the SDPOs coming into force. The police can consider any two convictions for protest-related offences committed from the age of 16 when imposing SDPOs, even if they don’t involve causing ‘serious disruption’ through protesting.
SDPOs can be applied for by the prosecution as part of the sentencing stage after conviction, or at any time by the police if they believe the criteria for ‘two convictions’ have been met.
While Home Office guidance aims for SDPOs to target the most ‘prolific’ offenders, concerns arise regarding the potential broader surveillance net cast by police, potentially affecting many individuals beyond those with extensive protest-related records.
Courts have broad discretion to impose prohibitions or restrictions, including internet usage restrictions and requirements for daily police station attendance during protest weeks. Compliance monitoring may involve personal device inspection (e.g. mobile phones) and social media scrutiny.
Duration and breach of SDPOs
SDPOs can last from one week to two years and are renewable once, with penalties for breach including imprisonment for up to six months or an unlimited fine.
Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (PCSC)
The PCSC Act grants police enhanced powers to impose conditions on protests where noise has the potential to cause ‘serious disruption’. This includes empowering senior police officers to make decisions on imposing conditions aimed at preventing disorder, damage, or intimidation. The act notably gives the Home Secretary the authority to define ‘serious disruption’ without requiring parliamentary oversight, enabling the government to determine what constitutes disruptive behaviour.
The PCSC Act introduces a specific offence for breaching protest conditions imposed by authorities. Individuals found to be in violation of these conditions may face serious legal consequences, including fines, criminal records, and imprisonment.
The Act establishes a strict liability standard for this offence, meaning that individuals can be held criminally liable for breaching conditions even if they were unaware of them. This places a significant burden on protesters to ensure compliance with any conditions imposed on their activities. Under this act, the burden of proof lies with the individual to demonstrate a lack of awareness of the conditions in order to avoid conviction. This requirement shifts the responsibility onto protesters to actively ascertain and understand any restrictions placed on their protests.
PACE 1984, section 1
PACE is a piece of legislation which forms the legal foundation for ‘suspicion-based’ stop and search by setting out extensive powers available to police. For further information on Section 1, click here.
Please see the diagram below to find out how to know under what power police may use stop you.
The history
The Public Order Act has evolved over time in response to social and political developments in the UK. Originating from early laws aimed at maintaining public order, it underwent significant changes in the post-war period to address protests and demonstrations. The 1980s and 1990s saw further amendments following events like the Brixton Riots and poll tax protests. In the 21st century, revisions reflected shifts in protests and so-called concerns over public safety. Building upon the existing legal framework governed by the Public Order Act 1986, the Public Order Act 2023 represents the latest effort to regulate protest activities amid ongoing debates about the balance between civil liberties and public order. The first arrests for the offence of locking-on under the Public Order Act was of a group of Palestine Action protesters on 1 November 2023, after they chained themselves together at the entrance to Israeli arms company, Elbit’s HQ.
Encompassed in the Public Order Act are SDPOs, which the government has claimed are a necessary extension of stop and search powers to tackle severe disruption. This proliferation of protest-related stop and search powers is part of a broader trend of criminalising certain protest activities and preventing the use of protest as a defence for criminal offences. This has significant implications for organisations and movements planning public demonstrations or assemblies. Organisations and social movements campaigning for justice through protests are particularly concerned about the potential of an increasing imposition of restrictions, curtailing legitimate forms of protest, effectively limiting their ability to raise awareness.
In recent years, the UK has experienced significant direct action campaigns and large-scale protests by various pressure groups. Notable examples include the Extinction Rebellion protests in April and October 2019, which disrupted public transport using adhesives; the Black Lives Matter movement protests in the summer of 2020, which involved the removal of Edward Colston's statue in Bristol; and the Insulate Britain protests in autumn 2021, which blocked major roads like the M25 Motorway.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council claimed that existing public order legislation was outdated and inadequate for dealing with the ‘highly disruptive tactics’ used by protest groups. In response, the government introduced the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act to bolster the powers of law enforcement to crunch down on protests. The Act includes measures to extend stop and search powers to tackle severe disruption, introduce new offences and penalties for protest-related activities, and allow courts to impose stricter sentences for such offences.