Page 66 - SyI Quarterly - Q3 and Q4 Edition 2023
P. 66
Security Community
Institute Community
A timely reminder on Protest Rights
within the UK
Kenny MacLeod MSyI
The preparation and implementation of policies and procedures for dealing with protest and/or
activism will ensure your staff can follow pre-approved structures rather than dynamically dealing with
an incident on the day. The exercising of these procedures, as part of a business’s resilience plan is also
recommended to ensure they are practical and understood by all staff.
Does the business own the land/property it operates from and if not, does it have landowner rights?
These points are not exhaustive and Security providers or Facilities managers will have many other
good practices in place, and this is when organisations like The Security Institute can share good
practice. In the world of increasing litigation and indeed increasingly unsuccessful criminal justice
convictions, can we afford not to ensure our people are trained to deal professionally, legally and
proportionately with the challenges of well trained and motivated activists.
In conclusion, while legislation changes and will likely change again, protest and activism and the
challenges it brings to the security industry will remain. It is up to security professionals to ensure they
are informed and knowledgeable in order to respond appropriately and safely when faced with a
protest situation.
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