For more information, see the No to water cannon campaign that has been set up against the proposals. Through crowd sourcing, they managed to raise over £1,000 so that a pensioner from Germany who was blinded by water cannon in 2010, can come and speak at this meeting about his own experiences at the public meeting on Feb 17th. If you read this before the public meeting (hosted by the Metropolitan Police Service and the Deputy Mayor at City Hall at 19:00 on 17 February 2014 in Room 5) please feel free to download and cite my report at it. If not, the public consultation is open until Feb 28th 2014, and you can send comments on the proposals to; watercannonengagement@mopac.london.gov.uk.
Press Release:
Water cannon: Dousing disorder or fatally fanning the
flames?
Dr Chris Cocking, a
Senior Lecturer at the University of Brighton today
released a report on the possible psychological and physical effects of the use
of water cannon. His report was done in response to a public consultation
process called by the Mayor of London’s Office on Policing and Crime (MOPAC)[1],
after plans were announced by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to purchase
water cannon and hold them as a national asset that could be shared with other
police forces in the event of disorder in British cities similar to that seen
during the 2011 riots. This report has also been released to coincide with a special public meeting hosted
by the MPS and the Deputy Mayor at City Hall at 19:00 on 17 February 2014 to
discuss the issue.
In his report, Dr
Cocking argues that the introduction of water cannon into British policing
would be indiscriminate, disproportionate, and largely ineffective against many
of the behaviours seen during recent disorder (such as the widespread looting
in the 2011 riots). Furthermore, water cannon could even prove to be
counter-productive, as its appearance and/or use in potentially volatile
situations could increase the risk of disorder happening, or escalate it once
it begins. Finally, there could also be serious and possibly fatal medical
consequences (such as hypothermia) if protestors are soaked by water and then
contained behind police cordons for long periods of time in cold weather
conditions (as could happen if the ‘kettling’ tactic is used in conjunction
with water cannon).
Dr Cocking said;
‘This report is my attempt to illustrate my concerns about the possible
implementation and use of water cannon, and I also hope that it can be part of
an attempt to shift the argument back to a more evidence-based debate over the
effectiveness and/or appropriateness of the various tactics suggested to deal
with the recent urban disorder seen in Britain in recent years’
He also concluded;
‘The use of water in disorderly situations is best left to the emergency
service that has the most expertise and knowledge in this area (the Fire and
Rescue Services), and that water jets should be left to targeting fires, not
used to attack people in the misguided belief that it will help maintain ‘law
and order’.
The report will be available to download shortly via the following link;
For more details of his work on crowd behaviour also see Dr Cocking's blog;
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