Terms of reference for a rapid review of the policing of public disorder – Tranche 1
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Background
On 29 July 2024, three young girls, Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice Da Silva Aguiar, were killed in a knife attack in Southport. In the aftermath, far-right groups used social media to spread incorrect and false information, and to mobilise demonstrators. Violent disorder broke out in the town.
In the days that followed, violent disorder affected other towns and cities throughout the UK. The police made more than 800 arrests in the first few weeks after the disorder.
On 6 September 2024, the Home Secretary wrote to us under section 54(2B) of the Police Act 1996 to carry out a rapid review into the events following the attacks in Southport. We will carry out our inspection in two tranches.
In our inspection, we will examine the police service’s arrangements for rapidly learning lessons from these outbreaks of violent disorder. We will also assess how well prepared it is to respond to future similar outbreaks.
Rapid review into the policing of public disorder – Tranche 1
Fieldwork for Tranche 1 was completed in September 2024. During Tranche one, we considered the following aspects of the police service’s preparedness, response, and resilience:
- The capacity and capability of the police service to respond to widespread simultaneous outbreaks of violent disorder, including training, equipment, and proactive and reactive tactics.
- The effectiveness of the police service’s mutual aid arrangements, including local, regional, and national mobilisation procedures, and the accuracy of data on which the arrangements rely.
- How police officers’ resilience and well-being might be affected by repeated exposure to incidents of disorder.
We also took into account the public order elements of the Strategic Policing Requirement and the capacity and capabilities of the National Police Coordination Centre.
We will report on our findings in due course.
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Terms of reference for a rapid review of the policing of public disorder – Tranche 1