Public Order in UK Law

Leading Cases
  • Austin v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis
    • House of Lords
    • 28 January 2009

    I would hold therefore that there is room, even in the case of fundamental rights as to whose application no restriction or limitation is permitted by the Convention, for a pragmatic approach to be taken which takes full account of all the circumstances. This is a situation where a search for a fair balance is necessary if these competing fundamental rights are to be reconciled with each other.

    The police are under a duty to keep the peace when a riot is threatened, and to take reasonable steps to prevent serious public disorder, especially if it involves violence to individuals and property. Any sensible person living in a modern democracy would reasonably expect to be confined, or at least accept that it was proper that she could be confined, within a limited space by the police, in some circumstances.

  • R (Laporte) v Chief Constable of Gloucestershire Constabulary
    • House of Lords
    • 13 December 2006

    But, as O'Kelly v Harvey shows, where it is necessary in order to prevent a breach of the peace, at common law police officers can take action (in that case dispersing a meeting) which affects people who are not themselves going to be actively involved in the breach.

  • R v Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall, ex parte Central Electricity Generating Board
    • Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
    • 20 October 1981

    There is a breach of the peace whenever a person who is lawfully carrying out his work is unlawfully and physically prevented by another from doing it. He is entitled by law peacefully to go on with his work on his lawful occasions. If anyone unlawfully and physically obstructs the worker—by lying down or chaining himself to a rig or the like—he is guilty of a breach of the peace.

  • Glamorgan County Council v Glasbrook Brothers
    • House of Lords
    • 19 December 1924

    No doubt there is an absolute and unconditional obligation binding the police authorities to take all steps which appear to them to be necessary for keeping the peace, for preventing crime, or for protecting property from criminal injury; and the public, who pay for this protection through the rates and taxes, cannot lawfully be called upon to make a further payment for that which is their right.

    Instances are the lending of constables on the occasions of large gatherings in and outside private premises, as on the occasions of weddings, athletic or boxing contests or race meetings, and the provision of constables at large railway stations.

  • Leeds United Football Club Ltd v Chief Constable of the West Yorkshire Police
    • Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
    • 07 March 2013

    Prima facie, in a public location the provision of police services in both situations is likely to be in discharge of the duty to maintain law and order. As I have explained at para 30 above, the position is likely to be different in private premises.

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Legislation
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Books & Journal Articles
  • Public Order
    • No. 45-4, October 1972
    • Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles
    • 0000
    Mr. Brown is Staff Tutor in Politics, Department of Adult Education, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Prior to his present appointment he was a member of the academic staff of the Police College,...
  • Public Order
    • No. 41-10, October 1968
    • Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles
    • 0000
  • POLICE AND PUBLIC ORDER
    • No. 63-4, December 1985
    • Public Administration
    Does economic deterioration in a developed country such as Great Britain inevitably mean increasing disorder and lawlessness? How would the forces of law and order react to authoritarian government...
  • Collective Victimisation and the Threat to Public Order
    • No. 10-4, December 2008
    • International Journal of Police Science and Management
    • 0000
    The article presents, for future research, a possible conceptual model for understanding the elements of public order within postmodern society. It deconstructs public order into component parts of...
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Law Firm Commentaries
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