Fracking and State Violence

‘That is not facilitating peaceful protest. That is dismantling the protest’: anti-fracking protesters’ experiences of dialogue policing and mass arrest

“…7 The 'organisers' of a planned march must give six days written notice to the police which specifies the date, time and proposed route, and the name and address of the organiser (Public Order Act 1986, s.11). Applying this de-politicised framework to the highly politicised sphere of anti-fracking protest would preclude consideration of, for example, the close relationship between government and the fracking industry and the political, social and economic context in which the anti-fracking movement has emerged (Jackson et al 2017).…”

Policing unacceptable protest in England and Wales: A case study of the policing of anti-fracking protests

“…Providing a detailed case study of the policing of this type of protest, this article develops this work and suggests that recent developments in police policy specifically linked to anti-fracking protests – not reflected in recent academic work in this area – are significant in an assessment of police responses to protest in England and Wales. The political, social and economic context in which the anti-fracking movement has emerged has made these protests particularly contentious (Jackson, Monk and Gilmore, 2017) and we suggest, therefore, that the development of specific policy in this context is significant not least because of what it reveals about the police view of contemporary protest.…”

“…It appeared that the representation of protest by GMP sought to reinforce a construction of the protesters as illegitimate and on this basis to justify the policing operation (Gilmore et al, 2016). The image of the protest at Barton Moss reflected a view of anti-fracking protest as unacceptable, and echoed the view, articulated by both government and the fracking industry in the UK, that opposition to fracking is itself irrational (Jackson et al, 2017). The overarching themes that characterised GMP’s communications strategy, of justifying the police operation and questioning the legitimacy of the protest, did not appear to be in line with a commitment to facilitation, but instead appeared to rest upon a construction of the protest as illegitimate.…”

“…In May 2011 the first UK exploration for shale gas using hydraulic fracturing, at Preese Hall in Lancashire, was suspended after the process triggered two minor earthquakes and these events, combined with the economic, social and political context in which fracking has become central to UK energy policy (Jackson et al, 2017), have meant that exploratory drilling around the UK has been controversial. Communities and environmental groups have raised concerns about the immediate impact on local natural environments, including land, air and water pollution as well as the broader issue of maintaining a reliance on fossil fuels in the face of global climate change, and public support for fracking in the UK has declined steadily as its place in energy policy has been elevated (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 2017).…”