Protest Policing and Human Rights

Michael Smith is a police officer in Merseyside Police, UK.

• 1.Introduction to a dialogical approach 2.Policing, protest and balancing human rights 3.A theoretical framework for a dialogical approach 4.Conducting research: Insider or outsider? 5.Case study 1: The badger cull 6.Case study 2: The EDL march 7.The contribution and value of a dialogical approach 8.Conclusion and recommendations

In this highly accessible and most welcome addition to the literature on public order policing, Michael Smith employs tremendous academic rigour and dexterity in producing a work of undoubted theoretical and practical significance. His case study approach to explaining and ‘championing’ a fundamentally tolerant, inclusive and democratic ‘liaison’ approach to protest policing is infused with a surefootedness and credibility becoming of a serving officer. What emerges in these pages is a truly enlightened and compelling blueprint for police tactics and strategy.David Waddington, Emeritus Professor, Sheffield Hallam UniversityMichael Smith has produced an invaluable text which shows how dialogical forms of policing can be effectively used in the management - and facilitation - of protests. This book, based upon extensive fieldwork and interview material, will enormously advance understandings of the role of police liaison officer and will be invaluable for researchers, students and practitioners alike.Peter Millward, Professor of Contemporary Sociology, Liverpool John Moores UniversityDialogue is one of the most crucial elements of a healthy and human rights-respecting democracy. And so is security of that democracy through policing. If one takes over the other, democracy fades away. In his book Michael Smith gives a critical justice theoretical appreciation of dialogical forms of policing and presents a well-balanced empirical study of protest policing and the premises and promises of ‘dialogical policing.’ Smith includes highly relevant practical recommendations to raise awareness by those involved in protesting and policing of one another, from which dialogue and policing both can benefit.Yarin Eski, Assistant Professor in Public Administration, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam