THE TORIES tried to ram through the Police Bill before the election. Last week 78 pages containing 269 amendments and 20 new clauses went to committee of the whole house. This is a means to speed up legislation.
the Bill will be top of her list.
covering powers to enter premises and searches of confidential records.
imposed regulations covering interviews of suspects.
police to prepare for future assaults on democratic rights, working and living conditions.
Police Powers Council Police Committee Support Unit explains some of the issues.
The Police Bill is partly a response to the resistance police have been facing from black kids for the last ten years or so, particulariv because unese kias were the first of changing economic order, a new industrial revolution. As such it is a portent of the resistance working class people are going to put up to the frustrations of having their skills made redundant by microchips and microprocessors.
aISO police seeing themselves as more man araw did orce agency, and as, some kind of moral arbiter in the sense of what laws and rowers they should have Commander Sewell of Scot and Yard. so manv of COUNTY HALL LONDON SEI INTERNATIONAL SPEAKERS FROM 4 & 5I JUNE 83 There's little doubt that if Thatcher wins in June The Tories have been forced to retreat on clauses But Labour Party amendments were rejected which would have created powerful local police authorities and Thatcher is determined to strengthen the hand of the COURTENAY GRIFFITHS of the Campaign to Curb and a member of the Greater London the provisions contained in it come from a shopping list submitted by Sir! David the Royal Commission of Criminal Procedure So it's. very much a police bill in the sense of eing written by the police being about police This is a necessary corollary of Tory, economic policies. There's no way can return to the misguided wisdom of the market place and not pect some kind of fall-out with disturbances on the street and they expected that.
If - you're going dismantle the welfare state and tear apart the so-called safety net that proana impose upon that some rigid misguided economic philosophy, then you're going to have to expect tension in the inner cities.
We should fight back against the Bill oy marching, demonstrating, lobbying MPs en masse, taking those kinds of extraparliamentary actions which working class peo ple have used historically wrest rights from the ruling class which they currently enjoy We have to re-educate working people their own history way those rights privileges, for example unions, actually were the end product of a long period of resistance and struggle.
large of the campaign will be about informing peopie of what the Bill contains. its social and economic significance and what abuses are taking place currently. The camDalli as a whole must be accessible and acceptable with the ANL paign.
My •concern has been the lack of input to the law order debate by the trade unions. when consider how police intervention in strikes pickets have taken a completely new form over the past ten years - look how Grunwick was policed and how many of the Dowers contained in the Bill could be used effectively prevent trade unions exercising their rights to picket, to demonstrate and so on.
Look at the way 'stop and search' could be used to intimidate workers picketing outside factory gates, or the way trade union records be laid open to police surveillance.
Act I think they've got to get their act together pretty quickly because a lot of people are becoming creasingly disenchanted with the way they're acting on that level.
Although there have been criticisms by Roy Hattersley and other MPs, the Labour Party record on policing and law order is as bad as the Conservative Party.
We musn't forget that the Royal Commission was actuay Son DAY TVOW Police riots on picket lines given sanction by Police Bill government under Wilson and Callaghan.
If the Labour Party's not to sell out the working completely they've got to come out up front start protesting vigorously against the Bill Roy Hattersley. has said they'd repeal it and replace it with some other Labour good enough.
Basis What we want is curbing the abuses which are currently taking place, and that's what they should be talking about.
• For details of the con ference and demonstration against the Police Bill see page 12.
----- pull-quotes -----
BLACK UNIONISTS SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT