Beyond Control: A Mutual Respect Approach to Protest Crowd-Police Relations

by Vern Neufeld Redekop, Shirley Paré

Overview

How can large protest crowds be better and more respectfully managed by police? This topical book applies the principles of community-based conflict resolution to the policing of large crowds, suggesting a completely new approach that moves away from the discourse of rabble-rousing mobs towards negotiated management, and a paradigm of mutual respect for protesters as principled dissenters and for police as non-repressive agents of public order. Both are needed, the authors argue, in order for democracy to flourish. The book opens with a foreword from Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781849660044
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	04/01/2010
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Vern Neufeld Redekop is Associate Professor of Conflict Studies at Saint Paul University, Canada. He is the former President of the Canadian Institute for Conflict Resolution.

Shirley Paré is Senior Trainer at the Canadian Institute for Conflict Resolution and a Retired Officer of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Table of Contents

Foreword ix

Acknowledgements Vern Neufeld Redekop xi

Acknowledgements Shirley Paré xiv

Introduction 1

Part 1 Protest Crowd-Police Dynamics

1 What is at Stake? 11

2 Introducing Protest Crowds 17

Protest 17

Crowds 20

Moral Consciousness 24

Levels of Consciousness 26

Organization 33

Designation of Protest Crowds 35

Protest Crowds as Complex Systems 39

3 Emotions: The Fuel of Violence 43

Human Identity Needs 45

Emotions and Moral Consciousness 49

Expression of Emotions 50

Emotions and Imitation 51

Sopow's Analysis of Emotional Factors 52

Emotional Intelligence 54

4 Introducing Police 56

The Evolution of Protest Policing in Nineteenth Century Britain 57

Repressive Policing 60

Reflection on the Early Evolution of the London Metropolitan Police 61

Protest Policing since 1960 62

Paramilitary Organization 63

Tools of Technology 65

Tactical Options 67

Intelligence Gathering 69

The Case of the 2009 G20 Protest in London 71

Repression versus Negotiation 74

Legal and Political Developments 76

Avoiding 'Troubles' 79

Specialized Roles 80

Public Order Management Systems (POMS) 81

Dynamics of Public Order Policing 82

Ethical Aspects of Public Order Policing 84

Crowd Control and Management 91

5 The Violence of 'Otherness': Scapegoating and Hegemonic Structures 95

6 Introducing Targets, Bystanders, and Media 107

7 Reciprocal Violence 116

Mimetic Desire 116

Mimetic Contagion 118

Mimetic Structures of Violence 121

8 Mutual Blessing 123

Mimetic Structures of Blessing 124

Complexity 127

Creativity 128

New Levels of Consciousness 129

Reconciliation 130

Protest Crowd-Police Relational Blessing 133

9 Towards a Mutual Respect Paradigm of Protester-Police Dynamics 138

Paradigms 139

Three Paradigms of Protest Policing 140

Relationship among Paradigms 150

An Integral Approach 156

Implications of the Mutual Respect Paradigm for Stakeholders 159

10 Protest Crowds and Police in the Context of Democracy 167

Protest and the Emergence and Evolution of Democratic Institutions 168

Protest Policing in the Current Context 171

Beyond Current Forms of Democracy 172

Part 2 The Mutual Respect Paradigm in Practice

11 'Getting the Dialogue Started': Crowd Management and Conflict Resolution-A Case Study 177

What did we Learn about Protest Crowd-Police Dynamics Research? 193

The Aftermath to the G20 Demonstrations 194

Focus Groups 197

Conclusion 197

12 Hearing from the Players 198

Introduction 198

Healing Dialogue to Rebuild Active Democracy Julia Fleming 200

Bridging the Gap: Conversations among Demonstrators and Police on the Right to Dissent Carl Stieren 204

Collaborative Management of Crowd Dynamics Gary Nelson 207

Covering Conflict: A Media Perspective Leonard Stern 210

Reflections of a 'Bystander' by The Rt. Rev. Peter R. Coffin, Former Anglican Bishop of Ottawa 214

A Reflection from the Academy Raymond Laprée Saint Paul 217

13 Practical Suggestions for Community-Based Initiatives 219

What are the Roles of the Different Parties? 220

What are the Rules? 229

Mutual Respect Protest Crowd-Police Process Suggestions 230

Crowd Dynamics Dialogue 232

The Crowd Dynamics Seminar 233

Event Preparation 235

Conclusion 236

Bibliography 239

Index 247

Editorial Reviews

07/01/2016
The authors consider the nature of protest gatherings and advocate for peaceable handling of such crowds. Their solution to violent clashes is the creation of a "mutual respect paradigm" that emphasizes trust and a reliance on the principle that civil protest is essential in a healthy democracy.

Library Journal