[Militant No. 760, 2nd August 1985, p. 7]
Lynn Walsh
Military-style manoeuvres, including with batons and offensive horses charges into crowds, are now a well established part of regular police training.
This is confirmed by pages from a new Training Manual which came to light during the recent Sheffield trial of striking miners facing riot charges.
The manual was obviously put to use during the strike, and the paramilitary methods it sets out show that the pitched battles with mass pickets arose from pre-planned police tactics.
Attempting on 22 July to get an adjournment debate in parliament, Tony Benn pointed out that this manual, drawn up by the Association of Chief Police Officers and implemented without public debate or parliamentary approval, disregards previous rules based on the use of minimum force by police, under which batons and horses were to be used as a last resort. It is clear, said Tony Benn, „that officers have been given instructions which laid them open to charges of assault.“
The manual details manoeuvres with long shields, short shields, horses and truncheons. Tactics with long shields emphasise the best way of making a massive „show of strength“.
But the manoeuvres with short shields, which are much less cumbersome, mainly emphasise offensive tactics – „rapid action with very clear objectives“ – as used by snatch squads.
Baton teams
Manoeuvre 6 involves „short shield baton carrying teams deployed into crowd.“ „On command they run forward… they disperse the crowd and incapacitate missile throwers and ringleaders by striking in a controlled manner with batons about the arms and legs or torso so as not to cause serious injury.“
Anyone who saw what happened at Orgreave and elsewhere will realise that in practice, the police do not pay much attention to the last part.
Manoeuvre 7 concerns short shield teams who „on command will run at the crowd in pairs to disperse and/or incapacitate.“
On tactics for mounted officers, the manual says that horses may be used for a „display of strength to discourage riotous behaviour.“ But horses can also be used for „separating sections of the crowd by the measured use of the weight of horses.“
If this is not sufficient, horses may be used for „dispersing a crowd using impetus to create fear and scatter effect. „Some of the manoeuvres “ provide for a more rapid dispersal based on fear created by the impetus of horses.“
“Manoeuvre 10… mounted officers advance on a crowd in a way indicating that they do not intend to stop.“ „Manoeuvre 11… identical to number 10 except that the advance is made towards the crowd at a canter.“
Failing to get a debate in the Commons, Tony Benn obtained the speaker’s permission to deposit the disclosed pages of the manual in the House of Commons library. For the first time this officially makes them public.
Paramilitary
Even these pages were revealed only through defence lawyers‘ cross examination during the Sheffield riot trial. The deputy chief constable of Yorkshire, Mr Clements, who operated these paramilitary tactics against the miners during the strike, claimed at the start of the trial that it was „the most serious case of public disorder that he was aware of this century.“
Yet even before they had finished presenting their case the prosecution was forced to concede that its evidence had fallen apart and to drop all charges against the accused.
One aspect of this trial underlined not only the provocative role of the police but the biased – in some cases deliberately misleading – reporting by the media: „Police videos were shown to the jury,“ Tony Benn reported . „They showed that it was a peaceful demonstration until the cavalry charges. The BBC itself had transposed the film to show the missiles were thrown before the charges, whereas the police videos showed that the charges took place before the missiles were thrown.“
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