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Tag: police violence

Long Read: Why Do the Police Exist?

Long read: When and why were police forces first invented? Connor Woodman takes a look - and argues that far from protecting communities from ‘crime’, the police’s role has always been to control and discipline the working class.

Opinion: Filth: Disease, Drugs or Looting – Brutal Policing is Always Framed As Protecting ‘the Public’ From Infection

Black Lives Matter protests are being framed as a public health threat. In the long and racist history of policing, justifying state brutality with a claim to be protecting ‘the public’ from contagion - by disease, drugs, or an epidemic of looting - is nothing new, writes Eleanor Penny.

Military Rule

Trump threatens to call in the army. Are pandemic protests safe? And the UK government censor a report on BAME deaths. With Michael Walker, Dalia Gebrial, Sarah Jaffe and Timesh Pillay

America in Flames (w/ Nelini Stamp)

The US is being rocked by its biggest uprising since the 1960s. We are joined by National Organizing Director at the Working Families Party Nelini Stamp, live from New York, to discuss racist policing and anti-racist strategy. Plus, is Britain easing the lockdown too soon?

State Neglect and Police Violence: The Forgotten Refugee Crisis in Calais and Dunkirk

In northern France hundreds of refugees are being neglected by the state, abused by the police and exploited by smugglers. With large charities refusing to get involved and journalists staying away, grassroots groups are still trying to plug the aid gap. But volunteers say there is only so much they can do without adequate resources – and when the only real solutions are political.

How the Gilets Jaunes Launched a Movement Against Police Violence

Flashballs and teargas grenades have left hundreds of French protesters with severe injuries, but resistance to state-sanctioned violence is building by the day.

Ten Years Since the Death of Ian Tomlinson, the Police Have Done Nothing to Regain Public Trust

Ten years ago today during the G20 protests in London, newspaper seller Ian Tomlinson died after being violently assaulted by a Metropolitan police officer. Sam Walton, who was at the protests, reflects on the events around Tomlinson’s death and argues that when it comes to the police’s priorities, maintaining public order still trumps trust and justice.

“If a Career Is All That Matters to You, Then Why the Hell Would You Choose Politics?”

Max Shanly and Matt Zarb-Cousin are joined by journalist, commentator and socialist firebrand Ellie O’Hagan, whose insights on political matters du jour fizz like a Lush bath bomb

New Face at the Home Office, But No New Answers to Knife Crime

Sajid Javid is now at the helm of the government’s ‘serious violence strategy’, launched in March to address the UK's knife crime epidemic. But just because he’s the first BME home secretary it doesn’t mean he’ll implement the multi-agency reforms needed to tackle the problem, argues Huda Elmi.

Defending the Red City: Why the Fight for Làbas is a Fight for the Future of Bologna

Bologna, with its history of urban activism and network of autonomous political spaces, has long held a reputation as a 'Red City'. But with the recent violent and unexpected eviction of the Làbas social centre, this reputation is under threat.

Welcome to Hell: A Report From the Front Line of G20

"The police don’t make arrests. They are happy to just beat anyone they can get their hands on, and then let them stumble away. Crowds gather around the paramedics. They are worried the police will attack them too. The floor is slippery with blood and phlegm."

Long Read: Playing the Whore: Police Work vs Sex Work

The violence and prurience characterising police attitudes towards sex workers reveal that efforts to curtail prostitution aren't about charity, or about 'rescuing' workers from situations of dire need. They are about control.

Long Read: A Brief Theory of Queer Violence

Queer oppression is underwritten by structural violence. Sophie Monk and Joni (Pitt) Cohen write that we must find ways of transforming that violence into a force for change.

Long Read: On the Frontlines of Neoliberalism: Resource Extraction and Popular Resistance in Colombia

Colombia's programme of neoliberal reforms is wreaking social and environmental havoc, channeling the profits from the country's natural resources into the coffers of private companies. A diverse coalition of residents, activists and unionists is fighting back, in defiance of the state's violent attempts to silence them.

I was locked in a police cell for 36 hours while I had a psychotic episode

This personal account reflects on the author's first-hand experience of psychosis, police involvement with mental health services, and being sectioned under the Mental Health Act. Content warning.