Policing on Campus is a Brazen Attack on Free Speech

Policing a protest at Westminster (Wikipedia)

by Hugo Gorringe, University of Edinburgh and Michael Rosie, University of Edinburgh

Relations between student protesters and police in universities have broken down.

From demonstrations demanding that “cops stay off campus” to protests against the heavy-handed way in which students have been treated for voicing their opinions, to campaigns against rising tuition fees, students have been clashing with authorities more and more.

The relationship between the police and universities in the UK is slightly ambiguous.

While law enforcement officers have not been banned from university campuses, as they were from Greek universities following the excesses of the dictatorship, most universities have their own security service (some, in the case of Oxbridge, used to have their own constables).

Generally speaking, universities deal with disciplinary issues in-house, but this has never prevented them (and nor should it) from calling in the police to deal with criminality.

The London bombings in 2005, and studies suggesting that British universities were serving as recruiting grounds for terrorists, radically changed that relationship.

A report from the Social Affairs Institute in 2005 argued there should be a “regular police presence on each campus” as well as recommending greater co-operation between universities and immigration officials.

Studies like this, written in sensationalist language and emphasising terror threats and activities, have helped erode the autonomy of university security arrangements. This was seen in some universities' decision to fingerprint non-EU students so as to ensure their attendance at lectures.

A counter-terrorism strategy, known as “Prevent”, was launched last year to get police and partner institutions, including universities, working together to the extent that some universities agreed to pay part or all of the salary of University Liaison Officers.

Perhaps aware of the controversy surrounding the programme and its perceived targeting of Muslim students, the report stresses the need to respect differences of opinion and the fact that not all academics or universities will welcome such police activities. At one point it emphasises in bold:

It cannot be stressed highly enough, how important the creation of trust and confidence is for effective police-student relations. The wrong impression could lead to a setback for Prevent and policing in general.

Free speech clampdown

Just a year later, “trust and confidence” between police and students is at rock-bottom. This can be seen in the “cops off campus” demonstrations, as university administrators line up to ban student protests from campuses or suspend students involved in occupations and protests.

We are left with a paradoxical situation where Police Scotland is stressing that universities are arenas of debate and free speech while university senates clamp down on certain types of dissent.

With the sanction of university managers, it is hardly surprising that police-student altercations have taken an ugly turn.

Our research on protest policing has found that police officers frequently differentiate between “legitimate and illegitimate” protesters and that their actions are informed by past clashes between demonstrators and police.

Over the past few years, students in the UK have taken to the streets in greater numbers than they have for a generation.

In the process they have torn up the rule book of standardised British protest - where you assemble at the appointed time, march in a pre-ordained circle, listen to a series of speeches or musical performances and head home in time for tea.

Instead, students have radicalised the protest scene in the UK. While remaining peaceful and good natured for the most part, they have deviated from route plans, organised spontaneous occupations or rallies and often given the police the run around.

In so doing, they have widened the debate on fees and cuts to encompass the creeping commercialisation of University education.

If what the police fear most is “losing control”, then perhaps what vice-chancellors fear most is disruption to business as usual. When these fears combine, then the status of the campus as an arena where free speech, debate and assembly can flourish is suddenly in question.

The authors do not work for, consult to, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article. They also have no relevant affiliations.


This article was originally published at The Conversation. Read the original article.