They don’t protect us: A history of the police and monitoring groups

Note: this an online event organised by Bristol Copwatch. Advance booking is required, please pre-register here in order to attend this meeting.

Bristol Copwatch with Institute of Race Relations invite you to join them to hear stories from the work of Community Monitoring Groups who have been on the frontline challenging police abuses of power and racism for decades. Learn more about the police use of force in the UK, taser usage, and the controversial new Violence Suppression Units, and learn more about the history and origins of the police in the UK and USA.

Resistance to policing is growing. Building on the success of grassroots organising which stretches back to the 1970’s and 80’s, community police monitoring projects are fighting back against police racism and abuses of power. Bristol Copwatch will be joined by Jasbiner Najiir to discuss the history of police monitoring projects in Black and Asian communities, and the current challenges and successes of the movement.

We will also be discussing contemporary policing issues, and welcome Jessica Pandian from the Institute of Race Relations. She will be speaking about the police use of Stop and Search powers, police violence, use of force and the growing threat of police taser usage, and the controversial new violence reduction units operating in the UK. Violence Reduction Units, which are notorious in California for harassing and attacking people in Black communities suspected of “gang violence”, were introduced to the UK in 2020 during the first lockdown and have already come under heavy criticism.

At this event, you will learn about:

• The history and origins of the modern police force in the UK and USA.
• Community resistance to police abuses of power and the work of community Monitoring Groups.
• Modern policing tactics such as taser use, stop and search powers, and serious violence suppression orders (SVSOs) and how these impact Black and Brown communities in the UK.

Please note: This event is free to attend and will take place on Zoom. We have limited numbers, so if you can no longer attend after booking a ticket, please let us know so we can give your place to someone else. See here for pre-registration and more info.