Logo image
"We have the right to be arrested and processed according to law": The Power of Effective Police Liaison at the Bentley Blockade
Journal article   Peer reviewed

"We have the right to be arrested and processed according to law": The Power of Effective Police Liaison at the Bentley Blockade

Aidan Ricketts
Journal of Australian studies, Vol.44(3), pp.384-400
2020
url
“We have the right to be arrested and processed according to law”: The Power of Effective Police Liaison at the Bentley BlockadeView
Published (Version of record)

Related links

Metrics

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Source: InCites

Abstract

social movements protest police negotiation Bentley blockade activism
For social movements engaged in protests, effective engagement with police can be particularly important in ensuring political success and overall safety. However, the way in which police are often determined to maintain control of public order in protest situations raises significant questions for protest movements about the limits and value of negotiation. Inherent contradictions remain between the aims of protestors engaged in disruptive campaigns and the police officers sent to contain them. I examine these contradictions here in relation to the Bentley blockade, a successful mass social movement campaign against the unconventional gas extraction industry in northeast New South Wales. Using a participant-observer approach and drawing on a range of primary source material including government briefing papers, media reports and interviews with police and protestors, this article examines the nature and effectiveness of the liaison process in what was a very large-scale and significant public order challenge for police.

Details

Logo image