As you may (or may not) have heard, the United Kingdom has recently seen a series of protests aimed at reversing the government’s controversial spending cuts, which have lopped a massive £7 billion from the budget of public services across the country. Worst hit are prospective university students, who are now facing the prospect of £9,000 per year tuition fees – up from £1,000 per year just five years ago. As if a bunch of angry students wasn’t bad enough, there have also been numerous protests from UKUncut, a group attempting to publicise corporate tax avoidance.
The protesters have been using social media to organise their get-togethers in central London and elsewhere around the country, in particular Twitter and a purpose-built app called Sukey, which allows participants to update the status of individual police checkpoints in real-time, so protesters can find the best way around them.
However, never ones to be outdone, the U.K. police force (or Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of the Constabulary to give them their full title) are now saying they will begin to actively monitor social media channels during protests to keep track of protester movements. The police have come under increasing pressure to keep those protesting under control after an embarrassing incident in central London when a car carrying Prince Charles was set upon by out-of-control protesters and the Duchess of Cornwall was reportedly “poked with a stick.”
This isn’t the first time the U.K. forces have turned to Twitter – although ironically their first foray into social media was as a way to protest their own budgets being cut.
A report on the new initiative said of the need to adapt:
“Large numbers of protesters can be organized in hours and change their focus in minutes through the use of social media and mobile phones. Those responsible for commanding events must plan with this adaptability in mind.”
There was also talk of the police force communicating with protesters through social media during protests, although quite what that would achieve is mystery, unless we legalise arrest-by-Tweet.
