Managing collective violence around public events: an international comparison

Managing collective violence around public events:an international comparisonThe Police Science & Research Programme (PS&RP) is an independent institution of the Dutch Police Academy.It's main objective is the development of a scientific body-of-knowledge concerning the police and the policework, which can support the police in the ongoing search for professionalizing and innovating work andorganization. The core business of the PS&RP is the programming and execution of a long-term researchprogramme. Research reports are published in one of two series: Police Science and Police Skills.Publications in Police Science concern mainly studies of a more conceptual and theoretical nature.This report presents the results of an international comparative study into public disorder and collectiveviolence in relation to large-scale events carried out in Germany, Great Britain and Sweden. The study wascarried out in parallel to a Dutch study that sought to answer the question whether events at a dance festivalin Hoek van Holland in august 2009 where police officers were attacked and fired numerous shots, killingone individual, were the expression of a new trend or phenomenon regarding (the threat of) collective violenceagainst police officers (and others) during large scale events.The results of this international study indicate there is no new trend in this respect and confirm that themechanics of the initiation and escalation of violence are essentially the same for both ideologically andnon-ideologically motivated actors and that factors responsible for the initiation of collective violence arenot the same as the factors that lead to the escalation of collective violence (in the sense that the violencecontinues and more people become involved). The initiation/escalation model provides a comprehensiveframework to understand why and how collective violence occurs and provides a guide as to what types ofintervention can and will be effective (or counterproductive) in preventing collective violence from occurringor escalating and what types of intervention will not.The conclusion of the study is that the most important lesson to be taken from Hoek van Holland and fromthe international study is not to be found in a need for new and more effective weapons or new and expandedpreventive powers, but in a renewed consciousness of and alertness for what matters in ensuring safety andsecurity around public events: thorough preparation, gathering and using intelligence on habitual offenders,preventing and limiting opportunities to behave violently with impunity, monitoring behaviour of participants,using early, low profile interventions and enforcing tolerance limits that are perceived to be reasonablein a friendly, firm and believable way.