RAN POL WG meeting - How can policing strategies and tactics contribute to preventing and countering violent radicalisation in social movements?, Prague 14-15 March 2024

On 14 and 15 May 20204 a group of police experts met in Prague to discuss policing strategies and approaches. Their aim was to support the use of non-violent tactics when dealing with social movements in Europe, thereby preventing and countering the potential radicalisation of social movements. The meetings were prompted by a shared concern among the experts that there is a growing number of social movements concerned with political and social conflicts around various issues in Europe. Some of them win strong public support, while others carry a clear risk of radicalisation. These elements present the police with the challenge of facilitating peaceful and legitimate forms of protest and action, while maintaining public order and upholding the law. 

• Try not to focus on individual demonstrations and protests but look at the bigger social movements and try to understand them. Build relationships with the different factions within these movements in the same way that community policing has improved police organisations. A good example of this is the Swedish dialogue police. 
• New strategies for the police in dealing with social movements should be based on the perception that, as an independent organisation in society, the police facilitates and protects the fundamental rights of citizens to demonstrate, assemble and exercise free speech. It protects democracy, including the rights of government critics. 
• Participants expressed the need and desire to build more platforms for transnational learning, information sharing, training, and capacity sharing to help police protests and social movements. As an institution, the police must face fast-moving and transnationally networked social movements. Therefore, the police itself should also be transnationally networked. 
• Communication is key. With different factions of social movements and demonstrators, but also in the online world, strategic communication is crucial in explaining why the police do what they do and how they do it. 

This paper presents the most important insights and recommendations from the RAN POL Working Group meeting that took place in Prague (CZ) from 14-15 March 2024. Firstly, observations on the development of social movements and new forms of protest, as well as the challenges for the police will be presented. After presentations by the Belgian and UK police, the participants drafted strategies for the police in dealing with protests and social movements to help prevent violence and radicalisation. This paper will also present recommendations for Member States, the Commission and the Knowledge Hub.