Towards “total control”: The introduction of mandatory notification under section 11 of the Public Order Act 1986

The requirement to provide advance notification of a forthcoming march is the focus of this short piece. Notwithstanding the seemingly benign nature of such a requirement, it is argued here that mandatory notification serves ulterior ends – and, in fact, doesn’t well serve the ends that are generally cited in its favour. Mandatory notification requirements play into the construction of a binary image of protesters as either compliant and co-operative or non-compliant and troublesome. Such requirements also style and position the authorities as a partner with whom compromise must be reached (on their terms), and reinforce an emphasis on the protection of lawful, rather than peaceful (and peacefully disruptive) protest. Ultimately, the mandatory notification requirement in s.11 of the 1986 Act operates to delegitimize particular forms of politically motivated disruption.