Policy paper

Crime and Policing Bill: public order police powers factsheet

Updated 20 June 2025

What are we going to do?

• Strengthen police powers to manage intimidatory protests near places of worship.
• Enable senior police commanders to exercise powers to impose conditions on protests.
• Ensure that the British Transport Police (BTP) have the power to impose conditions on public and trespassory assemblies at railway stations.
• Ensure that the Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) can issue authorisations enabling the exercise of certain public order and stop and search powers within its jurisdiction.

How are we going to do it?

Places of Worship

This measure allows the police to impose conditions on protests where a senior officer reasonably believes that the protest may create an intimidating atmosphere for those seeking to access a place of worship for religious activities. This applies regardless of whether the protest organisers intended to have that effect.

Senior officers imposing conditions on protests

This measure enables Strategic (Gold) and Tactical (Silver) commanders, who are often based at off-site control rooms, to impose conditions on a live public procession or assembly. The most senior officer at the scene of a protest will still be able to apply conditions.

BTP/MDP amendments

BTP officers will have the ability to exercise powers under sections 14 and 14A of the Public Order Act 1986 to impose conditions on public and trespassory assemblies at railway stations, and under section 60AA of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 to require the removal of disguises.

Additionally, MDP will now be able to issue authorisations under sections 60 and 60AA of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 for stop and search in anticipation of or after violence, and powers to require the removal of disguises.

These changes will enable BTP and MDP officers to exercise the existing powers under these provisions within their jurisdiction.

Background

Places of Worship

Following the events in Israel and Gaza on 7 October 2023, the UK has seen a wave of large-scale protests. While the right to protests is a vital part of our democracy, there is still a need to strengthen the balance between this right and the ability for religious communities to worship freely and without fear.

Existing legislation gives the police the power to manage protests that involve serious disruption to the life of the community or intentional intimidation, however these thresholds do not always reflect the experiences of those affected by protest activity near places of worship. The new measure will allow the police to impose conditions on public processions, public assemblies and one-person protests near places of worship where they reasonably believe protest activity may intimidate and deter individuals from accessing or participating in religious activities. Such conditions may, for example, require protests to be diverted away from a place of worship.

Senior officers imposing conditions on protests

Current legislation gives only the most senior police officer physically present at the scene powers to impose conditions on live public processions and assemblies. The new measure will allow senior commanders, who are often based at off-site control rooms with access to a broader operational picture, to act quickly and consistently in managing protests. The most senior officer at the scene of a protest will still be able to apply conditions, such as start and finish times.

This change aims to improve the timeliness, consistency and overall effectiveness of public order policing by ensuring that those with the best operational oversight can make swift and informed decisions. It will enhance the police’s ability to respond to live protests and ensure better coherence in protest management.

BTP/MDP amendments

The rise in protests around railway stations and defence infrastructure has highlighted operational gaps in BTP and MDP powers. This has impacted their ability to manage public order and keep the public safe. The changes made by the Bill enable BTP and MDP to exercise powers that are already available to territorial forces in England and Wales.

Key statistics

Religious hate crime has continued to rise at an alarming rate, with police-recorded antisemitic hate crimes having soared by 113% in the year ending March 2024, and anti-Muslim hate crimes having risen by 13%.

Frequently asked questions

Places of Worship

What do you mean by intimidation? What difference will this make to how the police currently apply conditions to protests? 

• Currently, under sections 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act (1986) the police must have a reasonable belief that the public procession or assembly may result in serious disruption to the life of the community, serious public disorder, serious damage to property, or the purpose of those organising the protest is the intimidation of others. 
• The amendments to the Public Order Act 1986 strengthen the police’s ability to manage intimidatory protests near places of worship, by allowing them to impose conditions on a public procession, public assembly or one-person protest, specifically if they have a reasonable belief that it may result in the intimidation of and deter those seeking to access places of worship to carry out religious activities. 

Why are you seeking to ban protests for legitimate causes? Doesn’t this place the right to religion above the right to protest? 

• The change does not place freedom of religion above the right to protest.
• Instead, it seeks to balance both rights by ensuring protests do not unduly intimidate or prevent individuals from accessing places of worship.
• While the right to protest remains fundamental, these provisions strengthen police powers to manage protests near places of worship, ensuring that freedom of religion is protected without imposing a blanket restriction on demonstrations.
• The intent is not to curtail protest rights but to prevent situations where protests create a hostile environment that discourages religious observance, applying equally to all faiths.

Why do the police need more powers to protect places of worship from protests? 

• While the police have used the existing provisions to protect access to places of worship on occasion, these powers are considered to have limitations.
• For example, there are examples where members of a religious community have described feeling too intimidated to attend religious services even though the disruption caused by a protest does not meet the threshold for serious disruption within the 1986 Act.

Does this measure apply to all places of worship for all faiths? 

• The new provisions will apply in relation to all places of worship, regardless of religion.

Senior officers imposing conditions on protests

Why is this needed? 

• Strategic (Gold) and Tactical (Silver) commanders tend to have a more complete intelligence picture on a given protest event and may often be better placed to determine the appropriate conditions considering a wider set of factors.

What is a strategic or tactical commander? 

• Strategic or “Gold” commanders, and Tactical or “Silver” commanders are well understood roles within policing, used in both spontaneous incidents and planned operations.
• Non-statutory guidance from the College of Policing sets out the nature of these roles, as part of Authorised Professional Practice.

Aren’t officers at the scene of protest events best placed to apply conditions? 

• The decision to apply protest conditions is an operational matter for the police. The most senior officer at the scene of a protest will still be able to apply conditions.
• Strategic (Gold) and Tactical (Silver) commanders tend to have a more complete intelligence picture on a given protest event and may often be better placed to determine the appropriate conditions considering a wider set of factors.

BTP/MDP amendments

What will this provision change?

• By making these corrective amendments to sections 14A and 16 of the Public Order Act 1986, BTP will be able to use the existing powers under section 14 to impose conditions on public assemblies, and to obtain an order under section 14A to prohibit trespassory assemblies at railway stations with the consent of the Secretary of State. These powers would only be available to BTP within their jurisdiction, including at major stations which are not in the open air.
• This will allow BTP to properly police assemblies within their jurisdiction and ensure they are better equipped to prevent disruption to railway services and keep the travelling public and railway staff safe.
• For MDP, they will be able to issue authorisations to enable MDP officers to exercise the same powers on stop and search and require a person to remove a disguise, as are already available to other territorial police forces in England and Wales.

Isn’t protest legislation already complicated for officers, won’t this further complicate things?

• These changes clarify the exercise of these powers by the BTP within their jurisdiction.
• The BTP will balance the right to lawful protest with the rights of others to go about their business without intimidation or serious disruption.
• Those protests in railway stations which can proceed lawfully and without causing serious disruption will be allowed to do so. But should offending or serious disruption occur BTP will now be able to consider placing conditions on the assembly or prohibiting it, whichever is the more proportionate response to the likely disruption.