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### **Keeping the Peace at Student Protests And Rallies: Advice from the Experts**

March 2020 | Volume 13 | Issue 3

In the past few years, there’s been a rise in student  movements. Young people galvanized by environmental threats, school shootings,  civil rights violations, and other issues are taking to the streets. And with  the megaphone effect of social media, news of these gatherings can quickly  attract tens of thousands of participants.

 Though usually held in large metropolitan areas, smaller  cities have been the locale for large rallies in the past few years, as have a  few communities where school shootings happened. Mass gatherings of various  kinds can pop up almost anywhere.

#####  Crowd Control on  the National Mall or a Small Town Square

 Washington, D.C. has been the site of thousands of such events,  from inaugurations to peace rallies, going back well over a hundred years. The Special  Events Unit of its Metropolitan Police  Department (MPD), which coordinates and develops operational orders for  parades, demonstrations, and other large scale events, has fine-tuned its management  methods to the point where incidents are rare. 

 According to MPD Assistant Chief of Police Jeffery Carrol,  who previously served as Commander of the Special Operations Division, this is  the result of thorough planning, collaboration with all other service providers,  good communications with event leaders, and training officers in positive crowd  management methods.

 Moreover, he believes these activities are essential to  successfully handling large events in any community. 

#####  Leverage  Partnerships and Share Resources 

 “Especially with smaller departments, creating  partnerships to share resources is critical. Department leaders should include  city, state, and local counterparts, services such as EMS, fire, parking, transportation  public works, etc., so you can share resources. Make sure you are on the same  page and agree on who is responsible for what.”

 “We work with medical personnel, for instance. . . there  can be cases of hypothermia or sunstroke, as well as accidental injuries. We  also have a planning meeting to coordinate with other district agencies—waste  management for trash removal, public works for removal of bike racks and things  like that, and parking enforcement, to name just a few.”

 As in any other location, the MPD has to maintain its  other operations while the event is going on and continue to respond to calls  for services. In D.C., the department must coordinate with the Capital Police  Department, which secures the capital grounds, and the Park Police, who oversee  the National Mall and monuments, as well as with the Secret Service to provide  security around the White House and elsewhere for dignitaries. 

 But every law enforcement department has its own needs and  jurisdictional issues to deal with. An Incident  Action Plan with a unified  command strategy can streamline the decision-making process and help keep track  of activity and resources. 

#####  Work with  Organizers Right from the Start

 Carroll says it’s equally important to speak with  organizers as soon as the department receives notice that an event is to occur,  and critical that the department maintain these communications throughout. He also  notes that for most student-initiated or -led demonstrations, operations are  usually manned by adults who work behind the scenes. ****

 In addition to obtaining the permits, these individuals arrange  transportation and lodging, order microphones and other equipment, determine locations,  and make the other necessary arrangements. Most organizers set up Facebook  pages or web sites with all necessary information and arrange chaperones for  young students. 

 Says Chief Carroll, “Communication is very important. We  need to help facilitate these events, by helping the organizers plan a safe meeting  site, route, and wrap up point so there aren’t overcrowding or traffic problems,  for instance. MPD has many roles during these events, from helping protestors  get to their locations to directing their buses to parking locations and  ensuring that the city’s transportation system is prepared for the crowds.”

 “And especially with large groups of juveniles, who can get  separated from their group, a department needs to have a visitors’ component or  missing persons detail, so they can find those who get lost.”

#####  Well Trained  Officers Make All the Difference

 As for maintaining peace and order during the event, Chief  Carroll says “A lot goes back to how you train your officers. They need to know  that interactions don’t have to be confrontational—that they need to be  friendly and helpful, treat people well—which actually works better for us. And  they are dressed in soft uniforms too, not body armor, which can give the wrong  message.”

 This approach has also proven successful in other agencies  over the years. In an April  2013 article in Huffington Post, David Couper, a former Madison, Wisconsin  police officer, noted that over his 20  years at the home of the University of Wisconsin, the department responded to  antiwar rallies, civil rights demonstrations, student block parties, and other  mass gatherings without substantial incident. 

 Asked how his  department pulled that off, Couper said they used what is called the “soft  approach,” based on the research of Dr. Clifford Stott. A social psychologist  at the University of Liverpool, in the United Kingdom, Dr. Stott studied the  underlying causes and psychology of riots, with a focus on the effects of intergroup  interaction on the development of violence. Stott found that dialogue and  liaison are effective police strategies in crowd situations because they allow  for an ongoing risk assessment that improves command-level decision-making. It  also encourages self-regulation in the crowd, forestalling the use of unnecessary  force during tense situations.

 It’s known that the  behavior of police has a powerful effect on the behavior of the crowd, and Dr.  Stott warns that no matter what cause originally brought the masses together  "the indiscriminate use of force would create a redefined sense of unity  in. . . opposition to the actions of the police, which could essentially draw  the crowd into conflict despite the initial hesitancy of the individuals in the  crowd.”1

 This sentiment  was echoed by former Washington D.C. Police Chief Jerry Wilson, who has said that  an intimidating police presence doesn’t prevent confrontation, but invites it.

#####  Motorcycles, Bicycles  and Horses Move Crowds and Traffic

 But problems can arise in any group, and Chief Carroll says that separating  opposing groups or violent individuals is usually the best way to tamp down  unrest. “Our officers can call for back up when tempers get heated, and put on  body armor or other protective gear if necessary. But as a general rule, we keep  groups with opposing viewpoints separate right from the start.”

 To accomplish this or to keep marchers on the planned route and out of  traffic, the MPD uses motorcycles. “When groups march from the White House to  the Capitol, our motorcycles ride ahead and disperse traffic, keeping  pedestrians away from cars. We can also ride parallel to the group, pushing out  and rerouting the traffic around them.”

 Bicycles are also very effective for managing  crowds, and in addition to appearing less threatening, but can be put to good  use as barriers as well as crowd control tools. 

 Officers on bikes can react quickly to subdue an unruly group, and by riding  outside the group, can create a mobile field force to move them. They can also position  their bicycles to make a stationary bike fence by overlapping their tires.

 Horses are a time honored crowd control method, and for good reason. “Horses  put cops up above the people, where they can be seen,” says Chief Carroll, “and  are good for moving crowds. But they have to be well trained for this environment;  you don’t want to put an untrained horse in the middle of 50,000 people.” In  the end though, the most important aspect of crowd control will always be the demeanor  of the officers, who are ambassadors for the city or community as well as  keepers of the peace. Says Chief Carroll, “In Washington, we get people from  all over the country, and we are here to work with them, to help facilitate the  events. We want our officers to be helpful and friendly. Crowd managers, not  enforcers.” 

References:   1.Clifford Stott, *Crowd Psychology and Public Order Policing:  An Overview of Scientific Theory and Evidence* (Liverpool, UK:  University of Liverpool School of Psychology, 2009), p. 4.

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