Managing Protests and Public Order Conference (In progress)

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Thursday 12th November 2026, 09:10 – 13:30, IStructE, London

The new Crime and Policing Act 2026 gives the police new powers designed to enable them to stop ‘disorderly behaviour and keep the public safe’. It aims to balance the rights of protest with the rights of others to go about the day without disruption or alarm.

Following Lord Macdonald’s Independent Review of Public Order and Hate Crime Legislation in England and Wales, attend Westminster Insight’s expert-led Managing Protests and Public Order Conference in London this Autumn to examine national policy, guidance and operational approaches to managing protests, large-scale events, and public disorder.

We will explore collaboration across responders, event organisers, statutory organisations, and the public.

Chaired by Clifford Stott MBE, Professor of Policing and Research, at the Open University, the timely conference will focus on practical strategies to prepare for and keep protests well managed. Learn how services can work together to prevent escalation and strengthen public order policing.  

Communication is key: between colleagues and agencies; with the public, and with communities. Hear how to ensure a joined-up communication response when responding to different types of large-scale gatherings including entertainment, sports and cultural events, and political gatherings.  Ensure a real-time, multi-agency understanding of evolving events, and improve the operational response through risk assessment, continuous monitoring, and intelligence-led deployment.

Our panel will cover the importance of addressing false and inflammatory content swiftly to avoid the spread of disinformation and disinformation. Plus, we will look at how you can use social media to gather information on forthcoming protests.

Gain insights into the new legislation and learn from innovative strategies, focussed case studies, and senior expert speaker spotlights.

Key Points

• The Independent Review of Public Order and Hate Crime Legislation
• New powers under the Crime and Policing Act 2026
• Proactive multi-agency contingency planning, coordinated decision making and real-time information sharing
• Understanding local risk and community context, and building social cohesion
• The safety of venues, retail outlets, high streets and their resilience to crowds and protests
• Recognising different crowd behaviour patterns based on the type of event including entertainment, sports, cultural events, and political gatherings
• Stopping the spread of misinformation and disinformation
• Using social media to gather information on upcoming protests
• Wellbeing support for police officers following major public disorder
• Training and command in public order policing and human rights

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