Protest networks and the Pitchford inquiry

A public inquiry, chaired by Lord Justice Pitchford, was ordered by the Home secretary in 2015, following the exposures of several former officers who had infiltrated political campaigns. Their practices – intimate relationships, assuming the identity of dead children, withholding evidence in court and potentially breaking of the law – have since come under intense scrutiny. This project will scrutinise the Pitchford inquiry into undercover policing in England and Wales. Dr Raphael Schlembach has received funding from the University of Brighton’s Rising Stars initiative to lead and carry out this study.

Royal courts of justice sign

Project timeframes

The project will run from July 2016 until September 2017.

Project aims

The research focuses on the standing and legitimacy that the inquiry achieves amongst the protest networks that were infiltrated. The research objectives are to:

  • Explore the background to and the significance of the undercover policing inquiry
  • Examine the attitudes to the inquiry by members of different protest networks
  • Determine the level of legitimacy that the inquiry achieves in the eyes of those who were infiltrated
  • Contribute to democratic scrutiny of the inquiry

Project findings and impact

The Pitchford inquiry is hugely significant for the development of protest law, the sociology of policing and the study of social movements. Like previous public inquiries into police scandals it will shape how we view the legitimacy and accountability of policing. The research presents a unique opportunity to understand how the inquiry is perceived by different interested parties.

Research team

Dr Raphael Schlembach

Output

Schlembach, Raphael (2016) The Pitchford inquiry into undercover policing: some lessons from the preliminary hearings In: Papers from the British Criminology Conference, Nottingham, 6-8 July 2016.

Commentary

Think the idea of UK leftie movements being infiltrated is all a conspiracy theory? Here are some of the times it's actually happened, The Independent 26 July 2016

What do we know about the infiltration of protest movements in Britain?, Movements@Manchester 24 March 2016

Conferences

How the police infiltrated environmental protest in Britain, social movements and protest: Future challenges for research and practice (University of Brighton, October 2016)

The Pitchford Inquiry into undercover policing: Some lessons from the preliminary hearings, Annual Conference of the British Society of Criminology (Nottingham Conference Centre, July 2016)

Covert policing and the infiltration of protest groups in Britain, 7th Biannual Surveillance & Society Conference (University of Barcelona, April 2016)

Partners

Undercover Research Group