ICR Research: P O R P

PUBLIC ORDER RESEARCH PROGRAMME

The Public Order Research Programme is the name used to cover a range of work undertaken since 1995 on issues related to public disorder in Northern Ireland. This work has been undertaken by Neil Jarman and Dominic Bryan, in collaboration with Michael Hamilton, Chris OHalloran and others.

The research to date has focused on three main areas of activity: the disputes over parades; sectarian violence and the policing of public order, with different aspects being carried out at the Centre for the Study of Conflict at the University of Ulster; with Democratic Dialogue and at the Community Development Centre, North Belfast.

The Institute for Conflict Research will continue to develop areas of research and policy development on issues related to public order.

Parade Disputes

The current cycle of protests against parades by the Orange Order and similar bodies from passing through Catholic/nationalist areas began early in 1995, and these have continued to date. The initial research work involved monitoring the disputes across Northern Ireland through the summer of 1995; interviewing key participants and the publication of a report. This publication Parade and Protest, included sections on the cultural background to parades, a detailed chronology of the events of 1995 and a series of policy recommendations presented as a contribution towards the resolution of the disputes.

The work fed into a number of policy initiatives through 1996 and 1997 including the Independent Review of Parades and Marches and the subsequent North Report (1997); the formation and development of the Parades Commission (1997) and the new public order legislation the Public Processions (Northern Ireland) Act 1998.

As part of the ongoing engagement with this issue two further reports were published. Politics in Public reviewed developments in Northern Ireland through 1996 and 1997 and analysed the legal and practical procedures for managing public events in nine countries (England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Italy, USA, Canada, Israel and South Africa); while From Riots to Rights placed the current process in historical perspective in describing the history of parades and parade disputes in Northern Ireland from the eighteenth century to the present.

The next report Independent Intervention looked at the role that third party observers and the organisers of public events can play in safeguarding human rights and improving the safety and management of such events. While Stewarding Crowds and Managing Public Safety described in more details the steward training programme that had been developed in conjunction with the Apprentice Boys of Derry.

Finally Parades, Protests and Policing, which was prepared for the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, reviewed each case related to parades, demonstrations and other public events that has been addressed by the European Court of Human Rights.

Sectarian Violence

Street disorders and rioting have been closely associated with the disputes over parades. Between 1997 and 1999 three reports were produced describing and analysing the disorders in North Belfast.

On the Edge (1997) reviews the violence that erupted across North Belfast through the summer of 1996 following the protests against the Drumcree parade. This report is based on detailed testimonies of local residents, who describe their personal experiences and set out their understanding of the causes of the problem.

Drawing Back from the Edge, produced in 1998 describes community-based initiatives designed to counter the potential for public disorder by linking community activists together via a network of mobile phones.

Peacelines or Battlefields (1999), develops the arguments from the previous report and includes discussion of a range of community-based projects designed to reduce the opportunities for violence.

A final report on this project, Managing Disorder: Responding to Interface Violence in North Belfast has been submitted to the funders and will be available on the internet at www.research.ofmdfmni.gov.uk.

Policing Issues

Issues related to the role of the police in the responsibility for and management of public disorder are included in a number of the previously mentioned reports. However the major piece of work on the policing of public order under this programme and which draws upon research in Northern Ireland, South Africa, Belgium and England is currently in preparation.