Advice for street collections/paper sellers

[Bitter Ashes]

Somebody kindly posted this over Facebook:
http://www.policeoracle.com/news/A-Funding-Method-Of-Domestic-Extremism_16982.html


The National Extremism Tactical Coordination Unit (NETCU) along with its sister unit the National Domestic Extremism Team (NDET) are promoting the positive policing of unlawful street collections nationally as a continuation of the successful MPS Operation Redmill.

Domestic extremism groups rely on funding to support themselves and a substantial proportion of these funds are raised via unlawful street collections. Funds from unlawful street collections can be used by extremist groups to pay the webmaster for websites that incite criminal actions, hire cars to commit criminal offences, purchase articles to commit criminal damage, pay lawyers to fight criminal prosecutions and to finance their own personal lifestyle.It goes on like that. Seems like you need a permit to collect, or to "trade" on the streets. Setting up stalls is illegal and they're claiming to be cracking down on that too.

I've been onto my local council's site to find out what's going on
http://www.kirklees.gov.uk/business/licensing/streettrading.shtml

Basicly it seems that to run a collection you need to apply for a free permit. To "trade" you need to do the same thing, but it costs £135 a year.

Why's any of this relevant to us? Well, I'm sure that the police would claim that paper sales are trade so without a permit are illegal without a permit, as are the stalls that I've seen the SP using. The one thing that may effect my own group is to do with doing collections for strike funds. It seems that we'll have to apply for one of those free permits to avoid extra nuisnaces from the state.

So, anyone planning on any sort of campaign involving street work, be aware, the police are saying that they'll crack down on it.

[Q]

In the Netherlands I'm not aware of any state campaigns against the left in this manner, but you officially need a permit for just about anything. The only (for us of course very relevant) clause out is to directly link papersales with article 7 of the constitution, which grants political freedom :)

They can still kick you from "private property" though which, given the many privatisations in the last decades, is a real issue. Train stations for example are "private property" (which somehow negates constitutional freedoms).

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

We need a written constitution over here inthe UK, Q. We can't hide behind any 'freedom' laws :(

I wonder if, relating to private property laws, they will start cracking down on 'extremist' activists.

[*Viva La Revolucion*]

Most people I've spoken to hate this kind of thing (people collecting for causes, people handing out leaflets etc), but this is bad news. :( The permit will probably cost more than some people collect!

Do you think they'd ever refuse to grant a permit? What do they class as an ''extremist group''?

["Red Scum"]

Do you think they'd ever refuse to grant a permit? What do they class as an ''extremist group''?

Groups which advocate violence, criminal activity of any kind, overthrow of the british government or democratic system, fundamentalist religion.

[*Viva La Revolucion*]

Groups which advocate violence, criminal activity of any kind, overthrow of the british government or democratic system, fundamentalist religion.

That would include revolutionary socialist and anarchist groups, then? Although I doubt any of them are actually going to overthrow the government anytime soon...

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

That would include revolutionary socialist and anarchist groups, then? Although I doubt any of them are actually going to overthrow the government anytime soon...

Due to a mix of their own inadequacy and the authoritarian hand of the 'liberal democratic' law (enough irony there?), as opposed to just the former, though.

[BOZG]

Somebody kindly posted this over Facebook:
http://www.policeoracle.com/news/A-Funding-Method-Of-Domestic-Extremism_16982.html

It goes on like that. Seems like you need a permit to collect, or to "trade" on the streets. Setting up stalls is illegal and they're claiming to be cracking down on that too.

I've been onto my local council's site to find out what's going on
http://www.kirklees.gov.uk/business/licensing/streettrading.shtml

Basicly it seems that to run a collection you need to apply for a free permit. To "trade" you need to do the same thing, but it costs £135 a year.

Why's any of this relevant to us? Well, I'm sure that the police would claim that paper sales are trade so without a permit are illegal without a permit, as are the stalls that I've seen the SP using. The one thing that may effect my own group is to do with doing collections for strike funds. It seems that we'll have to apply for one of those free permits to avoid extra nuisnaces from the state.

So, anyone planning on any sort of campaign involving street work, be aware, the police are saying that they'll crack down on it.

It's pretty much the same here but we rarely get harassed by the cops. Periodically one will look for a permit and when we don't have one, they just tell us that we can't sell our newspaper so we just wait until they've moved on and go back to normal. I've found that some of them are not entirely sure of what the law is on the matter so we tell them that we're not trading, merely accepting donations (which is actually true as our paper doesn't carry a price) and they normally leave us alone.

[Antiks72]

We need a written constitution over here inthe UK, Q. We can't hide behind any 'freedom' laws :(

I wonder if, relating to private property laws, they will start cracking down on 'extremist' activists.


Bah, they're working on classifying all of us as terrorists, so it doesn't matter anyway.