More Bully Boy Tactics - A personal account

Thames Valley Police photograph citizens who exercise their rights The following is a personal account of the behaviour of Thames Valley Police by a campaigner who attended the demonstration on Saturday. We are posting it unedited in order to highlight the behaviour of Thames Valley Police officers. Let’s not forget that we still live in a democracy, where it isn't yet illegal to peacefully protest against something we object to. Thames Valley Police's role in a democracy should be to uphold the law not attempt to harass and intimidate people exercising their democratic rights.

In future we would hope that Thames Valley Police conduct themselves in a responsible manner. We of course understand that they must be under considerable pressure from Oxford University and in particular, from two of the university's key figures who sit on the Thames Valley Police Authority board and hold very influential positions at the Authority, but please remember: you exist in order to serve the community, not a tiny fraction of it!

The antics of Thames Valley Police officers have often been reported on the SPEAK website. They are blatantly biased towards the university, no doubt due to the close links between the two, and have attempted unsuccessfully to harass and intimidate protestors throughout this campaign.

After the peaceful demo in Oxford on Saturday 10th December, which had been policed by at least a dozen officers, two protestors were followed by two of Oxford’s finest law enforcers. The protestors walked up Cornmarket with the police following as close as they could without actually falling over them.

Before catching their bus the protestors went into a well known High Street store with the police still hot on their heels. As they stood looking at goods in the bakery department they were amazed to realise that the officers were standing at either end of their aisle, blocking the way in either direction. Other shoppers stood and stared, obviously thinking that there were dangerous criminals in their midst! Having made their purchases the protestors left the shop with their escort in tow.

It became clear that for some reason the officers were interested in where the protestors’ car was parked. They followed them to their bus stop, noted down the number and destination and did not leave until the bus had departed.

With Thames Valley Police reportedly having to make cuts of up to £7 million in the next financial year, this ridiculous waste of resources should make the residents of Oxford very angry. As this campaign intensifies one can only imagine how much time and money will be wasted on such over zealous policing. We will continue to fight Oxford University until it ceases the construction of its new animal torture lab, and no amount of bully-boy tactics will deter us.

Disclaimer: The information on this website is for the purpose of legal protest and information only. It should not be used to commit any criminal acts or harassment.