A COALITION of environmental and social justice groups in Oxfordshire have described proposed reforms to policing protests as ‘draconian’.

The Government announced plans last week to beef up police powers to tackle and disperse protests as part of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill (PCSC), which critics have called a ‘direct attack on democracy’.

It comes amid growing anger about violence against women and outrage at the way police handled attendees at a South London vigil at the weekend, following the death of Sarah Everard.

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Since then, protests around the controversial 300-page legislation have become part of the backlash in response to her death.

The Network for Police Monitoring (Netpol) says that the crackdown on protests is born out of Home Secretary Priti Patel’s anger at previous protests, including the Black Lives Matter demonstrations, which she once described as "dreadful".

Netpol argues that the proposed changes to the law will effectively allow police to criminalise any public protest.

At least 50 people gathered in the heart of Oxford to protest the bill

Under the plans, officers will be handed further powers to target one-person protests if they are exceed a maximum noise limit, which could stop activists targeting any public space.

One of the groups set to be affected by the Bill is community union ACORN Oxford.

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Its work, including a number of demonstrations last year, pushed Oxford City Council to approve a selective licensing scheme, which will clampdown on rogue landlords and improve renting conditions for thousands of private tenants.

Campaigners Police Bill demo 15 March

Campaigners Police Bill demo 15 March

Harris Ferguson, secretary of ACORN Oxford, said: “This Bill poses a direct threat to our right to protest.

“We have seen shameful scenes of police violently arresting women attending a protest responding to the murder of a young woman. Police are already using and abusing their powers to come down hard on communities standing up for themselves.

“Last week, two of our members were detained for taking peaceful direct action to prevent a local family being evicted.

“This legislation would grant further powers to crack down on our freedom to speak out, and our members stand united against it.”

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Groups who protested the legislation in Oxford and Abingdon on Monday included the CEE Bill Alliance Oxfordshire, XR Youth Oxfordshire, Oxford Youth Strike, Abingdon Black Lives Matter, Abingdon Queer Action and XR Abingdon, Wallingford & Wantage.

Beyond protests, the Bill also proposes increasing maximum sentences for defacing monuments from three months to 10 years.

This would mean there would be longer sentences for attacking statues than for some assaults on women.