Weeks of demonstrations targeted asylum seekers housed in hotels, met by counter-protests concerned about far-right mobilisation and the demonisation of vulnerable people. Nigel Farage claimed in July that Britain was close to large-scale civil disobedience, a claim described as exaggerated amid growing tension. Criminality has begun to appear within protests, contributing to community division and a climate of polarity. Leadership across politics and policing carries responsibility to reduce and defuse tensions rather than sow division. Police face chronic pressure, with protests diverting officers from crime work; 3,081 protests were recorded from June to August.
There is a climate of increasing tension and polarity in what we're seeing, and it's a huge disappointment to all of us that we've seen criminality creep into this protest activity. It's clear to all of us that we can see more community tension and more division. And I think we all have a responsibility policing included to set the tone. We all want to live in places where we feel safe, and I think everybody has a responsibility.
I guess what we're saying today is that anybody in a leadership position should think about how we can reduce and defuse tensions, and not sow division.
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