Dale Farm: Tactics Of The Police And Protesters

The police and bailiffs tasked with clearing the Dale Farm site have said they wanted to avoid confrontation and have made regular appeals for travellers and protesters to leave.

But realistically, with those opposed to the eviction refusing to move, force was always going to be deployed at some point.

Rather than try to bulldoze their way through the heavily fortified main gate to the site, the police broke down fences at the side of the camp and took control from the rear.

The tactic meant that only a handful of protesters offered token resistance.

They tried to erect other barricades within the camp, and set fire to a caravan to make it more difficult for officers in riot gear to move through, but it failed to prevent dozens of police taking up positions within the illegal encampment.

Essex Police justified their action by saying they had received "intelligence which informed the commanders that anyone entering the site was likely to come up against violence, and a serious breach of the peace would occur."

Superintendent Trevor Roe, from Essex Police, said: "The situation with the information we received over the build up to this is that a lot of missiles, fluids, objects and liquids, had been stored.

"Intelligence suggested there was going to be a serious disorder if entry was made into the site.

"Based on that situation, the tactic was to try and gain safe control of the site as soon as we could.

"The tactic this morning was to rapidly cover the site and get control of the gantry.

"That provides us with the most risk to the public travellers and protesters just because of its very nature."

He added that officers would continue to negotiate with protesters on the gantry to try and get them to come down.

They say that the first officers onto the site were attacked with missiles. Residents say several people were hurt during scuffles.

However, there are still major obstacles to bailiffs taking over the lead role from the police.

Although most of the travellers have taken a passive role, and watched the activists who have joined their campaign confront the authorities, many families are still on the site and it remains to be seen whether they will eventually leave when asked to do so, or whether they will have to be forcibly carried off.

Many of the protesters have either locked or chained themselves onto barricades and will have to be removed using cutting gear.

Others have climbed onto scaffolding at the main gate, and are balanced precariously.

Officers have had to climb up the tower to continue a dialogue asking them to give up their protest.

If they refuse they will have to be removed, and protecting the safety of both officers and demonstrators makes that a very difficult task.

Although Tasers have been used on at least two protesters earlier in the day, it is thought unlikely they can be used on people who are perched in a dangerous place, as they could fall if stunned.