Oakland Police Department Crowd Management/Crowd Control Policy
The purpose of this Training Bulletin is to set forth policy and procedures regarding crowd management and crowd control.
I. Policy
The Oakland Police Department crowd management and crowd control policy is to
• apply the appropriate level of direction and control to protect life, property, and vital facilities;
• maintain public peace and order; and
• uphold constitutional rights of free speech and assembly while relying on the minimum use of physical force and authority required to address a crowd management or crowd control issue.
II. Definitions
A. Crowd Management
Crowd management is defined as techniques used to manage lawful public assemblies before, during, and after an event for the purpose of maintaining the event’s lawful status. Crowd management can be accomplished in part through coordination with event planners and group leaders, permit monitoring, and past event critiques.
B. Crowd Control
Crowd control is defined as those techniques used to address unlawful public assemblies, including a display of formidable numbers of police officers, crowd containment, dispersal tactics, and arrest procedures.
C. First Amendment Activities
First Amendment activities include all forms of speech and expressive conduct used to convey ideas and/or information, express grievances, or otherwise communicate with others and include both verbal and non-verbal expression.
Common First Amendment activities include, but are not limited to, speeches, demonstrations, vigils, picketing, distribution of literature, displaying banners or signs, use of puppets to convey a message, street theater, and other artistic forms of expression. All these activities involve the freedom of speech, association, and assembly and the right to petition the government, as guaranteed by the United States Constitution (First Amendment) and the California Constitution (Article 1, Sections 2 & 3).
All persons have the right to march, demonstrate, protest, rally, or perform other activities protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and the California Constitution. The government may impose reasonable restrictions on the time, place, or manner of protected speech, provided the restrictions are justified without reference to the content of the regulated speech, that they are narrowly tailored to serve a significant governmental interest, and that they leave open ample alternative channels for communication of the information.
D. Demonstration
Demonstration is used generically in this Training Bulletin to include a wide range of First Amendment activities which require, or which may require, police traffic control, crowd management, crowd control, crowd dispersal, or enforcement actions in a crowd situation.
As used in this Training Bulletin, the term, demonstration, means a public display of a group’s or individual’s feeling(s) toward a person(s), idea, cause, etc and includes, but is not limited to, marches, protests, student walk-outs, assemblies, and sit-ins. Such events and activities usually attract a crowd of persons including participants, onlookers, observers, media, and other persons who may disagree with the point of view of the activity.
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