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Issues around the policing of public order and political expression are as topical today as in the past, and are likely to remain so in the future.Janet Clark explores the origins of the National Council for Civil Liberties (the precursor to Liberty) that emerged in 1934 in protest at the policing of political extremes. The book deals with police attempts to discredit the NCCL and the use of intelligence to perpetuate a view of the organisation as a front for the Communist Party. It also examines the state and police responses to this organised criticism of police powers. This book is essential reading for students and lecturers studying British social history, the development of civil liberties and of policing in Britain, as well as anyone interested in this enduring topic. Included is a foreword by Clive Emsley, Emeritus Professor in History at the Open University, and widely regarded as the doyen of police history. "Public interest is no less exercised in the twenty-first century by civil liberties, police powers and the policing of public order than it was in the 1930s, or indeed a century earlier. The National Council for Civil Liberties (the precursor to civil rights organization Liberty) emerged in 1934 in protest at the policing of political expression. Historians have written extensively about public order, political extremism and the authorities and subversion in the interwar period but hitherto missing from this discourse is the account of the NCCL's role. Janet Clark explores the origins of the NCCL, its political orientation, and the political and personal agendas of its supporters. She argues that changing forms of political expression and divisive party politics played a noteworthy role in the momentum for a civil liberties pressure group. At the same time, the narrative deals with police attempts to discredit the NCCL and the use of surveillance and intelligence in perpetuating a view of the organisation as a front for the communist party. Distinctly, it examines the response of the state to this organised criticism of police methods and to the emergence of a civil rights movement. A concise account of the development of civil liberties in Britain, this book is essential reading for students and lecturers in the study of British social history, the historical development of civil liberties and of policing in Britain as well as anyone interested in this enduring topic. Included is a foreword by Clive Emsley, Emeritus Professor in History at the Open University, and widely regarded as the doyen of police history." --Back cover.

Public policy (Law) --- Civil rights --- Ordre public --- Public order --- Law --- Basic rights --- Civil liberties --- Constitutional rights --- Fundamental rights --- Rights, Civil --- Constitutional law --- Human rights --- Political persecution --- History --- Law and legislation --- Great Britain. --- National Council for Civil Liberties (Great Britain) --- NCCL (National Council for Civil Liberties) --- National Council for Civil Liberties, London --- National Council for Civil Liberty (Great Britain) --- Liberty (Great Britain) --- Council for Civil Liberties (Great Britain) --- London Metropolitan Police --- Scotland Yard --- New Scotland Yard --- Metropolitan Police Office (Great Britain) --- Metropolitan Police Force (Great Britain) --- Metropolitan Police (Great Britain) --- History. --- Police power --- Politics --- Constitution: Government & The State --- POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Ideologies / General --- Constitution: government & the state --- Administrative law --- Municipal corporations --- Political science --- Right of property --- Criminal Investigation Department. --- Home Office. --- Liberal Internationalism. --- National Council for Civil Liberties. --- Ronald Kidd. --- Special Branch. --- civil liberties. --- non-party ideology. --- pacifist groups. --- plain clothes police officers. --- policing. --- political expression. --- political extremes. --- pressure group. --- public attention. --- public order. --- women's organisations.