Mass arrest

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A mass arrest occurs when police apprehend large numbers of suspects at once. This sometimes occurs at protests. Some mass arrests are also used in an effort to combat gang activity. [1] This is sometimes controversial, and lawsuits sometimes result. [2] In police science, it is deemed to be good practice to plan for the identification of those arrested during mass arrests, since it is unlikely that the officers will remember everyone they arrested. [3]

Contents

Historical examples

The Japan Farmers' Union and Japanese labor-farmer groups were hit by mass arrests in the 1920s. On April 16, 1929, several thousand members of the farmers' movement were arrested. [4] Following World War II, mass arrests (over 120,000) of actual and suspected Quislings occurred in Norway. [5] Totalitarian regimes have sometimes conducted mass arrests as a prelude to a purge of perceived political enemies, sometimes through executions.

On March 10, 2010 a mass crackdown was initiated to thwart a planned peaceful 'million march' to be conducted in a South Indian state capital of Hyderabad demanding formation of a new federal unit, more than 100,000 Telangana people were taken in to custody by a police force controlled by the coastal 'andhra' elites. [6]

The 2010 G-20 Toronto summit was witness to the largest mass arrest in Canadian history. [7]

Mass arrests of protesters in the United States

In December 1964, the University of California, Berkeley was disrupted by a mass student sit-in in the administration building and by mass arrests of 700 students. [8]

Beginning on May 3, 1971, three days into the 1971 May Day Protests - a series of large-scale civil disobedience actions in Washington, D.C. - massive arrest sweeps begin. In a few days over 12,000 are arrested - the largest mass arrest in U.S. history. [9] [10]

Former American President Jimmy Carter said in regards to the racial conflicts of the time, "I would be opposed to mass arrest, and I would be opposed to preventive detention. But I think that the abuses in the past have in many cases exacerbated the disharmonies that brought about demonstrations, and I think that arrest or large numbers of people without warrants ... is a contrary to our best systems of justice." [11]

A famous mass arrest occurred on September 27, 2002, in Washington, DC in which several hundred anti-World Bank/International Monetary Fund protestors, journalists and bystanders were systematically arrested by police [12] [13] and charged with failure to obey a police order. [14] A class action lawsuit against the government ensued. [15] Pre-emptive mass arrests have also sometimes been criticized. [16]

Over 1,700 protesters were arrested during the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City. [17]

On October 1, 2011, more than 700 protesters with the Occupy Wall Street movement were arrested while attempting to march across the bridge on the roadway. [18]

On January 28, 2012, more than 400 people were arrested at Oakland.

During a seven-day span on Capitol Hill, from April 11 through April 18, 2016 police arrested approximately 1,240 people (300 arrests were made on April 18 alone) who were demonstrating for reforms to how Americans vote and campaign in elections. [19]

War crime

Indiscriminate mass arrests were designated a war crime in 1944 by a commission on war crimes created by the London International Assembly. Thar was one of two items added by that Commission to the list of war crimes that had been drawn up by the Commission on the Responsibility of the Authors of the War and on Enforcement of Penalties in 1919. Specifically, "indiscriminate mass arrests for the purpose of terrorizing the population" were designated as war crimes by the commission. [20]

At the Netherlands temporary court martial in 1947, several members of the tokkeitai in the Netherlands East Indies were accused of the war crime of indiscriminate mass arrests. The applicable legislation, used by the court, was the NEI Statute Book Decree #44 of 1946, whose definition of war crimes paralleled the commission's list. Specifically, item #34 of the enumerated list of war crimes under the NEI legislation was "indiscriminate mass arrests for the purpose of terrorising the population, whether described as taking hostages or not". The court understood the definition of such unlawful mass arrests to be as "arrests of groups of persons firstly on the ground of wild rumours and suppositions, and secondly without definite facts and indications being present with regard to each person which would justify his arrest". It added commentary on indiscriminate mass arrests that are for the purpose of terrorizing the populace by stating that they "contained the elements of systematic terrorism for nobody, even the most innocent, was any longer certain of his liberty, and a person once arrested, even if absolutely innocent, could no longer be sure of health and life". [21]

See also

Related Research Articles

Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders or commands of a government. By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be called "civil". Hence, civil disobedience is sometimes equated with peaceful protests or nonviolent resistance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War crime</span> Individual act constituting a violation of the laws of war

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Purge</span> 1936–1938 campaign of political repression in the Soviet Union

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Police riot</span> Violent confrontation that police are responsible for instigating, escalating or sustaining

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The 1971 May Day protests were a series of large-scale civil disobedience actions in Washington, D.C. in protest against the Vietnam War. These began on Monday morning, May 3 and ended on May 5. Over 12,000 people were arrested, the largest mass arrest in U.S. history.

The Gastown riot, known also in the plural as Gastown riots, also known as "The Battle of Maple Tree Square", occurred in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on August 7, 1971. Following weeks of arrests by undercover drug squad members in Vancouver as part of a special police operation directed by City hall, police broke up a protest smoke-in in the Gastown neighbourhood. The smoke-in was organized by the Youth International Party against the use of undercover agents and in favour of the legalization of marijuana. Of around two thousand protesters, 79 were arrested and 38 were charged.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bangladesh genocide</span> Genocide of Bengalis in East Pakistan by the Pakistan Army

The Bangladesh genocide, known as the Gonohotta, began on 25 March 1971 with the launch of Operation Searchlight, as the government of Pakistan, dominated by West Pakistan, began a military crackdown on East Pakistan to suppress Bengali calls for self-determination. During the nine-month-long Bangladesh Liberation War, members of the Pakistan Armed Forces and supporting pro-Pakistani Islamist militias from Jamaat-e-Islami killed between 300,000 and 3,000,000 people and raped between 200,000 and 400,000 Bengali women, in a systematic campaign of genocidal rape. The Government of Bangladesh states 3,000,000 people were killed during the genocide, making it the largest genocide since the Holocaust during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human rights in Syria</span>

The situation for human rights in Syria is considered one of the worst in the world and has been globally condemned by international organizations like the United Nations, Human rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the European Union. Civil liberties, political rights, freedom of speech and assembly are virtually non-existent under the Ba'athist government of Bashar al-Assad; which is regarded as "one of the world’s most repressive regimes". The 50th edition of Freedom in the World, the annual report published by Freedom House since 1973, designates Syria as "Worst of the Worst" among the "Not Free" countries and is one of the two countries to get the lowest possible score (1/100).

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Crime in Egypt is moderate, but still occurs in various forms. Forms of crime include drug trafficking, money laundering, fraud, corruption, black marketeering etc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The whole world is watching</span> Phrase chanted by anti-Vietnam War demonstrators at the 1968 Democratic National Convention

"The whole world is watching" was a phrase chanted by anti-Vietnam War demonstrators as they were beaten and arrested by police outside the Conrad Hilton Hotel in Chicago during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

There have been many conflicts during Critical Mass events since the founding of the worldwide bicycling advocacy event in 1992. The conflicts have resulted in injuries, property damage, and arrests, and both bicyclists and motorized vehicle drivers have been victims. Critics say that Critical Mass, held primarily in large metropolitan cities, is a deliberate attempt to obstruct automotive traffic and disrupt normal city functions, when individuals taking part refuse to obey traffic laws, while participants variously consider it a celebration of cycling, of cyclists' rights, and a practical re-imagining of urban space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-communist mass killings</span> Politically motivated mass killings of communists

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quisling regime</span> Collaborationist government of Norway (1942–45)

Quisling regime and Quisling government are common names used to refer to the fascist collaboration government led by Vidkun Quisling in German-occupied Norway during the Second World War. The official name of the regime from 1 February 1942 until its dissolution in May 1945 was Den nasjonale regjering. Actual executive power was retained by the Reichskommissariat Norwegen, headed by Josef Terboven.

Washington A16, 2000 was a series of protests in Washington, D.C. against the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, that occurred in April 2000. The annual IMF and World Bank meetings were the scene for follow-on protests of the 1999 WTO protests. In April 2000, between 10,000 and 15,000 protesters demonstrated at the IMF, and World Bank meeting.

The outbreak of the Libyan Civil War was followed by accusations of human rights violations by rebel forces opposed to Muammar Gaddafi, Gaddafi's armed forces, and NATO. The alleged violations include rape, extrajudicial killings, ethnic cleansing, misconduct and bombings of civilians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crimes against humanity under communist regimes</span>

Crimes against humanity under communist regimes occurred during the 20th century, including forced deportations, massacres, torture, forced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, terror, ethnic cleansing, and enslavement, as well as deliberate starvation of people. Additional events included the use of genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, and complicity in genocide. Such events have been described as crimes against humanity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Crimes Tribunal (Bangladesh)</span> Domestic war crimes tribunal

The International Crimes Tribunal (Bangladesh) (ICT of Bangladesh) is a domestic war crimes tribunal in Bangladesh set up in 2009 to investigate and prosecute suspects for the genocide committed in 1971 by the Pakistan Army and their local collaborators, Razakars, Al-Badr and Al-Shams during the Bangladesh Liberation War. During the 2008 general election, the Awami League (AL) pledged to try war criminals. The government set up the tribunal after the Awami League won the general election in December 2008 with a more than two-thirds majority in parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdul Quader Mollah</span> A convicted war criminal and Islamist politician from Bangladesh.

Abdul Quader Mollah was a Bangladeshi Islamist leader, writer, and politician of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, who was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh (ICT) set up by the government of Bangladesh and hanged. There were objections from the United Nations, the governments of several countries, including Turkey, and international human rights organizations but there was widespread support from the general public of Bangladesh for the execution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Shahbag protests</span> Shahbag protests (movement) in 2013

On 5 February 2013, protests began in Shahbag, Bangladesh, following demands for the execution of Abdul Quader Mollah, who had been sentenced to life imprisonment and convicted on five of six counts of war crimes by the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh. Later demands included banning the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party from politics including election and a boycott of institutions supporting the party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human rights in Mozambique</span>

The concept of human rights in Mozambique is an ongoing issue for the African country, officially named the Republic of Mozambique. For more than four centuries, Mozambique was ruled by the Portuguese. Following Mozambique’s independence from Portugal came 17 years of civil war, between RENAMO and FRELIMO, until 1992, when peace was finally reached. Armando Guebuza was then elected president in 2004 and re-elected in 2009, despite criticisms that he lacked honesty, transparency, and impartiality. This sparked a series of human rights incidents including unlawful killing, arbitrary arrests, inhumane prison conditions, and unfair trials. There were also many issues regarding freedom in relation to speech and media, internet freedom, freedom of peaceful assembly, and discrimination and abuse of women, children and people with disabilities. Many of these issues are ongoing and have become current human rights violation is for Mozambique.

References

  1. ↑ Lee, Trymaine (June 24, 2007), "Mass Arrest of Brooklyn Youths Spotlights Tactics", The New York Times
  2. ↑ Fenton, Justin (June 23, 2010), "City poised to approve 'mass arrest' settlement with NAACP, ACLU", The Baltimore Sun, archived from the original on October 10, 2017
  3. ↑ Richard L. Holcomb (Dec 1964), The Police Role in Racial Conflicts by Juby E. Towler, vol. 55, The Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science, p. 540, JSTOR   1140912
  4. ↑ Seiyei Wakukawa (Feb 13, 1946), "Japanese Tenant Movements", Far Eastern Survey, 15 (3): 40–44, doi:10.2307/3022364, JSTOR   3022364
  5. ↑ Amry Vandenbosch (Nov 1952), The Purge of Dutch Quislings; Emergency Justice in the Netherlands. by Henry L. Mason, vol. 14, The Journal of Politics, pp. 751–752, JSTOR   2126459
  6. ↑ "Mass arrests before India rally". BBC News . 2011-03-10. Retrieved 2017-10-20.
  7. ↑ Jill Mahoney & Ann Hui (29 June 2010). "G20-related mass arrests unique in Canadian history". The Globe and Mail. theglobeandmail.com. Archived from the original on 2010-07-28. Retrieved 2012-04-05.
  8. ↑ Nathan Glazer (Mar 25, 1967), "Student Protest in the U S", Economic and Political Weekly, 2 (12): 601–605, JSTOR   4357739
  9. ↑ Page 5 "Vietnam Demonstrations: 1971 Year in Review, United Press International Accessed 2009-04-13. Archived 2009-05-03 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ 1971 Year in Review Archived United Press International 2009-05-05.
  11. ↑ Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, Jimmy Carter, 1977, Book 1: January 20 to June 24, 1977, p. 346
  12. ↑ Rachel Coen (November–December 2002), Another Day, Another Mass Arrest, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting
  13. ↑ Activists Decry Police Intimidation in Anti-Globalization Protests, Agence France Presse, October 1, 2002, archived from the original on October 7, 2012, retrieved July 24, 2010
  14. ↑ Final Report Relative to Complaints of Alleged Misconduct Made at the October 24, 2002, Hearing of the Committee on the Judiciary of the Council of the District of Columbia Concerning the IMF/World Bank Protest, archived from the original on October 6, 2010
  15. ↑ "Barham Settlement". Archived from the original on 2010-06-18.
  16. ↑ "Leading article: Mass arrests have no place in a democratic country", The Independent , 14 April 2009
  17. ↑ Jarrett Murphy (September 3, 2004). "A Raw Deal For RNC Protesters?". CBS News.
  18. ↑ Baker, Al; Moynihan, Colin; Nir, Sarah Maslin (October 1, 2011). "Police Arrest More Than 700 Protesters on Brooklyn Bridge". The New York Times . Retrieved 2011-12-11.
  19. ↑ Marcos, Cristina (2016-04-18). "Capitol Hill arrests in pro-democracy protest hit 1,240". The Hill . Retrieved 2017-10-20.
  20. ↑ Lyal S. Sunga (1992). Individual responsibility in international law for serious human rights violations. International studies in human rights. Vol. 21. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. pp. 25–26. ISBN   978-0-7923-1453-0.
  21. ↑ United Nations War Crimes Commission (1997). "Trial of Shigeki Motomura and 15 others". Law reports of trials of war criminals. Vol. 1–5. Wm S. Hein Publishing. pp. 138–145. ISBN   978-1-57588-403-5.
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