The resulting document, known as the Public Order Manual (POMAN) 1971, was designed to provide a framework for police and other authorities to manage public gatherings, protests, and demonstrations in a peaceful and proportionate manner. The manual emphasized the importance of balancing the right to free speech and assembly with the need to maintain public safety and order.
: Grants powers for the regulation of assemblies.
Cordons and containment lines (which later evolved into controversial tactics like "kettling"). public order manual poman 1971
[Generated Academic] Date: April 21, 2026
The late 1960s and early 1970s represented a volatile period for governments globally. Civil unrest, political assassinations, labor strikes, and colonial independence movements forced state authorities to rethink their approach to policing. Prior to this era, crowd control often relied on fragmented, localized police instincts or direct military intervention, which frequently resulted in excessive force and escalated violence. The resulting document, known as the Public Order
[Information & Intelligence] ➔ [Command Structure] ➔ [Graduated Force] ➔ [Dispersal & De-escalation]
The document serves as a reminder of a period when the line between the military and the police began to blur. For historians and legal experts, it is a crucial primary source for understanding how the state responds when the social contract begins to fray. Cordons and containment lines (which later evolved into
POMAN 1971 introduced structured steps for escalating the police response based on crowd behavior. Rather than jumping directly to aggressive dispersals, it mandated: Verbal warnings and show of presence.
To understand the relationship between police and protesters today—from the use of "kettling" to the rules of engagement for tear gas—one must first understand the cold, clinical logic of POMAN 1971.
One of the most persistent legacies of POMAN 1971—and its successive updates through the 1980s—was its status as a .