Kettling

Kettling (also known as containment or corralling) is a police tactic for controlling large crowds during demonstrations or protests. It involves the formation of large cordons of police officers who then move to contain a crowd within a limited area. Protesters are left only one choice of exit controlled by the police – or are completely prevented from leaving, with the effect of denying the protesters access to food, water and toilet facilities for an arbitrary period determined by the police forces.

The tactic has proved controversial, in part because it has resulted in the detention of ordinary bystanders as well as protestors. In March 2012 kettling was ruled lawful by the European Court of Human Rights following a legal challenge.

The term "kettle" is a metaphor, likening the containment of protestors to the containment of heat and steam within a domestic kettle. Its modern English usage may come from "kessel" – literally a cauldron, or kettle in German – that describes an encircled army about to be annihilated by a superior force. A cauldron is expected to be "boiling" with combat activity, the large enemy forces still quite able to offer "hot" resistance in the initial stages of encirclement, and so are to be contained, but not engaged directly.

To avoid allusions to military confrontation, kettling is sometimes described as "corralling," likening the tactic to the enclosure of livestock. Although large groups are difficult to control, this can be done by concentrations of police. The tactic prevents the large group breaking into smaller splinters that have to be individually chased down, thus requiring the policing to break into multiple groups. Once the kettle has been formed, the cordon is tightened, which may include the use of baton charges to restrict the territory occupied by the protesters. The cordon is then maintained for a number of hours: the ostensible aim is to leave would-be "violent" protesters too tired to do anything but want to go home.

Kettling has been criticized for being an indiscriminate tactic which leads to the detention of law-abiding citizens and innocent bystanders. In some cases protesters are reported to have been denied access to food, water and toilet facilities for long periods. Further criticism has been made that in some instances the tactic has been used to foment disorder with the aim of changing the focus of public debate. In some countries the tactic has led to legal challenges on the grounds of human rights violations.

...
Wikipedia