This film documents police training that involved handling public order disturbances, such as National Front demonstrations. Various procedures and strategies are run through, with the focus heavily centralised on the co-ordination of officers on foot and mounted units. These training simulations took place at Yeadon, West Yorkshire. The film opens with officers on horseback riding around a courtyard. Shots show some of the mock protestors, who are predominantly played by middle aged men. A...

This film documents police training that involved handling public order disturbances, such as National Front demonstrations. Various procedures and strategies are run through, with the focus heavily centralised on the co-ordination of officers on foot and mounted units. These training simulations took place at Yeadon, West Yorkshire. The film opens with officers on horseback riding around a courtyard. Shots show some of the mock protestors, who are predominantly played by middle aged men. A coach arrives - carrying constables - and parks up on the grass. A senior officer disembarks first, jogging into the courtyard followed by the constables, who quickly organise themselves into groups. The mock protestors approach the policemen in an intimidating group, and the policeman lock arms in a defensive line. The police use a wedge shape to barge through the protestors, splitting them in two and pushing them away. The exercise is repeated again, this time using mounted officers to shepherd the protestors away, while the officers on foot follow behind. Again the exercise is re-enacted, with the horse riders blocking the protestors path by trotting sideways; some protestors manage to get past the cavalry unit and are swiftly pushed aside by the rows of police constables. A similar manoeuvre is performed this time with the horses moving from the front and reinforcing the policemen from behind. The next shot show two mounted officers pushing back a small group of protestors; two of the horseback riders push three men up against a fence and hold them there until an officer with a German shepherd moves in to relieve them. The mounted units practice taking on a larger group of protestors, and they spilt into a V-shape that separates the group effectively. Next, the mounted unit rehearse braking through the protestors line in a wedge formation, and, as they move through, a couple of protestors try (slightly half-heartedly) to push the horses away. The mounted unit then line up and push the protestors back, moving in unison. The final sequence shows constables (on foot) driving protestors back. Another demonstration shows a lead protestor firing up the crowd before two officers on horseback swoop in, carrying the man away. The final shots show some of the horse footwork as they move sideways, and the concluding shot shows an officer on horseback pushing a protestor back towards the camera.