... is used to control crowds during demonstrations or protests, by forming large cordons of officers who then move to contain the crowd within a limited area. According to Indymedia UK (cited by Wikipedia), it was first used duing a protest against the World Trade Organisation at Euston Station in 1999. Wikipedia suggests that although this was the first time it had been referred to as kettling, the same tactic had been used on at least two previous occasions – the earliest being at the so–called Battle of Orgreave, during the miners' strike in the 1980s.
Kettling was ruled lawful in 2012, by the European Court of Human Rights, following a legal challenge.
© Haydn Thompson 2023