The Royal Wedding provided the police with another opportunity to practise their developing role in pre-emptive action and what they call “pre-crime” arrests. It is not clear how many people were arrested but the police numbers indicate up to 100 people.
In most instances those arrested were let off without charge but held for several hours or in some cases more than 24 hours until the end of the day. Three young women in fancy dress costumes en route to an event in Soho Square, London, were arrested while having a cup of coffee in a nearby Starbucks. Police said they were considering charging them under conspiracy law and the particular charge of “conspiracy to cause a public nuisance”.
In addition about 50 Facebook groups were removed from the internet for the duration of the wedding period. ■