National Extremism Tactical Co-ordination Unit

The National Extremism Tactical Co-ordination Unit (NETCU) was a British police organisation funded by, and reporting to, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) that coordinated police action against groups in the United Kingdom it described as extremist.

National Extremism Tactical Co-ordination Unit
AbbreviationNETCU
PredecessorNational Public Order Intelligence Unit
SuccessorNational Domestic Extremism Unit
FormationMay 2004
Extinction2011
TypeQUANGO
PurposeMonitoring of extremist groups in the UK
Location
  • Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE29 9AL
Region served
UK
Parent organization
Association of Chief Police Officers
Websitewww.netcu.org.uk (archived here at the Internet Archive)

Structure

As of April 2007, it was headed by Superintendent Steve Pearl.[1] Because the ACPO was not a public body but rather a private limited company, NETCU was exempt from freedom of information laws and other kinds of public accountability, even though they were funded by the Home Office and deployed police officers from regional forces.[2]

Background

"NETCU provides tactical advice and guidance on policing single-issue domestic extremism. The unit also supports companies and other organisations that are the targets of domestic extremism campaigns. NETCU reports through the National Coordinator for Domestic Extremism (NCDE) to the Association of Chief Police Officers Terrorism and Allied Matters - ACPO(TAM) committee."[3]

NETCU answered to the Association of Chief Police Officers' (ACPO) Terrorism and Allied Matters Committee, and in particular to ACPO's National Coordinator for Domestic Extremism, Detective Chief Superintendent Adrian Tudway.[4] It worked with the Home Office, and the National Public Order Intelligence Unit.[5]

The unit was created in or around May 2004 to coordinate police action in relation to animal rights campaigns. It was based in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, which had been a focal point for animal rights activism as a result of the Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty campaign.[6]

Apart from animal rights groups, it also investigated the UK Life League, a direct action anti-abortion group that protests outside abortion clinics.[7]

Takeover by the Metropolitan Police

In November 2010 it was announced that the three ACPO units commanded by the National Domestic Extremism and Disorder Intelligence Unit would be rebranded as the National Domestic Extremism Unit and brought under the control of the Metropolitan Police by Summer 2011.[8]

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See also

Notes
  1. Copping, Jasper. "Animal rights extremists target farmers", The Sunday Telegraph, 14 April 2007.
  2. Monbiot, George. As the political consensus collapses, now all dissenters face suppression. The Guardian. 18 May 2009. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
  3. leaked NETCU policing document, photos of leaked document
  4. DCS Adrian Tudway appointed new National Coordinator for Domestic Extremism Archived 2011-07-17 at the Wayback Machine, NDEU/NETCU, 15 November 2010, accessed 10 January 2011
  5. "ACPO welcomes 'economic damage' amendment to serious organised crime and police bill" Archived 12 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine, press release, Association of Chief Police Officers, 31 January 2005.
  6. "NETCU contact page". Archived from the original on 11 March 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2007.
  7. Laville, Sandra. "Anti-abortionists turn sights on schools and hospitals in US-style campaign", The Guardian, 27 March 2006.
  8. "Police on 'tightrope' at protests". Press Association. 23 November 2010. Archived from the original on 24 December 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2011.

Further reading
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