§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what methods are used by the Metropolitan Police to assess the number of people involved in demonstrations.
§ Mr. HurdThe Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis tells me that estimates of the numbers of people taking part in marches are based on information provided by teams of police officers, who are positioned at the start and end of the route of a march, and who use adding machines to record their count of people as they pass.
536WEstimates of the size of static demonstrations are made by experienced officers, familiar with the capacity of particular sites, including football grounds and public places such as Trafalgar square.