Monday, October 26, 2009

Taking Liberties


Police are gathering the personal details of thousands of activists who attend political meetings and protests, and storing their data on a network of nationwide intelligence databases.

The hidden apparatus has been constructed to monitor "domestic extremists".... Detailed information about the political activities of campaigners is being stored on a number of overlapping IT systems, even if they have not committed a crime.

Senior officers say domestic extremism, a term coined by police that has no legal basis, can include activists suspected of minor public order offences such as peaceful direct action and civil disobedience.

Three national police units responsible for combating domestic extremism are run by the "terrorism and allied matters" committee of the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo). In total, it receives £9m in public funding, from police forces and the Home Office, and employs a staff of 100.

the Guardian



1 comment:

aberfoyle said...

The NEW Zealand gov!has just given the police the right to take from you a dna sample without arrest,the right to enter property without a warrant, the right to seize property under what they deem to have been gained from crime,the right to stop motorists and the like whom they suspect of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs,god help the medicated pensioners,and given of all people the R.S.P.C.A.the right to erect survaliance cameras on your neighbours property for the purpose of percieved cruelty to your pet.

The public bar two or three minority groups have raised concern of these issues, however on the whole the N.Z. public are immune or in ignorance of the serious invation of their personal rights and freedom.Yes capitalism and its creeping oppression is alive and well in the colonies.