Sunday 17 January 2010

POLICE POWERS.........POLICE STATE?


Ye Gods! This is a post that will really test my ability to write without resorting to obscenities.
What happened? Where did the Policeman on the beat go to? The Policeman who you asked if you needed to know the time. The round figured man on the bicycle who knew people in the community by name and would give you a ticking off if you were bending the law a little.

I will tell you where he went. He was consigned to the history books and replaced with a new breed of Police Soldier, who rather than being a servant of the people and upholder of the law, is a State law Enforcer and tax collector.
 In 2009 they raked in a massive £400m in fines for minor offences such as speeding, parking & leaving rubbish out on the wrong day.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/7016421/Police-rake-in-400-million-from-middle-class-fines.html


In theory, I should be on the same side as the Police. I want to see a reduction in crime and anti social behaviour and I would like people to be able to go about their daily lives without being robbed & harassed by others.
Now that’s where the cracks start to appear in the theory. The Police do harass people who are going about their lives. They blatantly rob ordinary decent people on a regular basis. You could argue that they operate one of the largest and most profitable extortion rackets in Britain. 


They are set apart from the people and are unaccountable to the local community. They are armed to the teeth and are able to and are prepared to use their weapons against ordinary people if they feel that they are being threatened.

If that is not worrying enough, They are also about to introduce Police spy drones to patrol our skies.

PHOTOGRAPHING POLICE & PUBLIC PLACES.

Remember the title of my Blog? 'Sons of Apathy', is that what Britons have become? I don't know about you but it bothers me to hear that laws of oppression & suppression of information are being sneaked through without much resistance from all but the few people who feel that they are affected by them.
Take a look at this article about an Austrian visitor to London who had his camera taken from him and his photographs deleted by the Police for taking pictures of double decker Buses & public building.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/apr/16/police-delete-tourist-photos

Some people might think that this is okay. Terrorism is something that we are rightly afraid of and the Police have the job of preventing it.
Well I am sorry but I think, as do many other people, that The Police seized upon terrorism as a window of opportunity to bring in laws to protect them from scrutiny & further isolate themselves from accountability to the people.

Here is another article worth a read and I urge you to follow through to related articles. I am by no means a journalist. All I can do is point those who are concerned in the right direction.

http://www.urban75.org/photos/photographers-rights-and-the-law.html

The problem here is that the more powers the police are given, the more likely it is that some of them will abuse those powers.
I will add video and photographs as & when I find them & if you find anything before me, please send me a link.
Here is a video of Nottinghamshire Police abusing a suspect with Tasers & Beating him with their fists.



Then there is the case of Mark Aspinall. Here is a video of a vicious assault on a War Hero.




Then there is the Jobsworth Zealot at the other end of the scale. Take a look at this article about PC Stuart Gray of Strathclyde Police in Ayrshire. If you click his name it will link you to a page with his contact details on should you wish to express yourself.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1192496/Man-dropped-pound-note-fined-50--littering.html
This Policeman has issued fixed penalty fines for some monumentally ridiculous things including, fining a man for littering who had dropped a ten pound note, and one for a motorist who was parked with the handbrake on and blew his nose. The fine was for not being in proper control of his vehicle.



                                                                    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1246662/Stunned-driver-fined-blowing-nose-Michael-Mancini-faces-trial.html