Go! And tell me my rights
August 13th, 2008 by Lib
On Saturday, officers ’swept’ the city centre of Manchester, UK, with a number of drug dogs.
Police randomly stopped and searched people walking through the city centre, resulting in over 30 arrests. Its all part of Operation Notebook (don’t you just love their imagination) which has been running since April.
So far a total of 250 stop-searches have been carried out since the start of the operation, which has included arrests for alleged possession of drugs and five warnings for allegedly carrying small amounts of cannabis. 1 person has been arrested for carrying a knife.
Now, don’t get me wrong, there are certain areas in the city centre which are notoriously dodgy and I’m pleased that they are attempting to clean them up but I have beef with the fact that I can’t walk down the street without potentially being under suspicion.
Chief Constable Michael Todd says the searches can help police detect crime (no shit sherlock)
But he says officers can only search someone if they suspect them of carrying drugs, weapons, stolen property or items that could be used to commit a crime.
The officer must tell the person what law is being used and their rights, the officer’s name, the station they work at and why they stopped the person.
The officer must also say what they are looking for.
The police authority says it aims to improve the trust and confidence in the police.
Does it? Not for me it doesn’t.
Is this the way it’s going to be?
a popular one used by the police at football matches is this
if a few lads are having a drink in a pub even mils from the ground- the police will come in and issue everyone with a section 60. this means you cannot leave the premises until police say so. you are then indivdually searched thoroughly. upon being searched you have to prove your identity- if not you will be arrested. you are then filmed on video camera. you can be arrested for having in their opinion had too much to drink- although you will not be breath tested until the station. you can be arrested if a drug dog traces you may have been in contact with drugs. even if no drugs are found on you. you can have scarves, caps, gloves confiscated.
also if any of the people in the group have been arrested previously for any crime you can all be taken and held in processing cells. the lovely thing is they always tend to hold you until after your train out of the said city has left. upon leaving the station you will then be asked to prove you have enough money to stay in a hotel normally of their choice. if you can’t you will be re-arrested for vagrancy.
your crime- none committed. but drinking in a pub when your team are playing is enough
oh and attempts to get legal representation or ask questions are usually met with a drawn baton or a couple of dogs being let loose into the pub. also the plice will cover up there shoulder tags so if they o dish out any ‘justice’ you have no reference number to report them. this is illegal
for reasons like this when the police came off second best in manchester at the rangers final, after apparent hevy handed tactics I did not exactly feel a great deal of sympathy.
I have also seen a diabetic football fan get arrestged for possesing needls and insulin. when he then went into a hypo he was arrested for drunk and disorderly. the ambulance drivers came and were disgusted.
Not good, but that’s what happens when you support Everton.
yea seen (but luckily not personally experienced) this section 60 process. shocking abuse of power.
also was in amongst the Rangers fans for the EUFA final in Manchester. Went down to Piccadilly Gardens to watch on the big screen only for it to go down minutes before the game kicked-off. Disastrous for Manchester & though i don’t condone the running battles with the polis can understand the ‘Gers fans - been in Manc’r for 24-48hrs before the kick off, drinking heavily but in great spirits (cracking fans) & then the big event they’ve travelled hundreds of miles for, paying hundreds of pounds to watch & all goes t*ts up at the critical moment.
welcome to the brave new world… Lib
between the cctv, ID confirmation crap,security guards everywhere, police stop and search tactics and everything they dream up we are giving those with pursecutions complexes and multipersonalities not to mention the miriad of other phobias involving invasion of privacy issues plenty of reasons to be concerned….
There is no way these days any shrink worth his salt can tell a person, you are not being watch, no one is out to get you… because guess what you are being watch, chances are someone is out to get you or at least your ID …
So there you have it….
it sucks…..
Well thats the irony isn’t it, its hardly brave.
It’s really bloody scary.
totally..
but you know whats scarier than the police, the surveillence, security etc…
whats far scarier than anything I see on the news etc…
what totally freaks me out is people complaisent attitude to it…
no one is questioning, asking why and if they do ask challenging the answers given..
I am surprised by how accepting people are with all this….
it seems all the officials need do is say it is because of safty concerns and everyone goes oh ok….
not right…. feels a bit like a herd of sheep….. being herded by a wolf pack…
Tis true, a sign appeared in my communal lift at home the other day saying ‘warning, this lift is under CCTV surveillance’
Now I can’t for the life of me find this camera in the lift so I think the sign has been put there just in case.
Just in case of what though?
And isn’t that just a little bit threatening?
I hear you…
People will say its reassuring to know that if something happens somebody will see it….
to my mind it inviting trouble… and what did you think before the CCTV was installed.. did anyone actually think I better not use the lift just in case something happens to me… no the thought never entered their head…
I believe all this is only fostering fear in people…. potential fear can be more harmful than actual threat when it is over a prolonged time……
I am still waiting to fell threatened … but I do feel more threatened by a sign saying Just in case than I do of the threat itself….
So we move from feeling guilty walking through airport security and on it goes as we feel guilty just walking around - a sad state of affairs.
Flew from T5 at Heathrow recently where 6 armed security looked ready to AIM / FIRE at any given moment.
Water pistols just aren’t an option anymore as fear grips the nation.
‘Fear grips the nation’, thats exactly my point.
The police, the government, even criminals to a certain extent are playing on the insecurities of the nation in order to ‘police better’
So when people complain about heavy policing, it will be a case of ‘well we are living in dangerous times, what do you expect?’
How condescending is that?
It seems that everyone is a criminal nowadays unless proven otherwise, how wrong is that?
well they do say that all of us are potential criminals.
not me.
I’m a convicted one!!
arf arf
Makes me laugh. This is the same country that spawns the BBC who have spent the last few months trying so hard to find stories in China about human rights abuses, air quality, internet restrictions, etc….. Try looking closer to home eh.
We are now faced with a tough choice. Do we let this ride under the banner of preventing ‘knife crime’ and other such hyper inflated media campaigns or do we stand up and try and protect our human/privacy rights.
Once a sizeable media campaign has fooled the public into believing there is a huge issue at stake the government can then do anything it wants under this banner, eg war on terrorism, knife crime epidemic, teenage drug use, etc.
Personally I would say that our privacy should be respected, but that’ll leave me open to the ‘what about the rights of victims’ brigade. What we should be doing simultaneously is understanding what has led to this mass breakdown of law and order. For those of you who would question this statement perhaps you can look on the ITN web site today about how we have seen the number of Brits arrested abroad soar in the last couple of years, mainly for alcohol and public order offenses. My thoughts are that the legal system and European human rights act that have been major factors as it is now very much the perpetrators who get the protection and not the victim.
As Simon Cowell would say, you are bang on the money Gareth.
But you can’t sing for toffee
Strange, as I used to sing for the Toffees when I went to the game.
Yea think think the media hype that whips the nation into a frenzy is a big part of this control pattern. The whole hoody/knife crime is the media’s latest scare story & in response police powers are ramped up & personal freedoms are stamped down under the heavy boot of the law.
There was a commentary piece by Peter Wilby in The Guardian on Wednesday under the banner ‘The media’s addiction to controvery can seriously damage your health’. Made a really strong point about the media furore that they whipped up against the MMR (measles/mumps/rubella) vaccine & the speculative link to child autism. The speculation was disproved but not before the reactionary right-wing press (Daily Mail, The Sun, The Telegraph) had thrown out scare-story after story. The result was scared parents, a drop in child vaccination rates & now the Dept of Health has launched a campaign to get all under 18s immunised in response to a huge increase in cases of measles (which for the last 2 yrs are greater than the combined previous 10 yrs). It’s a health example, not crime, but exemplifies the power of the media & how it can distort & twist issues so that the public becomes misinformed & frightened. Information is power; misinformation is a distortion of that power & has been politically used to control the people since time immemorial.
As Public Enemy sagely intoned ‘Don’t believe the hype’
Stepping down from my soap-box, anyone reckon the Mens’ 100m world record is going to tumble? Saw Usain Bolt’s qualifying sprints yesterday & he strolled to 9.92s; I think 9.72s will be broken.
yes
I reckon Bolt will win it in 9.69 and will lower his arms 15 yards from the end and thump his chest as he crosses the line. I think a Trini and a yanky will come second and third with Asaf Powell managing no better than 5th
Urban - psychic urban - Bolt clearly has it in him to break 9.5 after that 100m display today.
What?!
Oh jeez. Great.
Super.
Thanks for the heads up … as we’ll be following suit any minute here.
It’s getting out of hand.
All of this.
It’s getting OUT OF HAND! This is nuts. And so wrong, on so many levels, that I think we really ought to start considering pooling our resources and buying our own Island.
I don’t have the time to rant and rave properly, but this latest news is so disturbing it’s going to bother me all day.
And truthfully? I don’t have anything to worry about should I be one of those unlucky individuals stopped for walking down a street because the officer holding the dog told the dog to bark, causing the reason for questioning. I once dated a police officer — I told him that I was SOOO lucky because I’d been stopped many times and never ticketed. He laughed at me and said, “Your crime is DWB, you dig?” I didn’t understand … what? DWB what?
He smirked, “Driving While Blonde — you’re attractive, we’ll stop you just for that crime.”
Here’s the real problem: Humans are susceptible to personal prejudice and discriminatory practices. All the laws in the world can’t save us from ourselves.
I fear for the freedom of my children. Deeply.
Blue Collar Goddesss last blog post..Go …t four minutes?
Welcome back BCG!
Yep, sad state of affairs, and I feel it will only get worse.
I have mixed feelings/thoughts. I think that the intention of the law is good, to lower crime and prevent it. However, if it is abused or “profiling” is used that is a problem. To me it is a tough line to walk for law enforcement. I guess, I am a little more optimistic that it won’t be just anyone, but people who look suspecious in the way they are acting or how they are dressed. I’m thinking that it would also deter crime which is good if it is in a part of town that could use more police presence.
Well thats what they would have you believe……….lol
Yes, LOL!!! In theory, but I tend not to complain or air my outrage until I have facts to back it up rather than stating “potential problems” or things that I’m sure is going to happen. I try to keep and open mind…TRY and not pass judgement until they give me reason to, then I just go off!!! LOL!!!
Ohlala! Bridget is never gonna visit Manchester aaargh!!
I think you should come to Dubai Lib, the only time you’re guaranteed to get arrested is if you get naughty on the beach ha!
And I would NEVER do that Bridget.
Good girl!