POLICE STATE

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The government has drawn up secret 'Big Brother' plans to hand the details of routine journeys taken by millions of innocent motorists to the police. Officers will be able to trawl private information recorded by traffic cameras when investigating even the most minor crimes, according to papers made public. Once the controversial national road-pricing scheme is under way, short journeys to the shops, work or to visit friends will all be logged. Anybody whose vehicle was merely following a car linked to a crime could come under suspicion and be asked to account for their movements.

Under the road-pricing plans, motorists will have their journeys tracked by the automatic number plate recognition cameras, which read and record vehicle movements, and be charged based on how far they travel. By giving police 'bulk access' to this data, forces will be able to effectively track the movements of all motorists who pass the cameras, of which 1,500 already exist in the capital. A further 50 are operated by the DVLA at sites across the country. The Government papers reveal the tactics which could be used to solve crimes, using the number-plate information.

They include 'convoy analysis', where drivers spotted following a known criminal come under police suspicion. The movement of pedestrians is already tracked by 4.2million CCTV cameras, the largest number in the world. Now car journeys will be similarly monitored. Police are to be given live access to London's congestion charge cameras, allowing them to track all vehicles entering and leaving the zone. But the Home Office plans to dramatically widen the powers beyond anti-terror operations, and nationwide. (Source: Mail on Sunday, Jul/07)

When a girl of 12 swore at her in the street, Joanne Wilson did what she believed any right-minded mother should do. She ticked off the youngster and went straight to her parents to warn them of their child's naughty behaviour. But a few weeks later, Mrs Wilson received a letter ordering her to attend a nearby police station for questioning. When she told officers the date was not convenient, because it clashed with her daughter's swimming competition, Mrs Wilson claimed officers warned her she risked being arrested in the early hours of the morning and her children taken into care if she failed to cooperate.

Mrs Wilson attended Grey Mare Lane police station, Beswick, Greater Manchester, where she was arrested and thrown in a cell for almost five hours. She had police mugshots, her fingerprints and DNA swabs taken. Officers told Mrs Wilson that the girl claimed she had been dragged to the ground during a confrontation and they were investigating an allegation of common assault. Mrs Wilson, who could have faced a maximum sentence of six months in jail if convicted, protested her innocence and three months later the allegations were finally dropped.

She has made a formal complaint to Greater Manchester Police, who she accused of being heavy-handed. A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said they had a duty to investigate the allegation of assault and that the case had been dropped on the advice of the Crown Prosecution Service. He added there were no grounds for an investigation into the youngster for wasting police time because the allegation of assault was never retracted.

What do we expect in today's Britain, where children have rights but no responsibilty, law-abiding taxpayers have responsibilities but no rights and criminals are called 'sir'. If you need a reason why kids are leaving school without the basic 3R's skills, the parents of the girl who was swearing are a good example. Thick, Ignorant and Stupid. British 'justice' at it's best, woman gets police record for telling off child, paedophiles, muggers, robbers and murderers go free. (Source: Mail on Sunday, Aug/06)

State officials are to be given powers previously reserved for times of war to demand a person's proof of identity at any time. Anybody who refuses the Big Brother demand could face arrest and a possible prison sentence. The new rules come in legislation unveiled in the Queen's Speech. They are presented as a crackdown on illegal immigration, but lawyers say they could be applied to anybody who has ever been outside the UK, even on holiday. The civil rights group Liberty, which analysed clauses from the new Immigration and Citizenship Bill, called them an attempt to introduce compulsory ID cards by the back door.

The move would effectively take Britain back to the Second World War, when people were stopped and asked to 'show their papers'. Liberty said, "Powers to examine identity documents, previously thought to apply only at ports of entry, will be extended to criminalise anyone in Britain who has ever left the country and fails to produce identity papers upon demand. We believe that the catch-all remit of this power is disproportionate and that its enactment would not only damage community relations but represent a fundamental shift in the relationship between the State and those present in the UK."

One broadly-drafted clause would permit checks on anyone who has ever entered the UK, whether recently or years earlier. Officials, who could be police or immigration officers, will be able to stop anyone to establish if they need permission to be here, if they have it, and whether it should be cancelled. No reasonable cause or suspicion is required, and checks can be carried out 'in country', not just at borders. The law would apply to British citizens and foreign nationals, according to Liberty's lawyers. The only people who would be exempt are the tiny minority who have never been abroad on holiday or business.

A second clause says that people who are stopped 'must produce a valid identity document if required to do so by the Secretary of State'. Failure to do so would be a criminal offence with a maximum penalty of 51 weeks in jail or a £5,000 fine. Currently, police are allowed to ask for identity documents only if there is a reasonable suspicion that a person has committed an offence. During the Second World War, ID cards were seen as a way of protecting the nation from Nazi spies, but in 1952 Winston Churchill's government decided they were not needed in peacetime.

They were thought to be hindering the police because so many people resented being asked to produce them. Liberty director Shami Chakrabarti said, "Sneaking in compulsory identity cards via the back door of immigration law is a cynical escalation of this expensive and intrusive scheme." Tory spokesman Damian Green said, "This scheme will do nothing to improve our security, may make it worse, and will certainly land the taxpayer with a multi-million bill. Labour should concentrate on things that will improve our security, like a dedicated border police force."

The Home Office insisted it had no intention of making people carry ID cards. A spokesman said, 'It is simply wrong to claim there are any plans whatsoever to make identity cards compulsory for British citizens or to require British citizens to have an ID card at all times and present it when asked. To maintain effective immigration control it is only right that we ask everyone attempting to enter the UK to produce a valid identity document." (Source: Daily Mail, Dec/08)