Birmingham's "Operation Netcast" - Big Brother?

Today Birmingham police launched "Operation Netcast". Along all
entry roads they concealed cameras in unmarked parked cars which
checked registration-numbers against computer records. Over
50,000 vehicles were checked. 360 inquiries were made.

In other words around 50,000 law-abiding drivers were assumed to
be criminals. Otherwise why the checks?

For those who bleat that "only law-breakers need worry", think
again. In 2008 you will be required to pay 35 GBP for the
privilege of being "tagged". That's what the new Identity Card
will be.The State will maintain a perpetually updated computer
file on you, immune from and contrary to the Data Protection Act.
Simply change address without informing the authorities and you
face a huge fine or jail.

These mass registration checks are occasional and experimental
for the moment. When they become routine the State's computers
will track your movements and retain records indefinitely. Only
in the interests of preventing crime / road deaths / terrorism /
illegal immigration (delete as appropriate), of course.

Already we have DVLA-linked speed cameras that are judge, jury
and executioner. At the same moment you speed a fixed-penalty
notice is being printed out and posted in Swansea untouched by
human hand. Within your lifetime a computer could convict you of
murder on the weight of evidence against you. That could be
little more than driving your eco-car in the wrong place at the
wrong time. If there were no other suspects such a conclusion
would be logical to artificial intelligence.

Notice I said "car", not bike. Bikes will be history by then.

riccip

 

riccip wrote

I don't think any prior assumptions have been published have they?
Although it looks to me like 49,640 law abiding citizens might be able
to sleep a little more soundly in their bed safe in the knowledge that
the minority of lawless baby eating pension fund defrauding bandits who
are such a tiresome drain on society's resources are being watched and
counted.

 

Good. Although I do not expect this to stop my insurance premium from
going up, it may reduce the increase.

Why not. If plod was following some un-insured and un-licensed chav
driving an MoT failing mobile-disco and this gave plod a chance to pull
the car then so much the better before the driver jumps the lights and
knocks one of us off.

They already do.

I believe that this is already a possibility under the rules for council
tax.

So you see prevention of the above as some HMG should not do?

I wait to see number plates on a horse

 

'Midlands Today' gave out the figures. B'ham Plod says: “We hope
that such high profile policing will give out a reassuring
message to the public – while at the same time give a very clear
warning to criminals that we are out there and we are waiting for
them.”

Nope. I think the local public will be pissed that the motorist
is being harrassed as usual while the crims are laughing all over
their swagbags. Or kalshnikovs if they're from the Aston
district.

riccip

 

riccip emerged from their own little world to say

I already am tagged. I have to carry a photo id card which has a passive
transponder in it. There are locations where I have to wave the card at
a sensor to gain access. However, Cardiff Uni could place covert
scanners anywhere to trace the movements of me, other students and its
employees.

Every time I use a bank card a little bit of my life is recorded in a
database. I don't really give a shit if some Whithall mandarin wants to
know what brand of bog roll I use.

Other countries have had ID cards for years. They don't stop terrorism
[1] and they don't interfere with civil liberty in any way that you
could call significant.

The only issue I have with ID cards is that they are a complete waste of
money. We already have plenty of ways of proving our identity; this new
one is unlikely to serve any useful purpose apart from promulgating the
politics of fear so favoured by this government.

[1] e.g. Spain

 

Unlikely coz most vehicle crime occurs during the hours of
darkness. Those B'ham rozzers knocked off in the afternoon. One
way or another you are paying for this and similar "initiatives".
Either through Council Tax to cover the Plod's wages or missing
assets when you return home to the scene of a burglary.

Would you agree to the entire UK population being compulsarily
fingerprinted and DNA sampled towards similar ends?

Yes but hitherto the technology hasn't been available to maintain
and cross-reference all that data. For example there's always
been a conspiracy theory that everyone's telephone converstaions
were being secretly recorded. Previously such an idea was
unworkable because of the storage capacity and manpower required.
Today it could almost be maintained on a laptop with voice
recognition software. It's time to say enough's enough, we have a
right to some privacy.

If Blunkett could see with his eyes instead of his prick he'd
realise the measures he's railroading us into are the same
misguided ideals he fought against as a younger radical. Yer give
a little man a little power...

riccip

 

Ah so plod haven't any torches and the streets are without lights? It's
been some time since I last visited Brum and I am surprised to hear that
it has decayed so much.

Stop raising the ante. If you cannot address one point then your
argument is without merit.

Why would you object to such measures? There already is a sizeable
portion of the population of whom such information is a matter of
record. Do you think that this data has helped or hindered?

Bollocks mate. What I think you may have been trying to say is, "up to
now the political will has not been to cross-reference these data
systems". However I am sure that I could quite do so with little effort
and I am not the worlds greatest at that kind of thing.

Bwhahahahahahaha. You must have some laptop with that kind of capacity.
Quick someone bring the dried frog pills.

Maintain your argument. I am not exactly a fan of Mr P either, but there
is no need to make abusive comments like that because you cannot form a
reply to my point.

 

How exactly does driving past a camera connected to a PC/PNC constitute
harrasment?
The inconvenience of being seen on camera for a couple of seconds seems to
be worth it if a significant number of actual criminals are found.
--
Alex

YZF 600

"I laugh in the face of danger"

"Then I hide until it goes away"

www.upce.org.uk
www.drzoidberg.co.uk

 

Time for this again.

'It is always a simple matter to drag people along whether it is a
democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist
dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to
the bidding of the leaders. This is easy. All you have to do is tell
them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of
patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works in every
country.' - Hermann Goering at the Nuremberg trials.

If it was anyone other than riccip I'd put the points for and against
this afternoon's operation but I really can't be arsed.

Is the degree stuff you're doing touching on the crime/fear
of/statistical methodology stuff wessie?

 

Cars may get stolen at night , but they can still be driven in the day you
know.

--
Alex

YZF 600

"I laugh in the face of danger"

"Then I hide until it goes away"

www.upce.org.uk
www.drzoidberg.co.uk

 

riccip wrote

Kin right on.

I disagree.

I disagree.

They are not being harassed. Far from it, they are being allowed to go
about their lawful business without let or hindrance, which is A Good
Thing.

I never had you down for a Blurright.

 

I'm waiting for the day when we are all electronically tagged and thought
crime becomes a capital offence...

 

Some of us do

So they are pointless then?

Yep. Doubly pointless.

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Lady Nina emerged from their own little world to say

I'm currently researching for an essay. The book I have in front of me is
Frank Furedi's "Culture of Fear". I've also been reading Stivers'
"Culture of Cynicism" and Barber's "Jihad v McWorld".

I have to evaluate Ralph Fevre's [1] claims in his book "Demoralization
of Western Culture" [2]. I'm using "politics of fear" as a sub-topic.

My dissertation is looking at "bogus professionals"; another area where
there's a lot of puffery about risks to employers, which is primarily designed
to generate business for recruitment agencies.

[1] Prof & Deputy Director of my dept. so I have to be nice as he decides
who gets ESRC funding for next year!
[2] http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0826450598/wwwlink-software-21/202-4012540-8469432

 

Lady Nina emerged from their own little world to say

I've made a note of that quote. It's the sort of thing I put at the start
of an essay to get the fuckers hooked. Bit long though.

 

Christ, what utter bollocks.

 

wessie says...

Have you had a listen to this?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/reith2004/

 

They will employ EDS or some other similar bunch of fuckwits to run
the computers so there will be no reliable data available for anyone
to use. Even if they do get some data out, it will be lost, mis-filed,
contaminated or just plain wrong.

--
ColonelTupperware,
spouting bollocks on Usenet since 1997
Usenet FAQ at
http://www.its.caltech.edu/its/services/internetapps/news/news2.shtml
UPCE FAQ at http://upce.org.uk/ UKRM FAQ at http://www.ukrm.net/faq/

 

Hoi!

<Thinks>

Erm, as you were.

<Goes back to picking nose>


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