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Edging ever closer to a police state
• In the context of recent oppressive government legislation
concerning ID cards and terrorism, which alters the time honoured
relationship between the private citizen and the state, I think
your readers
should be made aware of what is already happening.
I recently received a letter addressed personally to me, apparently
from an official at the Home Office, informing me that my details
had been passed on to them by them by “a car park attendant
or local warden”, because I had “left some belongings
on view” in my car.
As a law-abiding citizen I found it quite shocking to find I
had been reported in this way. It was signed by a Mike Wear,
Chairman of the Vehicle Crime Reduction Team, but contained
no address or means of identifying the sender other than telling
me I could apply to the Home Office for more information. It
also mentioned, as a postscript, that the letter is endorsed
by Camden Council.
I wrote to the Home office and to Camden Council informing them
that I regard this as a gross intrusion by the state into my
privacy, and asking under what legislation wardens have been
given powers to spy on and ‘report’ private citizens
who have committed no offence. Their replies wax large with
bureaucratic jargon about targets, initiatives and partnerships
but ignore the fundamental questions I had asked. Most disturbing
of all, the Camden official simply informed me that: “I
have instructed a civilian worker to undertake this work with
the backing of the council and our police partners”.
When public servants in a democracy can so exceed their authority
as to put law-abiding citizens under arbitrary surveillance,
do not apparently understand that legal sanction should be required
for such action, and fail to answer legitimate questions about
it, we are close to a police state. In response to my query
as to whether I am now on a list of potential wrongdoers who
will be watched in future, Camden replied that: “All information
is then destroyed.” The Home Office claims that it “does
not have access to this personal information and do not receive
details of who letters have been sent to.” In the absence
of any proper explanation of the legal basis for this action,
why should I believe them?
Is leaving something on display in one’s car now a reportable
offence? Are wardens now government agents with authority to
conduct routine surveillance on the activities of law abiding
private citizens? What else have they been instructed to spy
on?
Camden’s reply warns me that: “Leaving something in
a car is, in our opinion, as good as welcoming thieves to break
in and take it.”
Is the next logical step, therefore, to order me not to leave
furniture lying around in my house in case a potential thief
peers through my windows and is provoked to break in? Why not
just lock us all up straight away – think how much time
and money that would save!
Their resources should be properly employed in legitimate inquiries
to track down law-breakers, not harassing law-abiding citizens.
If this is the kind of attitude that now prevails in government
circles I believe our civil rights are in grave danger.
Helen Marcus
Glenilla Road
NW3 |
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