Police use of computers
Unreported in the daily papers in this country, Merseyside County Council recently decided to refuse the funding for Merseyside Police’s criminal intelligence computer. (Detailed account in Computing 13th September 1984)
This is the most significant step to date in the struggle to get some kind of control established over policing methods. That this is so may explain why the mass media have, so far, ignored it.
With Merseyside County Council due to be abolished, along with the GLC, in the near future, the police will no doubt persuade the successor body to reinstate its computer funding. Even so, Merseyside have demonstrated that even with the existing legislation, weak as it is, it is possible to rein in the police via the Police Authority’s control of the budget. This is a lesson we hope is learned elsewhere, and quickly.
This has been a long campaign on Merseyside in which an enormous amount of educational activities have been going on. When the Police Authority came to vote on the issue even the magistrates voted for the refusal!
Chris Pounder, who has been acting as an adviser to the Merseyside Police Authority on this issue, has a new book-length report on the police use of computers, published by the GLC. For details see Publications.
RR
007
Murray Sayles’ long apologia for the official version – “a conspiracy of circumstances” – in the Sunday Times (May 20th and 27th 1984).
More interesting is the Defence Attache (June) piece by the pseudonymous P.Q. Mann, which suggested the affair was an intelligence-gathering mission. Mann’s piece is discussed by Andrew Wilson in The Observer, June 17. Lengthy extracts from the Mann piece are included in the current Intelligence (see Publications). The Mann piece is most striking for its discussion/speculation of the role of the space shuttle in this business. Whoever Mr Mann is, he is obviously close to, or part of somebody’s military/intelligence services. The obvious implications of that are that some government – Britain’s? – is using Defence Attache to fire a warning shot across the bows of the US government.
John Keppel, ex “State Department intelligence analyst” claims some of the ‘007’ tapes are fakes. Keppel claims to have discovered discrepancies in the times they were recorded. (Observer 5 Aug. 1984)
Two researchers from Thames Television’s TV Eye programme claim: US government moved to prevent an investigation by National Transportation Safety Board, whose chief investigator at Anchorage “described the decision as unprecedented.” and that the plane’s ‘black box’ flight recorder had, in fact, been recovered and suppressed by the US.(Guardian 28 July 1984)
Most of this material is included in a page-length review in Guardian Weekly by Le Monde’s Alain Jacobs (23 September 1984)
GCHQ
Editor, Jane’s Military Communications (sic) says pressure to remove unions from GCHQ came from US government which finances most of it. It will be interesting to see how this government (and the media) respond to the forthcoming John Schlesinger film of The Falcon and the Snowman (US 1979) by Robert Lindsey, in which the great NSA, whose secrets were supposedly at risk through contact with GCHQ, is portrayed as a ramshackle, drug-ridden shambles, with bored servicemen and civilian employees passing away the dull hours handling the west’s most critical secrets by doing their brains in as often as possible. GCHQ clipping, Guardian 6 June
Secrecy/F.O.I./Censorship
FOI campaign announced in issue 3 of its (very dull and tame) magazine Secrets (no, it doesn’t contain any) that it had now on its board of advisors: Lord Croham (Sir Douglas Allen), ex head Civil Service; Sir Patrick Nairne, ex permanent secretary DHSS; Sir Kenneth Clucas, ex permanent secretary Dept. of Trade; Michael Power, ex Under Secretary Dept. of Environment; Barbara Sloman, ex under secretary at Cabinet Office.
Secrets is not dated; and if you believe this crew of establishment figures has ‘freedom of information’ at heart, you’re as thick as Des Wilson appears to be in taking them on board.
Even Sir Robert Armstrong, one of the real pillars of this country’s secret state, is apparently in favour of more ‘open government’. Times 2 July.
Another memoire, by ex MI5 Joan Miller, suppressed by the government. Sunday Times 29 July
As is an article by this country’s leading (only?) academic expert on Argentina/the Falklands et al, Peter Beck. His paper apparently discussed events of 40 years ago: Times 29 May
Norman Tebbit, Secretary of State for Industry, attempted to censor Chairman of British Shipbuilders in appearance before Commons Select Committee. Times 19 July
Government accused of trying to suppress chapter in OECD report on the economy which states that unemployment causes poverty. We kid you not! Guardian 16 June
Material on Mrs Thatcher and her links with the Oman business and Trafalgar House removed from World in Action programme by IBA. This is the result of recent changes in the law as a result of the Mary Whitehouse case against the film ‘Scum’, which now obliges the IBA to vet potentially controversial programmes. Objections came from the Oman Government via Sultan of Oman’s propaganda adviser, Anthony Ashworth, ex IRD. Observer 29 July. See also Observer 26 June for events leading up to this.
More police raids on bookshops reported in Rights (NCCL) Autumn 1984.
Data Protection
British Medical Association get amendment to Data Protection Bill to prevent confidential files being disclosed. Guardian 6 June
Right on cue, BMA reports widespread claims of police seizure of medical files in fraud investigations of doctors’ expenses claims. Now we know why they are so keen to get their records exempt! (or is that unduly cynical?) Guardian and Times 15 June
Two part account of Data Protection Bill, Times 4 and 5 June
Policing
Miners
- National Reporting Centre – profile of its boss, Hall of Humberside. Sunday Times 20 May. It’s operations, relations with Home Office. Guardian 23 June
Chief Constables and
- Anderton, of Greater Manchester, on miners as ‘terrorists’ (and ‘civil libertarians’ as their assistants). Guardian 29 June
- Sampson of West Yorkshire, talks of damage to the community. Guardian 26 July
Police Committees and
- South Yorkshire taking actions (at least, talking about doing so) to curb police. Police call for their resignation. Guardian 18 July
- South Yorkshire and Merseyside seeking legal advice on National Reporting Centre. Observer 3 June
Legal aspects of
- Discussion of legal background to police restrictions on pickets use of bail restrictions, photographs of arrested. Guardian 3 July
- Police ‘making their own law’ Observer 24 June
- National Association of Probation Officers on ‘abuse of bail’ Guardian 4 June
- ‘Curfew’ as part of bail conditions. Guardian 5 July
- Lord Gifford/Louise Christian on ‘police state’. Guardian 9 July
Troops and
- Soldier photographed at NUM demo: police try to destroy film. Times and Guardian 15 June
‘Police Watch’ and
- Sheffield-based group observing police. Guardian 25 June
- Police watch report in Sheffield alternative newspaper City Issues June 1984. Members reported:
- police arrested without provocation
- tried to move pickets without warning
- arrested pickets for jeering at miners
- used plastic cable ties to handcuff arrested
- harassed ‘police watch’ members
- did not display identification numbers.
- Much of the above and more is summarised in Policing the Miners, GLC Police Committee 3 July, a 13 page summary of events to that date. It is excellent – concise and contains material from sources Lobster clippings don’t have access to – eg Police in-house papers. Ask for Item 6 PC 231 from Police Committee Support Unit, County Hall London SE1 7BP
- See also Policing London (address in publications) which carries similar material
Accountability
- Margaret Simey (Merseyside Police Committee) on subject in Local Government Review 23 June
- Issue discussed at some length by Simey in The Force to Be Reckoned With Guardian 27 June (eg ‘the police, in democratic terms, are out of control’.)
Tapping
- Lord Gifford claims (but apparently offers no evidence) that miners are being phone-tapped. Knowing what we know, that is an absolute certainty. Guardian 27 June
Neighbourhood Watch
- Home Office says 50% plus of police in England and Wales now doing or thinking of such schemes. Times 31 May
Guns
- Guns issued by Metropolitan Police on 2230 occasions in 1983. 500 (Special Branch and others) authorised to carry them at all times. Times 21 June
Special Branch
- Metropolitan Branch given as 400 members Times 4 June
Extending police powers
- Home Office legitimises photographing of demonstrators without their permission. Guardian 21 May
- Police commandeer a bus to take CND demonstrators straight to jail – Sanity May
- Police prevent students from leaving lecture theatre to protest presence of NF member Harrington Guardian 23 May
- Notts. police ask ironmongers to take names and addresses of ‘CND types’ buying bolt-cutters. Guardian (diary) 26 June