Guido Fawkes - A Policeman's Best Friend

Good to see that fuckhead bloggers have a keen idea about what is important. Just a week ago we were confronted with the brutality of our police force. A police force that has been encouraged to brutally suppress legitimate, peaceful protest. A police force that thinks that a fair investigation into the death of an innocent man during the G20 protests should be conducted by themselves.

A week after these revelations, and where are we? Are 'serious bloggers' taking the police to task, further investigating their behaviour and exposing the brutality that the government has encouraged?? Are they exposing the very real danger to our liberties that is posed by a brutal police force empowered by anti-terror legislation?? No, they are writing about a smear campaign conducted by an advisor. Drawing attention from the far scarier story that has been emerging over the past week. Kind of puts Mr Tomlinson's death at the hands of the police into perspective doesn't it. Guido Fawkes? Cupid Stunt more like.

Filthy Fuzz

How odd that the main story this morning was this:

Ian Tomlinson, the man who died at last week's G20 protests in London, was attacked from behind and thrown to the ground by a baton-wielding police officer in riot gear, dramatic footage obtained by the ­Guardian shows.


And by the afternoon we had this:

Counter-terrorist police arrested 10 young men across the north-west tonight in an operation hastily brought forward following an embarrassing security leak by a senior Scotland Yard commander.

Hmmm.

Knife Crime - A Media Feeding Frenzy

So, are you scared yet? If not, you damn well should be. Just a glance across some of the headlines in the newspapers over the past few days should have you scared of leaving your house:

Brown toughens controls on knives after spate of fatal stabbings
Violent crime crackdown: Brown says young people carrying knives must be prosecuted
Teenage knife crime 'is one of biggest threats to London'
Knife crime doubles in 2 years
Police boss Sir Ian Blair calls on parents to tackle Britain's epidemic knife crime
KNIFE CRIME DOUBLES AS LABOUR FAILS ON PLEDGE

And so it goes, on and on, a feeding frenzy of almost epic proportions. Not surprisingly, this is yet another example of the media and politicians exaggerating the risks and mis-informing the public.

The problem with all of the reports above is use of the statistics to prove their case. The statistics are, as always, not put into proper context and manipulated to make it appear that the problem is worse than it actually is. Take, for example, the following paragraph extracted from The Times:

Of the 820 homicides in 2005 in England and Wales, 236 – or 29% – were with a knife or other sharp instrument. Those figures showed that knives are used in 6% of all violent crimes.

Sounds pretty scary. Twenty-nine percent appears to be a large figure, but what is the reality? Well, the reality is that the national police recorded crime statistics do not differentiate between the various types of weapons used:

It is currently not possible to identify offences involving the use of weapons other than
firearms from national police recorded crime statistics. Figures for serious wounding
involving knives and other sharp instruments from 2007/08 onwards will be presented in
future volumes.

Only offences involving firearms are actually recorded by the national police statistics, the only available information is via the British Crime Survey. So what about the actual statistics regarding violent crime? Well, that is rather interesting.

According to the figures:

Violent crime as measured by the BCS has fallen by 41 per cent since a peak in 1995,
representing over half a million fewer victims.

A decline of 41%. A pretty amazing decline, particularly given the public perception. Furthermore:

The number of violent crimes experienced by adults showed no statistically significant
change between 2005/06 and 2006/07 BCS interviews. Police recorded violence against
the person fell by one per cent between 2005/06 and 2006/07, the first fall in eight years.


So, depending upon what figures you believe, violent crime has either remained static or shown a slight decline. It has most definitely not shown a marked increase. So what of the actual figure? Well, according to the latest figures, there were 2,471,000 violent incidents against adults
in England and Wales in the period 2006/7. The graph below shows the trend over the past 26 years (you may need to click the image to see it clearer):





Furthermore, whilst assaults without injury have increased, assaults with injury or with wounding have either remained static or declined as the following graph demonstrates:

So what about the statistics regarding knife crime? Well, according to the BCS, weapons were used in 24% of 'violent incidents'. Given that violent incidents stand at around 2,471,000, that means that 593,040 involved the use of a weapon. In terms of knives, 7% of 'violent incidents' involved the use of a knife. That means that there were approximately 172,970 'violent incidents' involving knives during 2006/7. What is also interesting, however, is that 'violent incidents' involving a so-called 'hitting implement' (which includes sticks, clubs and 'other hitting implements') was around 6% and incidents involving 'glass/bottles' was around 5%. Strangely, we don't hear many politicians speaking out about the rise in bottle/glass crime, perhaps it's not as catchy. The stats break down as follows (again you may need to click on the image):

It would appear that knives aren't as much of a problem as we are lead to believe. Statistically speaking, you have a 0.2% chance of being involved in a knife crime and, given that 2% of knife incidents lead to minor injuries, an even smaller chance of being injured by someone wielding a knife. Compare the risk of falling victim to knife crime to the risk of having a car crash. In 2006, the police reported 189,000 car accidents that resulted in an injury. The driving population is around 33 million. Statistically speaking, you have a 0.57% chance of being involved in a car accident and suffering an injury. Therefore, you are nearly THREE times as likely to receive an injury in a car crash as you are to be the victim of knife crime. And yet, knife crime is at the top of the news agenda and car accidents barely register. The risk is, quite clearly, exaggerated.

Going back to the earlier paragraph, another aspect of the story becomes clear. The Times reports that 29% of murders involve a knife or 'sharp instrument'. When you think about it logically, this makes perfect sense and is not even slightly disturbing. Guns and knives seem to be the most obvious method of committing murder so clearly the percentage would be higher. When you consider the instances of domestic violence and, in some cases, murder, it is obvious that a knife or sharp implement would be high up the list. What implement do most people have lying around at home? Besides, as the stats show, 236 murders were as a result of the use of a knife. The risk of being murdered by knife is tiny. In fact, it is approximately 0.00039%, a risk so low as to be negligible.

But it's not just The Times that plays with the stats, the BBC mis-represents the figures somewhat as well. Below are two graphs from today's website:

What is interesting about these figures is what they seem to suggest. In the top graph, we can see that murders involving 'sharp implements' has risen by what appears to be a huge amount (around 9-10% apparently). However, when you look at recorded homicides, there has been a slight decrease and this is where it is interesting. The first graph uses a % figure and the second uses an actual total. This has some problems. For example, it could be the case that the total number of homicides has declined (which appears to be the case), and yet the total number of homicides due to 'sharp implements' may have remained static. However, if the number of homicides involving sharp implements had remained static when the overall homicide figure had gone down, there would obviously be an increased % of homicides due to 'sharp implements'. A better indication of the reality would be if a total was provided instead of a percentage, but given that there is a chance that the use of knives has remained static, or possibly increased slightly, this would point out the absurdity of the current media frenzy.

None of this, of course, intends to undermine the hurt and pain that victims and their families feel about knife crime. However, it is sensible to put this in proportion. You are less likely to be involved in an incident with a knife than to be involved in a car accident that results in your injury. Violent crime has declined dramatically over the past ten years. And, if you are involved in a violent incident, you are less likely to receive an injury than you were ten years ago. So, don't be scared, and keep the hype in perspective.

The crime stats referred to above are taken from the official statistics available here.

Sadiq Khan Bugged by Police

How interesting that this:

SCOTLAND YARD’S antiterrorist squad secretly bugged a high-profile Labour Muslim MP during private meetings with one of his constituents.

Sadiq Khan, now a government whip, was recorded by an electronic listening device hidden in a table during visits to the constituent in prison.

The bugging of MPs is a breach of a government edict that has barred law agencies from eavesdropping on politicians since the bugging scandal of Harold Wilson’s government. There was no suspicion of criminal conduct by Khan to justify the operation.

Should follow this:

David Cameron yesterday justified his plans for much wider use of police stop and search powers, arguing that concerns he was reintroducing a 1980s-style "sus" law were misplaced because the police were no longer so racist.

"No longer racist"? The facts appear to dispute this. And people wonder why the Muslim community feel threatened by society and the state. With stories like this, there is little wonder. Clearly a message is being sent out by the establishment - "We do not trust you".

As for the stop and search 'bureaucracy', whether we like it or not, sometimes bureaucracy is there for a very sound reason. It is pretty obvious (given the nature of elements within the police force) why this form filling is necessary. What dismays me further is the nature of what is laughingly called 'debate' over this issue. Tuning into Question Time the other night, I was disappointed to see that every panellist refused to condemn this outright. Yes there was some hand-ringing, but by and large everyone accepted it was necessary. Why is it necessary? The police already have enormous power within this country, why should they be given yet more powers? Despite this, no public figure seems prepared to offer the argument against. And yet some say there is a left-liberal conspiracy running the show. If it wasn't so serious, I might just manage to laugh.

Peter Hain Resigns From Cabinet

It has just emerged that Peter Hain has resigned after it was decided that his campaign donations will be referred to the Met Police. Once more this centre-right government is tainted by sleaze. When will it ever end? Perhaps when capitalism is finally overthrown, who knows? From the BBC:

Peter Hain has quit the Cabinet after his deputy leader campaign donations were referred to the Met Police.

Mr Hain, work and pensions secretary and Wales secretary, said he had stood down so he could "clear my name".

He quit within minutes of the Electoral Commission saying that it had decided to refer the late declaration of £103,000 of donations to the police.

Mr Hain has blamed poor administration and has said the suggestion he tried to hide anything was "absurd".

UK Detention Longest in World

From today's Guardian:

Britain's existing 28-day limit on holding terror suspects without charge is already far longer than that for any comparable democracy, according to a study to be published tomorrow.

The survey, by the human rights organisation Liberty, was carried out by lawyers and academics in 15 countries. It shows that the four-week maximum in Britain outstrips limits in countries that have also suffered al-Qaida inspired terrorist attacks in recent years, including the United States, Spain and Turkey.

Although police in these countries also face increasingly complex terror plots with growing international dimensions, their maximum periods for pre-charge detention remain as short as 48 hours in the US, five days in Spain and seven and a half days in Turkey.

The findings are released as MPs await the publication of a new counter-terrorism bill that will propose extending detention without charge beyond 28 days.

In other words, it's a crock of shit (as if you didn't already know that). Welcome to Totalitarian Fantasy Island.

See Liberty for more.

Met Police Found Guilty Over de Menezes' Execution

Yes, the jury have found the Met Police guilty of a series of catastrophic errors which led to the execution of de Menezes. Despite their disgraceful attempts at smearing the name of an innocent man (as if anyone - other than the wackos - would think it was ok to execute him because he may/may not have taken cocaine), the police were fined £175,000 (a paltry sum given the circumstances) and condemned for failing in their duty to protect the public. And Ian Blair's position after this??

The prime minister, Gordon Brown, and the home secretary, Jacqui Smith, said Sir Ian retained their “full confidence”.

What this full confidence is in is anyone's guess. Full confidence in ethnically cleansing large parts of London one suspects.

(h/t Ten Percent)

Two Arrested During No Borders March

Taken from UK Indymedia:

No Border campaigners march to Gatwick despite heavy policing

22 September, 2007

For the first time in its 11-year history, Tinsley House immigration detention centre at Gatwick Airport today saw a lively, though short rally in the afternoon. As part of the Gatwick No Border Camp, about 500 people from across the UK marched from Crawley, West Sussex, to Gatwick in a 'transnational day of action against immigration prisons'. They were protesting in particular against a new detention centre that is being built at Gatwick Airport, which is due to open in 2008.

Armed with many banners, placards and leaflets conveying the message that immigration detention is inhumane, they demanded the closure of all immigration prisons and the abolition of the borders that cause all this suffering.

Penned in tiny, designated area along the airport's fence, protesters listened to a number of speeches from ex-detainees and messages of support and defiance. Phone calls from detainees inside Tinsley were then passed on to the crowed via a megaphone. One of the detainees, who has been in the UK for 12 years and had refugee status but is due to be deported after committing a criminal offence and serving his sentence, said: "Why should I be punished twice? I've made a mistake and I've paid for it. Why do I have to pay twice?"

Another detainee, who has been in detention for about 3.5 months and is facing deportation to Angola soon, talked about his suffering in detention and missing his family. He has been in the country for 11 years and has a British wife and three children.

During the rally, the gates were closed to detainees' visitors. Conscious of this, demonstrators sought to make the rally as short as possible in order not to prolong any further disruption to visiting. After the rally, two protesters visited one of those who had communicated with protesters and they were told that detainees were very happy and found the solidarity from people outside bars empowering.

Protest organisers said the policing of the march was "unnecessarily heavy." Two people were arrested under Section 50 of the Police Reform Act 2002 (refusing to give name and address) after being accused by police of acting in an anti-social manner. One of them, who was arrested in Crawley town centre before the march had even started, allegedly threw a rude word at a police officer. The other, who is an independent video-maker, was filming the police and allegedly 'caused distress' to a policeman who himself was filming protesters.

That last line really sums up the nature of the police force in this country. A policeman was 'distressed' because someone was filming him while he was filming the protesters?? Orwellian barely seems to cover it.

No Borders Camp at Gatwick

The media has been awash with stories regarding the latest assault on the immigrant population in the UK. The chief constable of Cambridgeshire police, Julie Spence, claimed that:

"When they arrive they think they can do the same thing as in the country they have come from."

"There were a lot of people who ... because they used to carry knives for protection, they think they can carry knives here.

"We have worked with the communities because they don't necessarily come to commit crime but they need to be told what you can and can't do.

"We can identify a significant rise in drink-drive, which was down to people thinking that what they did where they came from, they could do here."

Essentially, this is the same old rhetoric about those pesky immigrants coming over here and causing trouble. Quite frankly, I couldn't give two shits how many come to this country and make themselves at home here. Which is why I am supporting an airport camp that you might not have heard of.

A little while ago there was a lot of media coverage about the climate camp, and rightly so in my opinion. There has been, however, a distinct lack of coverage on the No Borders camp which has been set up near Gatwick airport. The camp is designed to protest against the siting of a second asylum seeker removal centre near the airport. They have already suffered at the hands of 'dirty tricks' by the local police force who have forced them to move from their original site. However, despite the obstacles placed in their way, the camp aims to continue its protest right through until 24th September. To find out more about their campaign, you can visit their homepage here, which also has instructions on how to participate. If you are unable to attend, please post a link to their site on your homepage. It's time that the establishment's view on controlled immigration was challenged. This is the perfect opportunity to do so.

The Superiority of the British Police (Compared to those incompetent Portuguese.....)

Amongst all the xenophobic bullshit being written about the supposed incompetence of the Portuguese police, it is nice to have a reminder of the competence of our own beloved police force.

Sir Ian Blair's position as head of the Metropolitan police was again in jeopardy last night after he received a sustained verbal mauling from his own watchdog authority over the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes. Those close to Sir Ian fear the issue will dog his remaining time of up to three years as Britain's top police officer.

Yesterday members of the Metropolitan Police Authority criticised Sir Ian for not knowing "where the truth lay" over the shooting dead on July 22 2005 of the 27-year-old innocent Brazilian, and said it was "incomprehensible" that he was not aware on the day of the shooting of serious fears among his own officers that an innocent man had been gunned down.

One senior Met source, classed as a loyalist to Sir Ian, said it was significant that no MPA member offered the commissioner unqualified support over two-and-half hours of questioning which led to Sir Ian admitting that "appalling" errors were made. The force was heavily criticised last month in a report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission for "serious weaknesses" in the way information about the shooting was handled.


So the Portuguese follow up a lead (due to the work of the British police) and are considered incompetent. The British police gun down an entirely innocent man and are considered far superior to their Portuguese contemporaries. Aaaahh, the merits of a xenophobic press campaign.

Taser Use To Be Extended

Now any officer (even if they are not firearms specialists) can carry these weapons according to the BBC. These weapons, capable of dishing out 50,000 volts, will be made available your average bobby. As Mike Blakemore of Amnesty International says:

"You need trained firearms officers who not only know how to fire a Taser but know when to fire a Taser.

"These are potentially very dangerous weapons. Firearms officers undergo continuous training. I understand they undergo training for real life situations.

"And they undergo repeated training every month to keep them up to date. What we don't know is exactly what the nature of the training is that non-firearms officers will receive.

"And we're concerned that it won't be up to the same standard."

Even former Scotland Yard commander John O' Connor has reservations:

"I think the notion of giving these guns, these Taser guns, out indiscriminately to untrained officers - because it's a non-lethal option - they're going to run the risk of these things being used far too indiscriminately."

That police state is coming along nicely then.

Who Are You Scared Of?

So, who are you more scared of: the state or the terrorists?

One of Britain's most senior police officers has demanded a return to a form of internment, with the power to lock up terror suspects indefinitely without charge.

The proposal, put forward by the head of the Association of Police Chief Officers (Acpo) and supported by Scotland Yard, is highly controversial. An earlier plan to extend the amount of time suspects can be held without charge to 90 days led to Tony Blair's first Commons defeat as Prime Minister. Eventually, the government was forced to compromise on 28 days, a period which Gordon Brown has already said he wants to extend.

The Observer understands that the Acpo proposal has been discussed in meetings between Brown and senior police officers. Whitehall sources said the PM was receptive to the association's demands, but believes an upper detention limit is essential to avoid a de facto Guantanamo Bay based in the UK. [The Observer]

Given the recent piss-poor 'terrorist attacks' (it would appear that Wile E Coyote is a high ranking member of Al Qaeda), I know who I am more scared of.

More Pots and Kettles?

Following on from the criticism of the Portuguese police, Steve at Straight to the Point has an example of good old fashioned incompetence, UK style.