LAMENT FOR IAN TOMLINSON
PC Thug has struck again.
Another family is grieving at the hands of the police.
If it wasn't for a fund manager from New York who happened to be videoing the events, there would have been no independent evidence to resist the whitewash the police had effected in their report.
The video evidence appears to show unprovoked violence by the police upon a member of the public who had his back to them, was walking away from them and had his hands in his pockets.
In 2006 Plymouth Police Station, Devon and Cornwall Police ran a successful trial on the use of Body Worn Videos. As a result of that trial the Home Office, made available an amount of money for all 42 Police forces to enable each to conduct their own trial on the use of these cameras.
The Metropolitan Police are currently running a Body Worn Video trial at Bromley and Camden Boroughs. The cameras are worn by both police officers and police community support officers.
However the massive flaw in this trial is that the camera is switched on to capture evidence, as the officer considers appropriate. It is not continuously filming. It is switched on at the officer's discretion.
So our money is being used not to protect us but to protect the police. The camera would not be switched on, rather switched off if the police decided to be corrupt or violent.
Additionally, at the moment, under Section 30 of the Freedom of Information Act, the video evidence kept by the police is not available to the public because it is classified as exempt information. This is clearly disadvantageous to the public and undermines the right to the objective information upon which they can protect themselves.
Our campaigning organisation, When No One's Watching.org believes:
-That all police officers must have web cams switched on while in contact with the public.
-That all police vehicles must have web cams switched on when carrying any member of the public.
-That all custody suites and cells must have web cams switched on when any member of the public is present.
-That all web cam content that relates to a member of the public must be made available to that person on request.
Another family is grieving at the hands of the police.
If it wasn't for a fund manager from New York who happened to be videoing the events, there would have been no independent evidence to resist the whitewash the police had effected in their report.
The video evidence appears to show unprovoked violence by the police upon a member of the public who had his back to them, was walking away from them and had his hands in his pockets.
In 2006 Plymouth Police Station, Devon and Cornwall Police ran a successful trial on the use of Body Worn Videos. As a result of that trial the Home Office, made available an amount of money for all 42 Police forces to enable each to conduct their own trial on the use of these cameras.
The Metropolitan Police are currently running a Body Worn Video trial at Bromley and Camden Boroughs. The cameras are worn by both police officers and police community support officers.
However the massive flaw in this trial is that the camera is switched on to capture evidence, as the officer considers appropriate. It is not continuously filming. It is switched on at the officer's discretion.
So our money is being used not to protect us but to protect the police. The camera would not be switched on, rather switched off if the police decided to be corrupt or violent.
Additionally, at the moment, under Section 30 of the Freedom of Information Act, the video evidence kept by the police is not available to the public because it is classified as exempt information. This is clearly disadvantageous to the public and undermines the right to the objective information upon which they can protect themselves.
Our campaigning organisation, When No One's Watching.org believes:
-That all police officers must have web cams switched on while in contact with the public.
-That all police vehicles must have web cams switched on when carrying any member of the public.
-That all custody suites and cells must have web cams switched on when any member of the public is present.
-That all web cam content that relates to a member of the public must be made available to that person on request.
posted by Bishop Jonathan Blake | 11:39 PM
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