Surveillance drone industry plans PR effort to counter negative image
Groups representing drone industry want to ‚paint a more positive picture‘ of unmanned surveillance aircraft in UK Ryan Gallagher Companies seeking to enable the routine use of surveillance drones across Britain are planning a long-term public relations effort to counter the negative image of the controversial aircraft. The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems Association (UAVSA), a […]
Mark Kennedy
Mark Kennedy was deployed undercover by the NPOIU for a total of nearly seven years. During that time he was tasked to gather intelligence on individuals, groups and campaigns about a variety of issues, mainly linked to environmental concerns. […] Nevertheless, Mark Kennedy did help to uncover serious criminality, although the lack of specific outcomes […]
When Preparing for Major Events, How Should Cities Balance Civil Rights and Security?
David Lepeska The G8/NATO summit heading to Chicago this spring is still several months off, but the city’s security preparations are in full swing. Officials recently expanded Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s authority and increased the application requirements for protest groups in preparation for the Chicago’s turn in the international spotlight this May. The concurrent summits mark […]
Police Twittering on Twitter
The police of many countries have started sharpening their skills in social networks because mass riots and meetings have recently been organized through the Internet. In Britain, 2,500 police officers have started studying the intricacies of “Managing Anger” in Twitter and Facebook. The initiative was put forward by a Sheffield police inspector Jayne Forrest who […]
London 2012: 100 Arrests Ahead Of Olympics As Tents ‚Banned‘ From All Games Sites
Almost 100 people have been arrested ahead of the Olympics and all tents and encampments will be banned from the Games, the Home Secretary said. In a speech on Olympic security planning, Theresa May said police and security teams were preparing for „all eventualities“ and work was continuing behind the scenes. With the Games six […]
Olympic Security Chief Says Public Will See ‘Bobbies On The Beat’
The Metropolitan police assistant commissioner in charge of security at the Olympics has insisted the public will take away the impression of being policed by “traditional British bobbies” despite the fact that 13,500 military personnel will be involved. After completing the latest in a series of training exercises on the river Thames with the Royal […]
NATO/G8 Host Committee Holds Briefings On Summit Plans
Jay Levine Officials planning the NATO and G8 summits have launched a campaign to convince Chicago residents that the upcoming meetings will be more than worth the inconvenience they might cause. There were two briefings Tuesday; one for officials of the Chicago Public Schools, the other for executives of museums, concert halls and theaters. CBS […]
US: First rulings in our lawsuit over DHS travel records
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Seeborg has issued his first rulings in Hasbrouck v. CBP, our lawsuit seeking information from and about DHS records of the travels of individual US citizens. Judge Seeborg granted some of the government’s motions for summary judgment and some of ours, ordered US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to conduct […]
EU SURVEILLANCE
A summary of current EU surveillance and security measures The EDRi papers EDITION 02 The purpose of this booklet is to briefly outline current EU surveillance and security measures in order to give an insight into their scale and cumulative effect. In order to be legal under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the […]
EUPOL COPPS: Palestinian Officers Conclude Workshop on Police Reporting
Eighteen senior Palestinian police officers have concluded a two-day workshop in Ramallah to enhance their know-how on police reporting through a centralized a criminal database, Monday said an EUPOL COPPS press release. The aim of the workshop, attended by heads of Investigation Sections and Criminal Investigation Department representing all West Bank districts, is to improve […]
Frontex signs Working Arrangement with Nigeria
Frontex and representatives of the Nigerian Immigration Service signed a working arrangement at Frontex’s Warsaw HQ on January 19. The Federal Republic of Nigeria was represented by Mrs. Rose Uzoma, Comptroller-General, Nigerian Immigration Service, who signed the working arrangement. Frontex was represented by Executive Director Ilkka Laitinen. Though signed by a representative of the Nigerian […]
Undercover police had children with activists
Disclosure likely to intensify controversy over long-running police operation to infiltrate and sabotage protest groups Rob Evans and Paul Lewis Two undercover police officers secretly fathered children with political campaigners they had been sent to spy on and later disappeared completely from the lives of their offspring, the Guardian can reveal. In both cases, the […]
Solidarity gathering for the No Border Camp comrades on trial
On 8 February 2012 the Belgian State holds its first political trials of those accused of „crimes“ during the 2010 Brussels No Border Camp. Two comrades are in court facing charges of „Armed Rebellion“ and „Rebellion“ relating to the demonstrations and mass arrests during the week of the No Border Camp. On 26 September 2010 […]
FOP: NATO/G8 Summit Training Guide „Comical“
By Carol Marin and Don Moseley More than 6,500 Chicago police officers have been trained in anticipation of the thousands of demonstrators, some of whom are expected to incite violence, that are expected in Chicago in May for the NATO/G8 summits. But just how well Chicago police officers are being trained is a question being […]
Thales and Aerovisión present FRONTEX with an unmanned aerial vehicle for border control
• The UAV Fulmar was the only fully Spanish model presented to the European agency for border control purposes. • It is fitted with surveillance systems that supply real-time images and video and other types of information for the efficient control of maritime areas. Thales and Aerovisión have given a real flight demonstration of the […]
Meet the face of Big Brother in NSW
By Gemma Jones THE State Government is quietly compiling a mathematical map of almost every adult’s face, sharing information that allows law enforcement to track people by CCTV. Experts said yesterday few people realised their facial features were being recorded in an RTA database of drivers licence photos that the Government has allowed both state […]
EU Council: Evaluating the Danish presidency programme
For friends of melodrama we suggest Public Service Europe’s take on the Council of the European Union, but let us return to bumbling through the primary sources about the Danish presidency. Our roadmap is the programme presented by the government of Denmark: Europe at work: Programme of the Danish Presidency of the European Union 2012, […]
‚The enemy within‘: Thatcher’s secret war on the CND revealed
By Jill Reilly Margaret Thatcher waged a ’secret war‘ against civil rights groups and protest organisations after the Tories won the 1979 election, a memo has revealed. A specialist army intelligence unit was used to infiltrate groups including the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmamemt and Peace Pledge Union so soldiers could carry out spying missions ordered […]
Ombudsman: EU database on fraud suspects breaches rights
By Nikolaj Nielsen The European Commission’s management of a database containing the names of companies or people deemed to pose a threat to the financial interests of the European Union is trampling basic rights, according to the EU ombudsman. Anyone found on the Early Warning System (EWS) – as it is called – risks having […]
Cryptome releases list of social sites monitored by DHS
Situational awareness in a social media age By Iain Thomson Venerable internet repository Cryptome has released a list of social media web sites that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) monitors to gauge the mood of the online populace. The document lists 96 sites, including social media, blogs and news aggregators, which have been monitored […]