2012-04-05
post/20547061920
A drone used by police on Merseyside crashed into the River Mersey during a routine training exercise.
The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), which was fitted with CCTV, apparently lost battery power while being flown by officers in Aigburth in February 2010.
Attempts to make an emergency landing failed and it crashed into the water.
Merseyside Police said it would not replace the £13,000 drone due to problems with its performance and the cost of training staff to use it.
”2012-03-04
post/18707780201
intercourse with biscuits: Privatising the police: the dystopia starts here.
There are a lot of variations on Martin Niemöller, and usually I find them a little lazy. This one, though, I enjoyed.
2010-12-10
post/2168737788
An untitled photograph of a “kettle” on Westminster Bridge, by Jon Cartwright. It’s worth reading the comments for the perspective of someone trapped inside.
2010-07-21
post/842301928
From BBC News: “A lone policeman braves the rising tide on Allerton Road in Mossley Hill. Photo: Eddie Rimmer.”
2009-12-26
post/301615181
2009-05-13
The West End, Dispersal Powers, and FOIA
A few months ago, Chris Heathcote posted about the dispersal zone across much of London’s West End:
It’s actually notifying you that you’re now subject to an anti-social behaviour order, and the Police (and the not-really-Police Community Support Officers) have special powers to remove you from this area if they feel like it.
At the end, he asks:
Has anyone got a comprehensive map showing all the dispersal zones, or details on where/how many people have been warned in the dispersal zones?
After the post did the rounds (including being picked up by Boing Boing and attracting the usual flood of commentary there), I decided that I’d try and answer the second part of Chris’s question by lodging a FOIA request with the Metropolitan Police:
I would like to know how many times the powers allowed for by the [Notice for the Dispersal of Groups and Removal of Persons Under the Age of 16 to their Home Address] were invoked during that six month Relevant Period (from July 2008 to January 2009).
Today, I got a response:
Instances of persons being instructed to disperse who are over 16 - 328 dispersals
Instances of those removed from the area between 9pm and 6am who are under 16 and not under the effective control of a responsible adult - 26 dispersals.
I’ve forwarded the response to Chris. In the meantime, at least there’s some further data to be chewed over when examining the notice. For one thing, is it worth the police and councils having so much power when, in the case of under 16s especially, it’s rarely used (once a week, on average)?
