They've Got Your Number

If you thought that the ever-increasing concerns surrounding surveillance cameras were unfounded, consider this sobering statistic: Apparently, the police in the Shetland Islands operate more CCTV cameras than do those in Los Angeles.

Of course, the term 'speed camera' has long been dismissed as merely a euphemism. It has been suggested for years now that the purpose of these operations has less to do with road safety and more to do with raising revenue through fixed penalty charges. So much so that it has become almost accepted, albeit begrudgingly, as yet another levy on the 'cash cow' that is the UK motorist.

But, is there a far more sinister aspect? The somewhat out-moded phrase 'spy camera' may actually be nearer the mark than we thought. A convenient side effect of Automatic Number Plate Recognition [ANPR], as far as the authorities are concerned, is the accumulation of a vast amount of information about motorists' journeys.

You may have noticed the emergence of 'average speed' checks, particularly in the vicinity of airports. Clearly their true purpose is to monitor and record the presence of individual vehicles. This information is, of course, of great interest to the National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU) - a branch of The Association of Chief Police Officers [ACPO]. This sinister quango operates in conjunction with the National Extremism Tactical Coordination Unit (NETCU).

It all sounds sounds like something that Orwell might have proposed, but these unelected and unaccountable bodies are particularly keen to apply the label 'Domestic Extremist' to anyone taking part in any sort of public protest or demonstration - Yes, unbelievably, there actually is a National Domestic Extremism Team charged with the responsibility to gather 'intelligence' on such threats.

APCO's commander-in-chief, Anton Setchell recently made the following widely publicised and alarming ambiguous statement:

"Just because you have no criminal record does not mean that you are not of interest to the police. Everyone who has got a criminal record did not have one once."

He also said that people who find themselves on the databases: "should not worry at all".

Yeah, right.

One can only conclude that, since "we're all doomed," you might as well go out with a bang on a really good personal plate - from Regtransfers, of course!

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