Living under surveillance....in the U.K...

Hello all,
Sorry if this is in the wrong forum?

Well where shall we start?
In the begining they were just here and there, some of the really big companies had a few in the reception area's of their offices, no-one was really bothered by them to be honest.
Im talking about CCTV camera's.

If your car tax was out of date, to get that extra couple of days without car tax (just until you got your wages), you could stick a note in the window of your car stating "TAX IN POST"
The law was a bit different on the M.O.T. (this is a certificate to prove that your vehicle is road worthy), but is not displayed on vehicle.
The same was to be said with Insurence for the car allowing you to drive it, and also your Driving license which did not carry photo I.D. of you.
If the Police stopped you whilst driving and you had not got any of the above items on you, this was not illegal, you were giving what was effectionaly known as a "seven day wonder".
This meant you had to produce at a police station of your choice the documents you didnt have with you at the time of the stop, within seven days.

The criminals got what they deserved, victims were looked after, hero's were rewarded.
That was England then!!!

Now lets leap forward, say, just over 15yrs

London today:
The average Londoner can be caught upto 300 times per day on CCTV.
There is 4.3 million CCTV cameras in operation in the UK, which represents 20% of the entire worlds CCTV cameras, this despite having just 1% of the worlds population.

ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) matches information from scanned plates with police databases, using cameras, Basically it monitors every movement by every vehicle on the U.K roads.
It automatically knows if you and the vehicle are insured, have a driving license, and if the vehicle has a valid M.O.T. and taxed.

Shopper tracking: Thanks to the use of RFID tages on virtually anything you purchase, they can monitor your buying patterns, this coupled with the use of Loyalty cards adds to the Great big Database.

Voice CCTV cameras: that are meant to dissuede criminals from certain behaviour or stop litter droppers by shouting at them and embarassing them.

Directional microphones installed in CCTV cameras: they are meant to be the ears of CCTV. They can detect aggressive tones of voice and they have a 2oo yards coverage.

Oyster card: the London transports' access card tracks your every movement once swiped either on the Bus or Underground Trains.
This idea was sold to us the "Public" as a "safe, secure, fast, effective and pre-paid way of using the London Transport System (hahahahah)
The U.K has probably become the laughing stock of the rest of the world (imo) We should get out of the e.u. , tear up the human rights act, and start again!

What a coincidence i only found out recently, many if not all of you may already know?
The ex Prime Minister of U.K..tony blair
George Orwell author of the famous book 1984...real name was Eric Arthur Blair

London calling to the faraway towns
Now that war is declared-and battle come down
London calling to the underworld
The ice age is coming, the sun is zooming in
Engines stop running and the wheat is growing thin
A nuclear error, but I have no fear
London is drowning-and I live by the river

 

George Orwell was wrong about the year.

 

That "safe beneath the watchful eyes" poster is eeerily- surreal....Like a bad movie...

 

Oh and thanks for the post!
how appropriate a topic:
http://www.infowars.com/?p=1764
brits put military police on the streets to harass "tourists".

 

iam sorry but I couldnt give a hoot about G.B. Maybe Hitler should have won or been more successful so that way people would really know what it meant to be free and learn the many colors dictatorship is disguised under.. sad really

 

Ghrit,
yeah its sad because London used to have so much to offer the visitor, its full of History, but now unfortunatly not a safe place to be?

Tracy,
The general thought is as many now call it "Broken Britain", the people that i know certainly do not feel safe, we do not feel safe from the "Terror within"
or the thugish behaviour of the younger generation, or the millions of illegal immigrants who have flooded this small Isle?


RouteClearence,
Yep you got it in one mate!

Tango3,
I know mate, i will dig a few more of them out for you, they played around with a few pics for this campaign.
The message reads (incase it cant be resized)
"CCTV & Metropolitan Police on buses are just two ways we are making your journey more secure"........Yeah right!!! hahahahah

Tracy,
Yep that poster is in use right now on London Buses, along with some others! Also if you would like to discuus this further i will try to give you all as much information as possible.

 

I drive acamper shelled small pick-up; usually have a camera bag
(dslr and a bunch of lenses,And use a computer)
= terrorist scum"????

 

and especialy over there they just might figure we fit the bill for one of those sites, especialy since we discuss things like building EBRs and such at home.

 

Do you think you'd get arrested if you walked around wearing a giant sombrero that kept them from filming your face? Or maybe a ski mask?

 

bet one of the talkie cameras yells at you": hey you ! Look up here!"

 

Tango3 ,
Yes mate , you would certainly fit the description of "someone" the security services would like to keep an "eye-on".

Monkeyman,
I guess you would fall into the same box as Tango3.

Ah but Look at it this way....."walk around London with a back-pack full of explosives, be on the "hit-list" (they are already watching you) and they (the security services) either do one of two things:
1) lose you, on the underground which is monitored very step of the way????
2) take no notice at all, the detonations take place, deny prior knowledge of the "cell"??????

The thing is ..we are an easy target for both terrorist and the security services!!!!!

MbRodge,
Maybe not arrested, but you would certainly not be allowed into many various public places..see attached pic.

Tango3,
I will get a transcript of the actual words used, but it is something very similar to what you wrote, additional information, that i know of includes, description, clothing and what direction you are walking!!!


London calling to the faraway towns
Now that war is declared-and battle come down
London calling to the underworld
The ice age is coming, the sun is zooming in
Engines stop running and the wheat is growing thin
A nuclear error, but I have no fear
London is drowning-and I live by the river

 

"Remove your cap" unbelievable...
Think I'd have to walk in stark- buckass- nekkid wearing a sombrero holding a baseball cap over big jim and the twins.

what song is that(stupid question? who did it?) "london calling?"lyrics sound familiar...

 

Tango 3,
The lyrics are from a song called "London Calling" by the Clash.

Also in the news today: More CCTV
They risk being injured and suffering unwarranted verbal abuse from impatient motorists on a daily basis.
But now, lollipop men and women are using a hi-tech weapon to protect themselves against the scourge of angry drivers.
Video cameras are being built into their poles and will be worn on their heads so incidents of "lollipop rage" can be recorded and used as evidence to prosecute motorists.

The cameras are time coded and mounted in both directions, so that illegal behaviour happening behind them will also be caught on film.

This is School Crossing Patrol...2008 Uk....."madness"

London calling to the faraway towns
Now that war is declared-and battle come down
London calling to the underworld
The ice age is coming, the sun is zooming in
Engines stop running and the wheat is growing thin
A nuclear error, but I have no fear
London is drowning-and I live by the river

 

Every time I read this thread I get a song stuck in my head. It's from the 80's (I think)
"Somebody's watching me"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu1RP34FLXU

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"Lollipop men " sounds like a bad remake of Willie Wonka...lol

 

Well You know i just cant figure out who would want to hurt crossing guards? Aren't there usually children behind them usually? I think some looks at the society in general are in order, Hurting children should be at the top of everyones "Do Not Do" list.