Odysseus
10-01-2010, 11:11 AM
October 2010
A police force secretly put large Muslim communities under surveillance using cameras they pretended were for crime prevention, a report has ruled.
West Midlands police told residents the mix of CCTV and number plate recognition devices were to help cut anti-social behaviour and vehicle crime.
But the network in Birmingham was actually being run by its counter-terrorism unit with the consent of the Home Office and MI5.
The £3m scheme, called Project Champion, was intended to monitor Muslims entering and leaving mainly Muslim areas of Sparkbrook and Washwood Heath.
It was halted in June after an outcry from residents and civil rights campaigners and Thames Valley Police was asked to conduct an independent review.
Watched: CCTV and number-plate recognition cameras were set up in Sparkbrook (above) and Washwood Heath in Birmingham
Sara Thornton, Chief Constable of Thames Valley police, yesterday published her damning report.
It concluded police had come up with a 'storyline' to hide the real reason for the cameras and tried to sell it as a local policing strategy.
Officers had promised the cameras would be used for local policing but they were actually controlled by the counter-terror unit, with no facility for local supervision.
Ms Thornton ruled the covert scheme had caused 'significant damage to community relations' with one claim that it had 'set relations back a decade'.
West Midlands Police had no statutory clearance for the use of the cameras and there was 'very little evidence' they had even considered their legal obligations, she said.
'The consultation phase was too little too late, and the lack of transparency about the purpose of the project has resulted in significant community anger and loss of trust,' the report concluded.
The scheme was organised by the Safer Birmingham Partnership, an initiative including West Midlands Police, Birmingham City Council and other agencies.
The partnership has acknowledged it should have been more explicit about the role of the city's Counter Terrorism Unit in setting up the network.
And yesterday, the force apologised and admitted it had got the balance between counter-terrorism and excessive intrusion 'so wrong'.
West Midland Police Chief Constable Chris Sims admitted there had been 'serious shortcomings' in the scheme's management and said he was 'deeply sorry'.
'My real regret is that Project Champion has undermined the strong relationships that exist between West Midlands Police and our communities that have been built up over many years,' he said.
He added: 'At the heart of the controversy surrounding Project Champion sits a dilemma faced by police on behalf of wider society, how to find a balance between on the one hand the duty to offer protection from serious harm and on the other the risk of excessive intrusion and the danger of stigmatising a whole community.
'I am convinced that when Project Champion was conceived in 2007, this dilemma was clearly understood. However, somewhere between conception and delivery the critical balance was lost.'
Speaking at West Midlands Police headquarters, he said: 'There were serious shortcomings shown by the West Midlands Police management of this project.
'This allowed the specification to move beyond the point where it was proportionate to the community safety risks and counter terrorism threats that it aimed to address.
'At the same time, the vital consultation that should have accompanied the scheme proved wholly inadequate.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316775/Police-condemned-secret-CCTV-operation-set-spy-Muslim-communities.html#ixzz117UP1ndN
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Call me old-fashioned, but I think that terrorism certainly falls under "anti-social behaviour" and if the plan involves a Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device, as the airport bombers in Scotland planned, then it's also "vehicle crime."
Also, am I the only one who read that MI5 was involved and pictured James Bond being told that he has a license to kill, but that he cannot keep an eye on Muslims?
A police force secretly put large Muslim communities under surveillance using cameras they pretended were for crime prevention, a report has ruled.
West Midlands police told residents the mix of CCTV and number plate recognition devices were to help cut anti-social behaviour and vehicle crime.
But the network in Birmingham was actually being run by its counter-terrorism unit with the consent of the Home Office and MI5.
The £3m scheme, called Project Champion, was intended to monitor Muslims entering and leaving mainly Muslim areas of Sparkbrook and Washwood Heath.
It was halted in June after an outcry from residents and civil rights campaigners and Thames Valley Police was asked to conduct an independent review.
Watched: CCTV and number-plate recognition cameras were set up in Sparkbrook (above) and Washwood Heath in Birmingham
Sara Thornton, Chief Constable of Thames Valley police, yesterday published her damning report.
It concluded police had come up with a 'storyline' to hide the real reason for the cameras and tried to sell it as a local policing strategy.
Officers had promised the cameras would be used for local policing but they were actually controlled by the counter-terror unit, with no facility for local supervision.
Ms Thornton ruled the covert scheme had caused 'significant damage to community relations' with one claim that it had 'set relations back a decade'.
West Midlands Police had no statutory clearance for the use of the cameras and there was 'very little evidence' they had even considered their legal obligations, she said.
'The consultation phase was too little too late, and the lack of transparency about the purpose of the project has resulted in significant community anger and loss of trust,' the report concluded.
The scheme was organised by the Safer Birmingham Partnership, an initiative including West Midlands Police, Birmingham City Council and other agencies.
The partnership has acknowledged it should have been more explicit about the role of the city's Counter Terrorism Unit in setting up the network.
And yesterday, the force apologised and admitted it had got the balance between counter-terrorism and excessive intrusion 'so wrong'.
West Midland Police Chief Constable Chris Sims admitted there had been 'serious shortcomings' in the scheme's management and said he was 'deeply sorry'.
'My real regret is that Project Champion has undermined the strong relationships that exist between West Midlands Police and our communities that have been built up over many years,' he said.
He added: 'At the heart of the controversy surrounding Project Champion sits a dilemma faced by police on behalf of wider society, how to find a balance between on the one hand the duty to offer protection from serious harm and on the other the risk of excessive intrusion and the danger of stigmatising a whole community.
'I am convinced that when Project Champion was conceived in 2007, this dilemma was clearly understood. However, somewhere between conception and delivery the critical balance was lost.'
Speaking at West Midlands Police headquarters, he said: 'There were serious shortcomings shown by the West Midlands Police management of this project.
'This allowed the specification to move beyond the point where it was proportionate to the community safety risks and counter terrorism threats that it aimed to address.
'At the same time, the vital consultation that should have accompanied the scheme proved wholly inadequate.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316775/Police-condemned-secret-CCTV-operation-set-spy-Muslim-communities.html#ixzz117UP1ndN
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Call me old-fashioned, but I think that terrorism certainly falls under "anti-social behaviour" and if the plan involves a Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device, as the airport bombers in Scotland planned, then it's also "vehicle crime."
Also, am I the only one who read that MI5 was involved and pictured James Bond being told that he has a license to kill, but that he cannot keep an eye on Muslims?