Fitwatch Resisting and Monitoring Forward Intelligence Policing

Plainclothes cops on education demo

These are a selection of the plainclothes cops spotted on the education demo on 9th November. Fitwatchers witnessed the violent arrest or one protester and followed the officers. Other photos have come from various sources.

REMEMBER THESE FACES! THESE COPS MUST NOT BE ALLOWED ON OUR PROTESTS AGAIN!

Fitwatch will be producing handy printable spotter cards of these officers for use on the streets.

Don’t be intimidated! See you on the streets!

On the eve of the mass education/sparks/cabbies protest on 9th November, it is clear the state are trying to intimidate us.

From the news today that the police have written to protesters arrested at previous demonstrations warning them off protesting (see picture), to the “total policing” of the last couple of weeks witnessed at the squatting demo and deaths in custody march (amongst others), the message is clear; attempt to protest and the state will clamp down, act violently, and make arbitrary arrests. And, if you’re unlucky enough to get caught, the courts are making sure long deterrent sentences are passed, regardless of how insignificant the individual action, in attempt to scare us away from future protest.

However, whilst even seasoned activists have admitted to being a little scared at the current state of policing, it’s not all doom and gloom, and we mustn’t be tricked into feeling intimidated. It’s nearly the anniversary of the Met’s attempt to silence Fitwatch for giving common sense advice to the Millbank protesters. This is still recommended reading, as is this Fitwatch call to action.

Above all, we should be applying the lessons we have learnt on the streets over the last year. When we don’t just ‘walk on by’, and act in solidarity with each other, we are stronger; when we act as fast mobile blocs, we are more effective and harder to contain; when we sit down or put our hands in the air, we are fodder for baton strikes and kettling; when we refuse to play the divide and rule game and condemn fellow protesters, we are more threatening.

And finally, and perhaps most importantly, when we mask up, and make no comment to police questioning, we are harder to convict and lock up.

See you on the streets!

Armed police raid Kurdish tent at OccupyLSX

Last night, the Kurdish tent at the OccupyLSX camp was raided by armed police following an alleged tip off of a gun being present. They searched the tent for over half an hour unsurprisingly finding nothing.

The Kurdish community has long been criminalised, and labelled as terrorists for their attempts to oppose and draw attention to the repression they face in Turkey, and this is another attempt to frighten and intimidate the Kurdish community coming just a month after the Halkevi Turkish and Kurdish Community Centre in Hackney was raided. However, given the Kurdish community is used to standing up to thugs with guns they are not easily intimidated.

However, the fact armed police were sent to raid the tent of Kurds supporting OccupyLSX is extremely worrying, and must be opposed. To the more cynically minded this could be seen as an attempt to split support for and amongst protesters, and we hope the Kurdish protesters are receiving full support and solidarity from those at OccupyLSX.

Don’t just walk on by!

Anonymous fitwatcher at DSEi protests

It's getting to that time of year...the students are back, the weather is getting colder (so you won't be removing your "seasonally appropriate" scarf and hood when the cops tell you to!) and the political climate is already starting to get considerably hotter.

Since this time last year, we've had dissent articulated in many different ways. From the regular store occupations of UK UNCUT, the university occupations, squatted freeschools and militant demonstrations of the student movement, the spectacular defiance of March 26th, several wildcat strikes in the cleaning and building trades as well as the urban uprisings in August.

This winter, there is every reason and every opportunity to get out on the streets and fight for the world that you want to live in, with whatever tactics suit you best.

But none of us can do this alone. We rely on each other for support and solidarity in the face of a common enemy: the repressive policing of our demonstrations.

If you are out at the ongoing Occupy the Stock Exchange, the Education Demonstration on November 9th or taking part in strike action on November 30th keep an eye out for these tactics...

* Stop & Search:
You are not required to give your name and address under any stop and search power. If you see someone being stopped, ask them if they are okay. Try filming the cops doing the search if the person being searched consents to it. Witness the search. Remind them they do not have to give details. Take the cops shoulder numbers. MOST IMPORTANTLY: Tweet it. Facebook it. Use whatever means you can to let your fellow demonstrators know WHERE and WHEN it is happening.

* Arrest for Breach of the Peace:
Breach of the Peace is not a recordable offence. This means they do NOT have the power to demand your NAME, ADDRESS, DNA OR FINGERPRINTS. They are using this power to gather intelligence on people and they will keep doing it until people wise up and refuse to give them what they're looking for. Again, communicate this.

* FIT:
You know what we're going to say. DON'T PUT UP WITH IT. End of! Be brave. Legally speaking, you do not have to comply with overt surveillance. However, if you block their cameras from taking anyone else's image, it may constitute an obstruction. However, the more people that do this with determination, the less likely arrest is. FIT are there to intimidate people into being 'orderly'. If they feel their presence may cause 'disorder', they will leave. Once again, it is essential that you use all means at your disposal to communicate WHEN and WHERE FIT are around. Take photos. Give 'em hell!

* Mask Up:
Wear as many things as you can to defend your anonymity from the prying eyes of the surveillance state. They need to know nothing about us other than that we oppose them. If a s.60(a)(a) is in place, the police have the power to ASK YOU to remove your face coverings under threat of arrest if you don't. If they pull it off your face, that is an assault.
Case law also dictates that it is NOT a criminal offence, under s60, to keep face coverings on if they are seasonally appropriate attire. That is, it is cold and you're wearing a scarf and a hood etc. Whilst this little nugget of information will not stop you from getting arrested if they get their hands on you, it will likely win your court case.

It might seem like alot, but if you can familiarise yourself with this information, you will be alot safer, more confident and more assertive on demonstrations. We are also more use to each other when we are well informed. We are better placed to act in solidarity when we know what we're doing. This is what makes us strong.

If you apply this knowledge out there on the streets, you will be taking direct action against the surveillance state. And we all know direct action gets satisfaction.

Good luck, see you on the streets!

Solidarity with Copwatch, France

Fitwatch is giving full solidarity to Copwatch in France who have been threatened with closure by the French authorities for publishing photos of cops known for violence or links to the far right.

The Interior Ministry has filed a case against them which has ordered six French internet providers - Free, France Telecom, SFR, Bouygues Telecom, Numericable et Darty Telecom to block the site, although it is still available using Tor.

In France, there are offences of 'outrage', involving insulting a public servant with supposedly unfounded accusations (eg; calling a cop a fascist to their face) and a law against publishing a public servant's photo without their
permission.

Copwatch are continuing to publish photos of cops accused of brutality and fascism, and are refusing to be silenced, and we send our solidarity in their fight against repression.

Disrupt the FIT at DSEi!

It's that time again. DSEi, Defence Systems Equipment International, the world's largest arms fair, is returning to ExCeL, and Disarm DSEi, alongside others in the Stop the Arms Fair Coalition will be trying to stop them. 13th September has been announced as the main day of action, with Disarm DSEi calling for people to stop the arms dealers in their tracks by blockading the DLR from 10am at Custom House station. Actions will be continuing throughout the week, including at the arms dealers dinner on Thursday.

Policing is likely to be repressive, and previous protests have been marred by police violence and FIT harassment. Whilst two years ago, protesters had the novelty of actually being allowed to voice their opposition, it is unlikely the MET will allow this to happen again.

Fitwatch has a long history with Disarm DSEi, with the first ever Fitwatch action occurring outside a Disarm meeting, and this is a call to continue this resistance.

Frustrate the FIT at every opportunity. Take banners and block their cameras; prevent their free movement through the protest; take action if you see someone being harassed; take their photos and numbers and send them to Fitwatch.

And, as usual, mask up, protect your anonymity (take spare masks for those who might forget), don't give details if stopped and searched and remember NO COMMENT if arrested. Show solidarity with other protesters and show we will fight back and refuse to tolerate any repressive policing.

‘Intelligence on the cheap’? Only if you don’t ask questions.

According to an Evening Standard article on Friday, those poor detectives at NPOIU are providing 'intelligence on the cheap', having to buy heaters for their freezing offices and living off Mcdonalds and Burger King.

However, like the majority of Evening Standard articles, the facts and figures only make sense if you don’t start asking questions. Firstly, it is difficult to tell which part of the NPIOU these figures are based on, or where the figures came from in the first place. Whilst it would be lovely to think they had emerged as part of an open and accountable police force, the piece reads far more as a drip fed police story served into the unquestioning hungry mouth of an Evening Standard hack.

Given there are no obvious figures for undercover work – regular accommodation, vehicles etc., it seems likely, although impossible to say for sure, that these figures are based on uniformed operations, and keeping, amongst others, the above pictured bunch of miscreants employed.

The figures themselves also do not stand up to scrutiny. The 154 hotel visits average at £201 per night, meals average at £13.50, flights (mostly domestic, and very questionable as to their necessity) at £150.95, and train journeys at £67.57. And whilst there are claims for 125 receipts for the M6 toll, no mention is made of how much the mileage of all these excursions have cost the tax payer. This is not doing things on the cheap by any stretch of the imagination.

More importantly, we need to look at why this money is being spent. Close to £100k worth of expenses are listed in the Standard article, which are only a very small part of the operational costs. This money is being spent on activities such as sending Ian Caswell to Plymouth to spy on those nefarious domestic extremists in Trident Ploughshares (did this involve one of the flights? A night in a hotel?), and monitoring gatherings such as Earth First.

Bringing NPOIU under the control of the Met has not legitimatised it and every penny spent on the unit is a penny too much. This is still a shadowy organisation happy to waste vast amounts of public money spying on protesters, and it must be disbanded.

Avon and Somerset police repress local paper

On the afternoon of august 17th, police raided a house in central Bristol where an editor of local newspaper The Autonomist lives. Riot police kicked down the door of the property without warning, detained the inhabitants for two hours, and seized articles relating to the production of The Autonomist. Delighted journalists from the Evening Post swarmed around outside, trying to photograph the detainees and remaining in contact with an officer inside by telephone at all times.

The grudgingly-produced warrant for the raid attempts to link the occupants to recent disorder (as did a frankly libellous sign erected outside by the police). It authorises the seizure of "rocks (may by having glass samples upon)" and "white paint", and refers repeatedly to "domestic extremisim [sic]". The list rounded out with such incriminating articles as "pedal cycles", "clothing", and "literature". Several other items not listed, such as passports, were also illegally seized.

The Autonomist is a popular but controversial local paper, produced by a small group of mainly homeless local people and distributed for free. They're dedicated to reporting unheard voices in the community, but this principled stance has caused problems in the past. Refusal to censor reports of the rising tide of sabotage attacks around Bristol, or to stick to police statements when reporting the riots in april, has earned the enmity of the police.

Collective member Lucy Parsons says "The seizure of phones, computers, and paperwork relating to the production of The Autonomist just as we start to compile the september edition is a clear, worrying, and damaging attack on journalistic independence. The demonisation of those who report the news as "domestic extremists", and the willingness to use violence to silence them, does not fill us with confidence in the police or the future of liberty in this country. Regardless, we will continue to produce The Autonomist, using computers at the library if we have to, and you can expect the september issue at the turn of the month."

---
Note to groups, etc - We've lost all of the event listing data. If you've got events on in sept/oct, contact us at BristolAutonomist@Gmail.com

Note from occupants of the house to people who know them - We've not been able to contact a lot of you due to our phones being taken. We're all ok at the moment, and please pass this message around.

Don’t Panic: Don’t Talk

The Met today released another 44 photos of people they want to 'talk to'. The pictures are often of poor quality, and many of the 'targets' are masked up. The police have little chance of identifying many of these without help.

The information printed above has been distributed around London, but at the same time the Met police propoganda machine and their friends in the right wing press are bombarding people with messages to hand in themselves, their neighbours and even their children.

Some will probably do this in the expectation of justice, but there's been little that looks like justice so far in the magistrates courts.

One man, who stole bottles of water worth £3.50 from a looted Lidls store, was sentenced to six months in prison as he had contributed "to the atmosphere of chaos and sheer lawlessness". Another was given four months for merely telling a cop "I'd smash you if you took your uniform off".

Almost everyone else has been remanded into custody, and very long sentences look likely. Magistrates courts sitting through the night have been described as being a conveyor belt, and even the law society has raised concerns about unfair hearings and rushed justice.

The politicians have said that the riots are 'not political', which is odd, because the sentencing clearly is. It is blatantly about creating a 'deterrent', not giving just punishment. Young people are simply being made examples of.

Anyone tempted to hand themselves or anyone else into the police should remember this. Conviction will mean a long prison sentence and a record that will last a lifetime and scupper any chance of getting a decent job. It may even mean a family is evicted from their home. Does the person you want to grass up really deserve that?

People facing arrest should give 'no comment' interviews, and take time to consider whether to plead guilty or not. No-one should admit to anything, or plead guilty, until they know the extent of evidence against them. Anyone reading this who would like legal support for a friend or family member should get in touch. info@fitwatch.org.uk

The leaflet printed above was not produced or distributed by Fitwatch, but does have a similarity to information we published after the student demo back last December. When we published it then, the police shut down our website, claiming we were 'perverting the course of justice'.

This leaflet has already been reprinted on various websites and even quoted in the Evening Standard, so we have no fear of publishing it again here. Unless the Evening Standard too is perverting the course of justice.

The reason why the youth hate the police

This brilliant video appeared on youtube, and has also been published on the Police State UK site. It really shows the sort of mind-set the police have. I'd guess that a lot of people will recognise that arrogant, petty and vindictive attitude.

The cops appear to be Forest Gate, and as far as I can make out the number of the cop is KF 5309. It's possible though, it may be KE (East Ham).

Anyone in East London who sees him could maybe think of some choice words to say.