Fitwatch Resisting and Monitoring Forward Intelligence Policing

FIT – brief guide to Forward Intelligence Teams

Forward Intelligence Teams are police who attend demonstrations in order to gather intelligence on individuals and groups involved in political protest. They also work at football matches, where fans will know them as ‘spotters’.

As well as collecting intelligence they also have a history of harassing and intimidating people involved in, or organising political protest.

Many people will know them as the cops that wear the blue bibs on their yellow hi-viz jackets (see picture). Often they are seen with cameramen. In London the FIT use professional photographers, who aren’t police officers, although they are employed full time by the Met police. They use specialist kit combining video and stills cameras with powerful flash lighting and wear baseball caps and/or jackets saying ‘police photographer’.
Everywhere else in the country, the FIT cops take the pictures themselves, or use police evidence gatherers to do it for them.

They gather intelligence on, and take pictures of people they decide they have an ‘interest’ in’. There is no requirement that people have committed or suspected of committing criminal offences. Click here for more info on their role, or for analysis on the changing nature of FIT operations.

FITwatch turns the tables on the FIT and takes and publishes photographs of them – click here for names and photos of the usual suspects.