NCJ Number
76532
Editor(s)
P Hain
Date Published
1980
Length
207 pages
Annotation
Political postures by the police, the threat to citizen privacy of police information systems, and the brutal confrontation tactics of the Special Control Group (SPG) are discussed with reference to the United Kingdom.
Abstract
Events and statements documenting the involvement of the British police in political disputes (i.e., between right-wing groups and blacks) are presented and interpreted. It is shown how in varying circumstances, the police target various individuals and groups, notably with minority and aggressive political postures, as threats to public order. Police are noted to have been allowed to make their own policies and operate behind a rhetoric of their own choosing, such that the list of policing targets is likely to grow longer as socioeconomic unrest continues. The major British police projects in information and intelligence gathering are examined, and the circumstances in which they have developed and how they are likely to develop in the future are considered, with particular attention to the threat to privacy resulting from the highly speculative information recorded. It is noted that in the systems examined, privacy is most often threatened, not by the bulk of the computer entries, but by 'footnotes,' such as the 'warning' that a particular person may make a complaint about the police or is associated with a particular organization. The development and activities of Britain's Special Patrol Group (SPG), a police unit trained and equipped to handle mass disorder, are also described. Violent tactics by the SPG are documented, and it is indicated that such tactics are a matter of policy. The activities and violence of the SPG are expected to grow with continuing unrest and citizen resistance. Notes, several tables, and an index are provided.