Spy Planes and CCTV Are Not Enough.. Government Now Considering Rewarding Neighbours to Spy on Eachother

The Government is considering a plan where the public would be rewarded for spying on and reporting neighbors who may be VAT or customs cheats. Benefit cheats could also be targeted.

This informant plan would offer a reward to anybody producing hard proof , otherwise unavailable to the authorities, that a person was defrauding the Government. An example of the "proof" the government would require could be secretly taken photographs.

The payout could be as high as 30 per cent of the total amount seized. Ministers have also not ruled out allowing informants to take over a neighbour’s possessions, such as luxury cars or plasma TVs, if they had been bought with the proceeds of crime. These rewards could reach to hundreds of thousands of pounds.

After the less than successful start made by the Assets Recovery Agency, which initially cost more to run than it recovered, this is the Home Office's latest idea to target the extravagant lifestyles enjoyed by criminals. Other new powers in the plan could include the right to seize lifestyle items from thieves and burglars, such as jewellery, and laptops. Tony Blair originally suggested these powers as part of a package of policies on law and order.

Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker said it was based on a "strikingly successful" scheme in the U.S. He continued to say that, "We are asking, is it applicable in this country, is it something that people would find acceptable and is there a workable model? "

Coaker surely must be aware what a ridiculous concept this is. Encouraging conflict and distrust among neighbours is not something the government should promote. I am the first to agree that people who are benefit, VAT, or Customs cheats should be prosecuted. However this is not the way to gather evidence. One would think that the government is able to gather enough evidence with its' spy planes and millions off CCTV cameras without encouraging neighbours to secretly photograph and spy on each other.

I would not be overly concerned about this plan moving forward though. As Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said,""Behind the spin, this is yet another government consultation, containing yet more gimmicks. This Government has a woeful record at seizing criminal assets."

The Assets Recovery Agency was described as a disaster earlier this year after the National Audit Office said it had cost £65million to run but had seized only £23million.

Perhaps if the Government spent more time focusing on doing the job at hand, rather than spending time and resources developing new (absurd) plans and agencies to do the job, they might actually accomplish something.

Are Likely Charges in the "Cash for Honours" Scandal the Real Reason Levy is Standing Down?

I was reading the morning papers and came across this in The Herald... Interesting. The girl they are referring to, Courtney Coventry, is the one pictured with Blair in the Mail Article in March.

Posted by: Barry on 7:08am today
Lord Levy, a major contributor to labour sleaze, will be finally leaving! Was it "Anticipated?" - Only because CPS will likely be charging him in the Cash for honours scandal, especially as the American woman has implicated him to directly to police. Apparently, Levy bluntly offerred to arrange a peerage for her British husband for a large donation to the party. So much for Levy denying any wrongdoing.
Lord Levy, a major contributor to labour sleaze, will be finally leaving! Was it "Anticipated?" - Only because CPS will likely be charging him in the Cash for honours scandal, especially as the American woman has implicated him to directly to police. Apparently, Levy bluntly offerred to arrange a peerage for her British husband for a large donation to the party. So much for Levy denying any wrongdoing.

Posted by: diana, london on 7:52am today
Referring to Barry's comment about an American girl, her name is Courtney Coventry. A good friend of mine worked on the Cash for Honours inquiry and she said Courtney Coventry (who is american) contacted them via email with a very damaging statement (and documents to support it) about Lord Levy which would on its own justify charges to be brought against him.
Referring to Barry's comment about an American girl, her name is Courtney Coventry. A good friend of mine worked on the Cash for Honours inquiry and she said Courtney Coventry (who is american) contacted them via email with a very damaging statement (and documents to support it) about Lord Levy which would on its own justify charges to be brought against him.

Lord "Cashpoint" Levy Announces He Will Stand Down as Middle East Envoy

Lord Levy announced that he will step down as Middle East Envoy when Blair leaves office in June. Downing Street thanked him for his role and said the PM "believes, and has always said, that Lord levy has done an excellent job as his personal envoy." After the recent inquiry it is not surprising that they failed to thank Levy for his work as chief fundraiser as well.

Levy, also know as Lord Cashpoint after being arrested in recent months by police investigating cash for honours, claimed his departure "has always been anticipated and is not different to many other similar positions."

Lord Levy was arrested on suspicion of possible infringements of honours and election laws in July 2006, and, six months later, arrested again on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. His arrests came during a year-long inquiry into allegations that honours had been sold.

The Crown Prosecution Service was given a 216-page report by Police in April. PM Blair was among 136 people interviewed by Scotland Yard . All parties questioned thus far deny any wrongdoing.

Simply because Lord Levy repeats over and over again that he "denies any wrongdoing" does not make it any more believable. Levy was a strong contributor to the years of Labour Sleaze who,along with Blair, is finally on his way out. Too bad we still have to suffer with the rest of them.

Government Takes Big Brother to New Heights

The Government is taking big brother to new heights with the UK's first police remote control helicopter. The "spy drone", fitted with CCTV cameras, is being used by Merseyside police primarily for tackling anti-social behaviour and public disorder. This machine which was originally used by the military is 1m wide, incredibly lightweight, and can record images from a height of 500m.

Merseyside's assistant chief constable Simon Byrne said, "We're always looking at ways of putting more officers on the streets, and maximising technology is a powerful way of achieving this. Our drone will be used primarily to support our anti-social behaviour taskforce AXIS, in gathering all important evidence to put offenders before the courts. For us, this is a cost-effective way of helping to catch criminals and supports similar technology we're already using in our vans and helicopter."

Deputy director, Stephen Cahill, said, "We are pleased to support Merseyside Police in their efforts to reduce crime through the use of new technology. This trial is the first of its kind in the country and we're excited about its potential."

The images recorded by these silent night-vision equipped "spy drones" cameras are sent back to a police support vehicle or control room.


This latest development is enlightening and terrifying. The 4.2 Million CCTV cameras and the new "talking" cameras obviously do not satisfactorily fulfill the Government's desire to monitor our every move. They have now turned to "spy planes" which they claim are in the interest of public safety. This is a horrifying window into the future of things to come, especially if Labour wins the next general election. If this level of government intrusion was occurring in another country such as Russia, it would be condemned.

With millions of CCTV cameras, spy planes, and the government's plan to profile people who MAY commit crimes the future of UK is beginning to look more like the movie the Minority Report than the country we know and love.

Government Plans to Profile "Potential" Criminals and Victims

Home Office plans reveal that council staff, charity workers and doctors among others will be obligated to inform police of any person they believe MAY commit a violent crime.

The leaked Home Office document states, "Public bodies will have access to valuable information about people at risk of becoming either perpetrators or victims of serious violence. Professionals will obviously alert police or other relevant authority if they have good reason to believe an act of serious violence is about to be committed. However, our proposal goes beyond that, and is that, when they become sufficiently concerned about an individual, they must consider initial risk assessment of risk to/from that person and refer (the) case to (a) multi-agency body."

Under the plan two agencies would be formed, one for potential criminals, and the other for potential victims. The plan suggests that these bodies could share information received and carry out "full risk assessments".

Danger signs of potential criminals could include a violent family background, heavy drinking or mental health problems, while potential victims may seek treatment for stress from their GP.

If this plan succeeds children who, through no fault of their own, have been raised in a violent family could be profiled as potential criminals. Millions of people who have grown up in adverse conditions as well as those who have mild mental health problems function successfully in society without EVER committing a crime. Further to that, if someone seeks counseling for stress it does not necessarily mean they are a potential victim of a crime. If this is allowed to continued both assumptions being made by the government could be self-fulfilling. A person who is not a criminal but, because of his background, is treated as such may as a result become a criminal. This government is going too far. If you have not watched the movie Minority Report, go rent it. It is not the best movie but, although fictional and far-fetched, it shows an exaggerated version the results of profiling "potential" criminals.

Question of the Week

Do you agree with the Government's new plan to profile "potential criminals and victims?"

For the Article Related to this Question click HERE



Previous Questions of the Week 14 May ,

Police Cheif Fears "An Orwellian Situation" In Britain

Deputy chief constable of Hampshire Ian Readhead said Britain could become a surveillance society with cameras on every street corner. He fears the spread of CCTV cameras is leading to "an Orwellian situation".

Readhead expressed concerns about CCTV being used in small towns and villages where crime rates were low and whether the relatively low crime levels justified the expense and intrusion.
Mr Readhead also called for the retention of some DNA evidence and the use of speed cameras to be reviewed.

"I'm really concerned about what happens to the product of these cameras, and what comes next?" Readhead said. "If it's in our villages, are we really moving towards an Orwellian situation where cameras are at every street corner? I really don't think that's the kind of country that I want to live in."

I couldn't agree with Readhead more. If not now, when do we draw the line? There are already up to 4.2 million CCTV cameras in Britain which is about one for every 14 people. The UK also has the world's biggest DNA database, with 3.6 million DNA samples on file. Labour will make it mandatory to own biometric ID Cards if it wins the next election. What is next? Will the government decide it is necessary for our safety to implant microchips under our skin or put CCTV cameras in our houses? This may sound far fetched but so did biometric ID Cards or "Talking" CCTV cameras 20 years ago.