get involved with the fitwatch project
fitwatch is about you!
Certainly if you’re an activist, campaigner, or protester.
But even if you’re not, you never know when you may find yourself innocently caught up in a protest or demonstration and, as a result, have your photograph taken and your movements recorded on video by the police.
You could simply be a bystander yet be subjected to this State-sanctioned encroachment upon your personal privacy.
And its not limited to protests and demonstrations. Police FIT have even been observed photographing people attending simple public meetings, where there’s little likelihood of a public disturbance or breach of the peace occurring, or any of the “offences” with which protesters are customarily charged.
Who knows how long the police may retain those images, and to what use they may be put?
And should the compulsory National ID Card scheme ever be introduced (which is looking increasingly likely) then how long before these two separate encroachments on our privacy are married together?
Couple that with the footage that is constantly being recorded by the ubiquitous town centre CCTV and effectively we have virtually permanent monitoring of all our activities and movements.
The potential for abuse by an unscrupulous government, or even a single rogue police officer, is phenomenal.
So, to return to the issue of FIT, unless this unwarranted behaviour on the part of the police is rigorously challenged (i.e., sending a clear message to them that this particular manner of policing is not by our consent - responding to one of the justifications they use for their manner of policing at protests and demos) then there is a very real possibility that it will become entrenched into the way policing at all public events will be conducted.
And will it just stop at collecting images? What other even more objectionable intrusions on our privacy are possible, or being planned?
At what point did our supposedly “free and democratic society” transform into one in which intrusive surveillance is routinely and blatantly directed against those of its citizens who dare to challenge the policies and dubious legislation enacted by its government?
In the last century or so we’ve survived two World Wars (one of which witnessed our capital city experience the greatest devastation since the Great Fire), the Cold War era and the IRA bombing campaign, all of which left our long-cherished freedoms relatively untarnished.
So what has now reduced us to having to resort to such manifestations of institutional paranoia?
The mis-named and largely fictitious “War on Terror”? Iraq’s missing WMD? It couldn’t possibly be the ill-conceived policies of successive British governments could it, to which increasing numbers of people are objecting?
Take a stand - get involved!
Participate Participation in fitwatch is open to all. There are no organisers, and there’s no hierarchy; fitwatch is not a group, its an approach or tactic that can be employed by anyone. The “fitwatch project” (as I call it) is simply a convenient way of labelling the promotion of fitwatching.
Keep informed and contribute To keep up-to-date with the latest developments in the fitwatch project, to participate in discussions and contribute your own ideas/suggestions about how best to respond to police harassment and intimidation, join the mailing list.
To sign up just send a blank email to fitwatch-subscribe(at)lists.riseup.net with the word subscribe in the subject-line.
Become a fitwatcher A number of different types of activity have manifested so far, and of course there’s always scope to develop new and innovative techniques.
The following have proven to be quite effective:
Protection from police FIT harassment Many innocent and law-abiding people are deterred by the presence of police FIT from attending meetings, protests, etc for they’re resentful of having their image recorded by the police, and feel intimidated by such activity.
It could be argued that this is one way in which the State seeks to suppress legitimate political dissent.
So if you’re not intimidated by the police FIT, and unconcerned about whether they photograph/video you, that strength can be lent to others by helping to protect their identity.
Techniques that have so far been successfully employed include standing between the FIT and those requiring protection (thus preventing photographs of their faces being taken), and moving with them until they’ve reached a secure environment; or holding large banners in front of people or groups of people to protect them from the lenses of the FIT cameras (this of course requires two or more fitwatchers).
This is particularly effective with double sheets on sticks, which can block a camera from a distance and is also the least confrontational way of blocking photography.
One technique has been to place oneself physically in the way of the cameramen by standing in front of the camera and constantly shadowing them. This has been the most confrontational tactic used so far and has therefore been the one for which people have been arrested. However it has also been possible to do this without arrest. (Interestingly, many of the cameramen used by FIT are civilian photographers!)
Identifying FIT and recording their activities They really don’t like this but it isn’t illegal (yet!). It can be done with a camera, camcorder, or even a camera-equipped mobile phone.
Wherever possible endeavour to get clear shots of the ID numbers of the police involved. Its useful also to make a note of date, time, location, circumstances etc - either jotted down on a pad or recorded into a dictaphone-type device (many mobile phones now come equipped with a voice-recording facility).
That of course is only one half of the task. The other half is to ensure the record you’ve created is made available to others as promptly as possible. See the Media section of our Resources page for possible publishing outlets.
At the very least upload any information gathered about the FIT to fitwatch.blogspot.com or email to defycops@yahoo.co.uk.
Following the FIT Picking a team and tailing them. Turning their own tactics
onto them – every time they send a text message looking over their
shoulder; listening to their phone conversations; looking at what they’re
writing in their notebooks.
Watching out for group huddles, especially with senior officers, and
unobtrusively standing by them. This disrupts their briefings and
there’s always the possibility of learning some useful information.
Spread the word This isn’t an issue that just affects political activists, protesters and the like. Its an issue that has implications for society as a whole, yet large sections of the public (those, for example, that rarely encounter the police in any way other than passing them on the street) remain unaware of such police activities. Consequently their perception of policing in this country is vastly different to that of those who have been victim of perpetual harassment and intimidation.
Information and education (backed up by evidence of course) is the key to this. The public at large should be helped to become aware of the full extent of the “political policing” that occurs in this country, which is one of the reasons of course why documenting the activities of police FIT is such an intrinsic part of fitwatching.
So tell people about FIT; point them in the direction of appropriate websites; show them the proof!
(Note: The foregoing are simply descriptions of techniques that have been used to date, and are provided for information purposes only.)
Tips
When embarking upon fitwatch activities its not a good idea to “go solo”. Try to get a friend to accompany you and remain with you - ideally another fitwatcher of course.
Here are some ideas of things to do if you’re photographed by the police (posted in a comment at Indymedia):
- Ask the police photographer/videoer for the Data Protection Act form that enables you to request copies of any photos/footage they take of you. They then have to stop what they’re doing to fill the form out. If every activist did this and then followed through with a disclosure request, imagine the level of inconvenience it would cause.
- File an official complaint to the IPCC against any intrusive behaviour by the police. Include shoulder numbers you have noted down of the relevant officer(s), and try to get other witnesses to back up your claims.
And here’s some more valuable advice from Sheffield Indymedia:
“Tell any photographers/videoers that you want their name and number so you can apply to get a copy of the photos of you they just took under the Data Protection Act - they must comply with at least a number - if they don’t then report this to the senior officer - also ask them why they are photographing and what happens to the pictures and then approach the senior officer and ask him/her the same question -if you get the usual ‘for evidence gathering purposes’ point out that there is no unlawful activity going on and why then are they taking mugshots - and try asking any other plod the same questions - its always amusing to see how emabarrassed they all become and that no-one knows what happens to the pictures or who views them”
At the very least read the excellent “How to copwatch and protect yourself“.
Remember:
Written by fotdmike -
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