FIT spotter cards
Specially produced for this year’s Climate Camp, and now available from the fitwatch site at fitwatch.org.uk.
Rolll up, roll up, get your cards now and play FITwatch Bingo. See if you can win a prize!
The principal fitwatch site is at fitwatch.org.uk
fitwatch callout
(FIT… them with the blue yokes on their hiviz… at the 2008 Climate Camp)
This year’s (2009) Climate Camp will be in London 26th August through to 2nd September. Fitwatchers are circulating a callout, reproduced in full below…
FITwatch at the Climate Camp
This is a call out for all climate campers to do a bit of FITwatching during and after the Swoop, and as people arrive for the climate camp.
Despite assurances of ‘community style policing’ police have said that Forward Intelligence Teams (FIT) WILL be in operation at the camp.
They will be aiming to capture potential ‘domestic extremists’ on camera – and ridiculously, that appears to cover all climate campers. They will monitor the arrival of known campaigners, and get nice pictures of all the new faces.
Images and personal details will be entered into a police database. This will then be used by the FIT to decide who to target for their ‘preventative policing’ strategy. Or ‘harassment-style policing’ as ex Home Secretary Jacqui Smith helpfully explained it.
There is no reason why we should tolerate FIT policing. But there are many ways to FITwatch – here are a few suggestions:
Cover your face when being filmed or photographed. You can do this with a scarf, a mask or simply by holding up a newspaper! You have a right not to co-operate, and the police have said there will be no order in place to remove face coverings, so all of the above are entirely legal – and recommended!
Help protect your fellow campers, as well as yourself. As you are wandering (slowly?) past a FIT team, feel free to hold up banners, placards, hats, newspapers or anything else that comes to hand, so that it’s harder for the FIT photographers to see and film others arriving.
Take their picture. Despite rumours, there is nothing unlawful in taking pictures of police unless you are going to use them for some terrorist purposes. We find that straight on shots in front of the FIT photographer can often be the best pics…and make sure you take your time, and get plenty of shots. Good photos of FIT officers (with ID numbers in shot, please) can be sent to FITwatch at defycops(at)yahoo.co.uk
Watch out for cops with cameras hiding in police cars or other places where they are not easily noticed – if you see them do this take details and a picture and get them to FITwatch ASAP.
Look after the FITwatchers. In the past FITwatchers have had a whole heap of hassle from police at climate camps. They’ll need your support – and larger groups will help to keep everybody safe.
Let’s get FIT off the camp for good.
More info on FIT and practical tactics to defeat them at FITwatch workshops during climate camp.
FITwatch xxxx
And remember, the main fitwatch blog is at fitwatch.org.uk!
Met police issue guidelines for photographers
This snippet, picked up from PhotoRights.org:
The MPS has published advice for photographers who want to take photographs in the capital. The advice covers number of areas and is suitable both for amateur and professional photographers.
Perhaps of most relevance to fitwatchers is the following little paragraph:
Members of the public and the media do not need a permit to film or photograph in public places and police have no power to stop them filming or photographing incidents or police personnel.
It also clarifies the cops’s use of s.43 and 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000, and that nasty “s.58a” (though in the latter case I wonder whether the cops have quoted the right piece of legislation?) re photography.
The advice itself can be found here.
Update 23:31 - However, it appears these “guidelines” have been issued without Home Office approval. See this. Doubt if that will make much difference either way though, given how little notice the police generally take of their own guidelines.
Update 10.07.09 18:50 – And now a media law solicitor is saying “the Metropolitan Police’s guide on public photography published yesterday is ‘selective’ and flawed”! Check out the British Journal of Photography.
Fitwatchers brutalised by cops using unnecessarily violent restraint procedures
… and lying about it!
21st June ’09 and the Guardian reports on the arrest of Fitwatchers at last year’s Climate Camp at Kingsnorth in Kent after they had questioned the police about failure to display badge numbers.
Both Swain and Apple were pinned to the ground in restraint positions for around 15 minutes. Apple had her head pushed into the ground by an officer without a badge number. Moments later, the same officer placed one hand around her neck in a stranglehold position, apparently attempting to show her face to the police camera.
He then pressed his fingers on pressure points in her neck to move her across the road.
Several metres away, Swain was also being pinned to the ground. The footage captured her groaning in pain and telling an officer to stop standing on her foot. The camera panned down to show the officer’s boot clamped on top of Swain’s foot. The officer said: “I am not on your foot.”
The report continues..
Later, the footage captured Swain complaining about her treatment. “You have no right to grab someone from inside the climate camp, drag them out here, and tell them that you are arresting them for obstruction,” she said.
Read the full article on The Guardian website.
An afterthought…
Perhaps one of the positive aspects of this (in a perverse sort of way) is that for the cops to resort to such actions against fitwatchers surely indicates that fitwatching has become an effective tactic that the cops really don’t like. Tough!
FIT and EGT at smashEDO Mayday events
FIT and EGT appeared to be out in force at the smashEDO march and street party in Brighton yesterday (Monday 4th). Interestingly I noticed that FIT are now starting to wear headcams (see last pic below)!
Bright and early I went in search of breakfast at a local cafe. Fortunately managing to finish my repast in peace, as I exited I had the somewhat disturbing experience of encountering a flock of FIT coming in for their breakfast (presumably)! Shan’t be going there again!
As usual, clicking on any of the thumbnails below will take you to a larger version on Flickr.
(The full set of pictures from the day can be found on Flickr)
