Crime

Trayvon verdict highlights racial divides within the US

Trayvon verdict highlights racial divides within the US

In the last week, we’ve seen protests erupt after George Zimmerman was cleared of the murder of Trayvon Martin. Essentially, the law has upheld the view that ‘walking while black’ is a crime, if somebody interprets that as “cruising for burglaries”. The case has helped to highlight the deep racial divides that exist not only in the US but across[Read More…]

National figures show crime is decreasing

National figures show crime is decreasing

Despite the scare stories often perpetrated by the mainstream media, crime has actually gone down according to national statistics. Findings from the 2011/12 Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) showed that  just 5.9 per cent of adults aged 16 and over fell victim to personal crimes. Just over 16 per cent experienced household crime, but the figures were much[Read More…]

NSA continues to wage war on privacy in partnership with Microsoft

NSA continues to wage war on privacy in partnership with Microsoft

Another twist has been unveiled in the ongoing war against privacy, after Microsoft have become the latest corporation to be exposed in the NSA hacking scandal. Top secret documents obtained by the Guardian has shown how the tech giant has worked closely with the US intelligence services to gain details about users. The files were provided by Edward Snowden and[Read More…]

Police hit the streets to introduce mobile fingerprinting

Police hit the streets to introduce mobile fingerprinting

Police have taken to the streets to fingerprint people on demand, it has been revealed.   Last week, the Metropolitan police became the 25th force in the country to confirm that mobile fingerprinting scanners will be used by officers on the beat.   Initially the Met have 350 of these devices, linked to police Blackberry phones, which they claim can[Read More…]

Scottish councils use terror legislation to investigate loud TVs and primary school children

Scottish councils use terror legislation to investigate loud TVs and primary school children

Scottish councils have used anti-terrorism legislation to spy on primary school children and to investigate trivial complaints and minor misdemeanours, new findings have revealed. The Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Scotland) Act (RIPSA) was intended to combat serious crime and terrorism but has instead been used to investigate complaints about loud televisions, slamming doors, vandalised washing lines and people running up and down[Read More…]