February 2007 Archives

Is the Metropolitan Police Service actually legally registered under the Data Protection Act ?

The Information Commissioner's Office website allows you to search the official Register of Data Controllers, using , say, the keywords Name= "Police" and Address = "London":

Total Records found 16

ASSOCIATION OF POLICE AUTHORITIES LIMITED
BRITISH TRANSPORT POLICE FEDERATION
CHIEF CONSTABLE BRITISH TRANSPORT POLICE
COMMISSIONER OF POLICE FOR THE CITY OF LONDON
COMMUNITY POLICE CONSULTATIVE GROUP FOR LAMBETH LTD
EALING COMMUNITY & POLICE CONSULTATIVE GROUP
INDEPENDENT POLICE COMPLAINTS COMMISSION
METROPOLITAN AND CITY POLICE ORPHANS FUND
METROPOLITAN POLICE AUTHORITY
METROPOLITAN POLICE TRADING SERVICE
POLICE NEGOTIATING BOARD
PSDS LTD
SPLASH WILTSHIRE - (SCHOOLS AND POLICE LIAISON ACTIVITIES FOR SUMMER HOLIDAYS)
THE POLICE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ORGANISATION
WILTSHIRE CONSTABULARY POLICE FEDERATION
WILTSHIRE POLICE AUTHORITY

i.e. every public body to do with the Police in London, except for the Metropolitan Police Service or the Metropolitan Police Commissioner (alternatively legally known as the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis). Those in Wiltshire etc. have "London" in their address e.g. London Road.

Trying other keywords such as Constable, Commissioner, Metropolitan, Metropolis etc, list the Data Protection Register entries for every other Police Force in the UK., but not the MPS.

Even the Security Service MI5 has a Data Protection Register, after all, there are plenty of exemptions to deny access to members of the public to any sensitive information.

So where is the current registration of the Metropolitan Police Service under the Data Protection Act ?

For the purposes of the Police National Computer, and the National DNA Database, and the National ANPR Database etc., it is the Chief Constable of each Police Force, who is meant to be the "Data Controller".

If there is no current, valid DPA Register registration for the Metropolitan Police Commissioner or the Metropolitan Police Service, or if the old one has run out, then that makes any use of these core police database systems illegal, and some guilty criminals will undoubtedly walk free from Court and might be awarded financial compensation, which we,as London taxpayers, will have to foot the bill for.

The BBC reports on the entirely predictable saga of ever rising costs for the London 2012 Olympic Games:

Last Updated: Saturday, 24 February 2007, 04:57 GMT

London Olympics could cost £9bn

By Mihir Bose
BBC sports editor

The cost of the 2012 London Olympics could rise to nearly four times the figure set out in the city's bid for the Games, the BBC has learned.

The Treasury and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport are discussing a price of £9bn - up from the £2.35bn set out in London's bid document.

The government believes construction alone could cost £3.3bn, with an extra £2bn allocated as a contingency fund.

Regeneration costs of £1.8bn and a £1bn VAT bill have also been added.

Security costs have also risen to at least £900m.

[...]

In the wake of heavy criticism of the government's handling of the games, Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell admitted to parliament in November that the cost of the Games would rise by £900m - 40% - to £3.3bn.

But critics have continued to express wide-ranging concerns about planning, over everything from transport to the burden on the tax payer and effect on the National Lottery's funding of good causes in order to meet costs.

[...]

Remember that any cost overruns i.e. anything above the original budget, will be split between the National Lottery (which can only raise a certain amount every year) and the Council Tax payers of London !

Why should we tolerate the politicians and bureaucrats and commercial vested interests who are ripping us off in this way ?

Now that the London Congestion Charge Western Expansion Zone has started operations on Monday, amid the usual hype and spin, we will be asking the same questions about the new system as we did about the original scheme.

  • Are the Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras and "street scene" cameras switched off when there is no Congestion Charge for them to enforce i.e. at night, at weekends and on public holidays ?

    The original Central Zone continue to be used top snoop on motorists, probably illegally,
    see Heather Brooke's Freedom of Information Act Request:: TfL: Congestion Charge cameras

  • If, as we suspect, these cameras (a different model in the Western Zone, compared with those in the Central Zone) are left on all the time, then how much Energy is being wasted at night and at weekends and on public holidays ?

    How does wasting all this energy unnecessarily comply with Transport for London and the Mayor of London's alleged "green environmental" policies ?

  • Now that the charging period has been changed to end at 6pm rather than at 6.30pm, how many people have been tricked into paying 8 pounds for entering the Zones between 6pm and 6.30pm ?

  • Now that the charging period has been changed to end at 6pm rather than at 6.30pm, how many people have, nevertheless still been issued with Fixed Penalty Notices by Capita ?

  • What happens when traffic has to be diverted when there is an security incident, or traffic accident, or roadworks along the "free route" between Vauxhall Bridge and Edgeware Road, between the Central and Western Zones ?

  • What happens when the School Holidays are over next week, and traffic increases ?

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Links

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The Evening Standard newspaper - fulfills its role by scrutinising the Mayor and the GLA etc. rather more effectively than the politicians and bureaucrats do.

Mayor of London press releases

London Assembly press releases

MayorWatch - commercial news site about the Mayor of London etc.

Campaign Button Links

Watching Them, Watching Us, UK Public CCTV Surveillance Regulation Campaign
UK Public CCTV Surveillance Regulation Campaign

NO2ID - opposition to the NuLabour Compulsory Biometric ID Card
NO2ID - opposition to NuLabour's plans for Compulsory Biometric ID Card and National Identity Register centralised database.

asboconcern logo
ASBO Concern - alliance of organisations and individuals who are concerned about the abuse of NuLabour's Anti Social Behaviour Orders.

MI5 encrypted contact web form use 999 or 112 to report immediate threats
Encrypted MI5 web response form NuLabour's "Climate of Fear" is not the same as the real fight against terror.

gamesmonitor_logo_150.gif Games Monitor - "Games Monitor is a network of people raising awareness about issues within the London Olympic development processes. We want to highlight the local, London and international implications of the Olympic industry. We seek to deconstruct the 'fantastic' hype of Olympic boosterism and the eager complicity of the 'urban elites' in politics, business, the media, sport, academia and local institutional 'community stakeholders'. "

Peaceful resistance to the curtailment of our rights to Free Assembly and Free Speech in the SOCPA Designated Area around Parliament Square and beyond
Parliament Protest blog - resistance to the Designated Area resticting peaceful demonstrations or lobbying in the vicinity of Parliament.

Save Parliament: Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill (and other issues)
Save Parliament - Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill Act

Ken Livingstone Links

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