More than half of people on UK counter-terror biometrics databases are innocent A new report from the UK's independent biometrics commissioner has revealed that more than half of people on British counter-terrorism databases are innocent, more than a thousand more than previously thought. The commissioner has revised upwards his figures on fingerprint and DNA profile retention, stating that 53 per cent of …
Why wouldn't they? After all, the subjects came to the attention of the police, which means that they are guilty of something. We just don't know what, yet.
And soon, the coppers will have enough evidence to pin something on them connect them to a crime that hasn't been solved and is hurting their quota numbers validates their suspicions.
"which means that they are guilty of something. We just don't know what, yet."
Annoying someone who's illegally throwing his power around.
Speaking truth to power
There are a huge number of cops in the UK who are fundamentally psychologically unsuited to the position (as there are everywhere), yet the "good cops" keep closing ranks to cover for them.
Bullies and sociopaths need to be weeded out, not promoted.
I kinda have a verbal presentation mapped out where I liken the problem that the police agencies have with that of the petroleum refining industry: workplace safety. For much of my life I lived within rumbling distance of refinery explosions, so the very real increase in observation of safety consciousness at refineries was noticeable over time.
As everywhere, the chief problem was continued employment of (or management by) people who either couldn't understand safe operating or who couldn't give a damn. The realization that one of the main threats to employment was the plant being erased along with a dozen or three of the local membership even got unions interested in working with management on safety, though under the guise of cooperating with EPA/etc. enforcement against the companies. Move a couple hopeless fools out of the plant and everyone else doesn't have 6-month furloughs for rebuilding and memorials.
That guy that can't keep his mouth or fists under control? Say hello to Torrance the Torquer who just couldn't help giving every bolt an extra turn or two, on every inspection. "Eh, those nuts are tough enough for another twist!", he'd always say, having no understanding of hydrogen embrittlement or other non-ideal conditions. A couple more twists and little temperature or pressure change, and boom, though not necessarily on his shift. Afterwards the investigators say, "well of course those nuts cracked! Look at the tension!"
The tension, the disrespect and obstruction, the mounting willingness to disbelieve any blameshifting explanation, hey, even the gunshots in their direction, just might motivate the policing 'industry' to remove the small number of makers of trouble in their ranks. It is their own interest to clean up their 'workplace'. Hell, even the unions should figure it out and stop the hair-trigger-shotgun union spokesmen parroting "it's someone else's fault!" *every* *single* time.
Reviewing accurately and getting rid of the bottom 2-5% will greatly improve the lives of all the other officers. Oh, and "the plebs" too.
So the cops can retain biometric data, unless they are told not to, in which case they can waive that order and keep the data anyway.
The golden rule of any bureaucracy is that it NEVER surrenders anything, unless faced with actual budget cuts.
The golden rule of any bureaucracy is that it NEVER surrenders anything, unless faced with actual budget cuts.
.. which includes power, so keep that in mind the next time they ask you to vote for "temporary" or "emergency" powers.
This report has a very limited scope -- namely the so-called counter-terrorism database.
We ABSOLUTELY have no idea what GCHQ might be doing -- but it seems to be pretty clear that they are keeping records about MILLIONS of innocent people. GCHQ may not have DNA records (but who knows), but they almost certainly are capable of scooping up fingerprint data and merging that information in the best "big data" style with everything else they have scooped up (Facebook, telephone records, Land Registry records, births, marriages, driving licences, airline bookings, bank account records, TV licence data, criminal records, credit card account records....and so on.....).
Theresa May and her (so called) civil servants in Cheltenham are determined to eliminate privacy, and with the help of expensive consultants and expensive computer companies and expensive software companies they are building the STASI ... but in 2016 and in the UK.
......and all this is being done in secrecy with your money and my money. The report discussed in this news item is only a TINY part of the bad news.
Let us speak again of how the FBI will only use the iPhone Can-Opener of Justice in "Real Cases", on how one has nothing to fear if one has done nothing wrong, and on how "Reiser is Innocent".
Here's an idea: What if the request to keep the data had to be done periodically (as I'm sure it really does) but each time the name and badge number of the officer making the request along with the reason and the approving superior officer's name and badge number be recorded in the same data chunk as the details being saved "for later"?
That way, you could - for example - ask questions like "who is trying to game the system and who is colluding with them?"
This post has been deleted by its author
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2024
