This Sunday - Standing Up To Surveillance

This Sunday at the Rich Mix in Bethnal Green is a conference that is looking at the way that ‘intelligence’ is gathered by police on political protesters and minority communities - and one of the speakers is yours truly...

A number of the most controversial examples of police surveillance, such as the use of undercover officers to infiltrate pacifist and environmental campaigns or installing ’covert’ cameras to watch the movements of Birmingham’s Muslim population, have been widely reported in the national press. But many others have become routine and systematic. They include photographing people attending demonstrations; demanding names and addresses; ’mapping’ communities, gathering information from universities, mosques and community organisations; and building up a database of protesters and their activities. Intelligence gathering is big business with huge sums to be made by the companies that produce and supply the latest surveillance equipment or analytical software.

What is driving this rapid and seemingly unstoppable descent into a surveillance state? Why are so many of us potential targets for state scrutiny? Is an increasing demand for intelligence driven by a fear of ‘extremism’? Or by the availability of technology and the millions that can be made from it? And what can be done to stop it?

Sunday 17th April
10.30am – 5pm
Rich Mix
35 – 47 Bethnal Green Road
London, E1 6LA

The conference hosted by the Network for Police Monitoring.
More info on the event here