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30 May 2008

Sousveillance v surveillance: Fitwatch

Sousveillance has a new brand name in the UK: FitWatch. This is not an organisation, but the tactic of filming the Met Police Forward Intelligence Teams and sharing photos, badge numbers and names. The blog is here.

Being photographed by the police is intrusive and unpleasant (my main experience of it is at the Lewes bonfire night), though it seems in some very difficult cases to be effective (see “harrass a hoodie”). And it’s clear the police don’t take kindly to being photographed. This leads to antagonism and an uncomfortable standoff between the forces of law (whose salaries, pensions and sick leave we all pay) and the generally law-abiding taxpayer. It’s far from Ideal.

Wibbi (given that there is crime and antisocial behaviour and that the police are in the front line of protecting the rest of us from it): the police accepted or were taught that transparency is mutual; that they should be prepared to accept it if they are conducting themselves correctly; that the police vs demonstrators encounter was less us v them against a Kafkaesque legal background that no-one understands and more a case of both police and demonstrators conforming to laws that all understand and generally respect.

Meanwhile let us watch Fitwatch, and hope that it and other such initiatives proceed in a peaceful and constructive manner. And maintain a sense of humour - see below:

• Posted by William Heath on 30/05/08 at 8:33am
• Categories · "What do we want?" · Design: Co-creation · Foundation of Trust
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