Plainclothes cops spotter card
SPOTTER CARD PLAINCLOTHES PDF - please copy and distribute freely. We must remember these faces and not allow them near our protests again!
Plainclothes Police and “Agents Provocateurs” Hysteria.
FITwatch have been inspired by the amount of people taking an interest in the policing operations on November 9th. FITwatch recognise critical enagagement with policing strategy as being crucial to our success as a protest movement. However, FITwatch wanted to flag one particular area of concern in this debate.
Part of Bernard Hogan-Howe's "Total Policing" agenda was revealed on the Novermber 9th demonstration the other week, when the choice was made - partly, at least - to depart from a public order strategy based on entirely containment. This presented the demonstration with a number of unexpected problems, which we hope to explore in future. However, for the purpose of this article, we will be looking at the prevalance of plainclothes police officers. With this, we hope to debunk a popular myth about plainclothes officers and prompt a more sober gathering of evidence on their remit on the day, in the hope we can use this knowledge to better combat their influence in future..
There has been alot of talk on the internet, musing as to what the role of plainclothes police was, along with a particular video, which we will address later on. Predominantly, this talk falls into two camps:
1) These plainclothes cops were, in fact, undercover "agents provocateurs" intent on turning a peaceful march violent, through provoking the crowd into confrontation with uniformed police or each other. Such a move, it is believed, would then allow the police to brutally repress the demonstration with impunity, allowing the media an opportunity to misrepresent demonstrators as "violent thugs" and build public support for a state crackdown.
2) These plainclothes cops were, in fact, behaving in a way that would provoke the crowd and are, therefore, deserving of the label "agents provocateurs".
It may seem like distinctions between the two are arbitrary, but in our responses you will understand why they are not:
1) Whilst, at first thought, this may appear to be logical - the latter part certainly chimes with what many of us will have witnessed in the wake of particularly militant demonstrations - it is actually the least logical explanation.
Think back to some of your experiences (or the experiences of others) with protest...the almost pathological obsession that public order police have with maintaining authority on a personal and institutional level. The vice-like grip they attempt to exert on our protests and social movements. The frankly sociopathic behaviour of long-term state infiltrators. The inhumane and indiscriminate containment of (often young) people for long periods of time. The brutal attacks with batons, shields, dogs and horses with the visibly disabled, children and pregnant women targetted. When the police behave like this, do they at ANY POINT act like they need an excuse? Given that they are behaving like this to maintain control of the streets at any cost, is it likely that they would go to the effort of deliberately provoking disorder to get an excuse that they did not need in the first place? Even if they did want to do so, why would they go to the effort of engaging in highly illegal agents provocateur tactics, whilst allowing those agents provocateurs to change in and out of police uniform very publicly amongst a movement that has been characterised by its use of social media, open source publishing and digital recording? After all, the police have managed to escalate conflict situations quite efficiently (but definitely not intentionally!) on demonstrations recently, when angry people have decided to defend themselves against relentless police attacks. Even if all this failed and they still wanted to justify their brutality in the media, they could do so anyway. Even with all the bad press they have had recently, the police still have a sophisticated PR machine that can feed the press numerous lies to justify action they take, even when they murder people (see: Mark Duggan, Ian Tomlinson, Jean Charles de Menezes.)
There were lots of plainclothes cops on November 9th. If they wanted to kick it off, they could have done easily. But nothing happened.
2) This is more addressed to the video that has been circulated around the internet, which presents a series of events in one particular area of the demonstration and poses the question: "undercover snatch squad or agents provocateurs?". FITwatch would answer "undercover snatch squad", but don't just take our word for it. Watch the video here.
Firstly, this video, doesn't run at the speed it was filmed nor with the original sound intact. Whilst we are sure that the person who edited the video had no bad intentions, as a result of it we are unable to assess the overall situation in which these events are set with any degree of clarity. We simply must take the editors word for it, which is never a good starting point. But, from what we can see, we see the following:
(i)a cluster of uniformed police
(ii) some plainclothes police moving away from the camera on the left-hand side of the street, behind the cluster of uniformed police and towards (presumably) the front of the crowd.
(iii) 2 plainclothes police moving into the crowd, on the right-hand side of the cluster of uniformed police, in roughly the same direction as the police in point (ii). They barge their way into the crowd, with some unfortunate lad getting a bit of a 'roughing up' at first. An officer goes over to have a look, and the plainclothes cop flashes a warrant card. Unsuprisingly, the uniformed officer becomes disinterested. We then see nothing more. It's reasonable to assume they continued barging their way through the crowd to get to the front.
(iv) Fast forward to the front of the demo, where we see a few other plainclothes join the ones identified earlier, on the other side of police lines. Then we see a young man getting brutally snatched and detained by a mob of cops.
(v) The editor claims that, at this point, the crowd become angry. However, no disorder occurs. We are also told at an earlier point in the video that people begin to point the plainclothes out and there is definitely some panicking and people screaming "agents provocateurs!".
FITwatch analysis:
Points (i)-(iv) are just a variation on a snatch squad. Whereas uniformed public order officers would plough their way though a crowd in a single, triangular formation, these plainclothes officers clearly have the advantage of being less identifiable, so they can split up without risking their safety too much. If we accept point (v), then we accept that the crowd is much slower to respond to a plainclothes snatch squad than a uniformed one. Therefore, we must pose the question, did the police conduct the snatch squad in plainclothes because they thought it would be more provocative or less provocative? Would we have seen a greater response from the crowd had they been uniformed? Would they have made it all the way to the other side of the crowd with such impunity had they been uniformed? Or, conversely, if they were there to provoke disorder, why did they not succeed?
It is comforting for us to resort to the popular mythology and terminology of protest when we are frightened or disorientated by police tactics. But we must think about the bigger picture when responding to such events. With more sober reflection upon the facts, we find ourselves empowered by our new knowledge. The Police are beginning to implement a colossal shift in their tactics on street level, departing with well over a decade of orthodoxy in public order policing. Just as, one year ago, the demonstration at Millbank brought to an end almost one decade of stagnation in radical protest movements. It is now the police who are lagging behind us. It is now the police who have a new, uncertain approach. It has taken them a year to respond to our growing movement - a movement that has been so effective and so hard to police because of its diversity of tactics, its solidarity and its likeness to the "many headed hydra": they cut off one of the hydra's heads, and two more grow back in it's place. We could respond with entirely new tactics tomorrow, if we wanted to.
But a note of caution. If we proceed to invoke the activist bogeyman, the "agents provocateurs", with no real evidence we could lose all of this. Although FITwatch acknowledge that police attacks are often provocative by default, we think it is unhelpful to label them a deliberate provocation. When the police attack us, it is because they want to regain control of us, not because they need an excuse to exert further control on us. People take action in many ways to defend themselves against police attacks, from linking arms, running away, filming them, challenging them verbally or, in some cases, fighting back to protect themselves and others. If we accept that the state brutalises us, just to provoke us, just to brutalise us further then we are essentially accepting a constant cycle of brutalisation. We are accepting the inevitability of our repression on the streets. Thus, we are accepting the futility of fighting for the world we want to live in. We are eliminating our collective agency in a time of mass social upheaval. We are essentially saying that when we resist, things will only get worse, rather than better - and that those who resist are simply mindless pawns in a game where the state has total control.
Such talk is as dangerous as it is incorrect. If the state are employing these tactics for any deeper psychological purpose, it will be this one. And we can fight back NOW - by refusing to perpetuate our own division, demoralisation and destruction. Yes, the state is going to get nasty. But they are doing so because they want to destroy our movement, not provoke it into being even more ferocious. We have the power, they are on the backfoot, WE CAN WIN!
Solidarity, FITwatch Crew.
Plainclothes cops on education demo
These are a selection of the plainclothes cops spotted on the education demo on 9th November. Fitwatchers witnessed the violent arrest or one protester and followed the officers. Other photos have come from various sources.
REMEMBER THESE FACES! THESE COPS MUST NOT BE ALLOWED ON OUR PROTESTS AGAIN!
Fitwatch will be producing handy printable spotter cards of these officers for use on the streets.
Don’t be intimidated! See you on the streets!
On the eve of the mass education/sparks/cabbies protest on 9th November, it is clear the state are trying to intimidate us.
From the news today that the police have written to protesters arrested at previous demonstrations warning them off protesting (see picture), to the “total policing” of the last couple of weeks witnessed at the squatting demo and deaths in custody march (amongst others), the message is clear; attempt to protest and the state will clamp down, act violently, and make arbitrary arrests. And, if you’re unlucky enough to get caught, the courts are making sure long deterrent sentences are passed, regardless of how insignificant the individual action, in attempt to scare us away from future protest.
However, whilst even seasoned activists have admitted to being a little scared at the current state of policing, it’s not all doom and gloom, and we mustn’t be tricked into feeling intimidated. It’s nearly the anniversary of the Met’s attempt to silence Fitwatch for giving common sense advice to the Millbank protesters. This is still recommended reading, as is this Fitwatch call to action.
Above all, we should be applying the lessons we have learnt on the streets over the last year. When we don’t just ‘walk on by’, and act in solidarity with each other, we are stronger; when we act as fast mobile blocs, we are more effective and harder to contain; when we sit down or put our hands in the air, we are fodder for baton strikes and kettling; when we refuse to play the divide and rule game and condemn fellow protesters, we are more threatening.
And finally, and perhaps most importantly, when we mask up, and make no comment to police questioning, we are harder to convict and lock up.
See you on the streets!
Armed police raid Kurdish tent at OccupyLSX
Last night, the Kurdish tent at the OccupyLSX camp was raided by armed police following an alleged tip off of a gun being present. They searched the tent for over half an hour unsurprisingly finding nothing.
The Kurdish community has long been criminalised, and labelled as terrorists for their attempts to oppose and draw attention to the repression they face in Turkey, and this is another attempt to frighten and intimidate the Kurdish community coming just a month after the Halkevi Turkish and Kurdish Community Centre in Hackney was raided. However, given the Kurdish community is used to standing up to thugs with guns they are not easily intimidated.
However, the fact armed police were sent to raid the tent of Kurds supporting OccupyLSX is extremely worrying, and must be opposed. To the more cynically minded this could be seen as an attempt to split support for and amongst protesters, and we hope the Kurdish protesters are receiving full support and solidarity from those at OccupyLSX.
Don’t just walk on by!
Anonymous fitwatcher at DSEi protests
It's getting to that time of year...the students are back, the weather is getting colder (so you won't be removing your "seasonally appropriate" scarf and hood when the cops tell you to!) and the political climate is already starting to get considerably hotter.
Since this time last year, we've had dissent articulated in many different ways. From the regular store occupations of UK UNCUT, the university occupations, squatted freeschools and militant demonstrations of the student movement, the spectacular defiance of March 26th, several wildcat strikes in the cleaning and building trades as well as the urban uprisings in August.
This winter, there is every reason and every opportunity to get out on the streets and fight for the world that you want to live in, with whatever tactics suit you best.
But none of us can do this alone. We rely on each other for support and solidarity in the face of a common enemy: the repressive policing of our demonstrations.
If you are out at the ongoing Occupy the Stock Exchange, the Education Demonstration on November 9th or taking part in strike action on November 30th keep an eye out for these tactics...
* Stop & Search:
You are not required to give your name and address under any stop and search power. If you see someone being stopped, ask them if they are okay. Try filming the cops doing the search if the person being searched consents to it. Witness the search. Remind them they do not have to give details. Take the cops shoulder numbers. MOST IMPORTANTLY: Tweet it. Facebook it. Use whatever means you can to let your fellow demonstrators know WHERE and WHEN it is happening.
* Arrest for Breach of the Peace:
Breach of the Peace is not a recordable offence. This means they do NOT have the power to demand your NAME, ADDRESS, DNA OR FINGERPRINTS. They are using this power to gather intelligence on people and they will keep doing it until people wise up and refuse to give them what they're looking for. Again, communicate this.
* FIT:
You know what we're going to say. DON'T PUT UP WITH IT. End of! Be brave. Legally speaking, you do not have to comply with overt surveillance. However, if you block their cameras from taking anyone else's image, it may constitute an obstruction. However, the more people that do this with determination, the less likely arrest is. FIT are there to intimidate people into being 'orderly'. If they feel their presence may cause 'disorder', they will leave. Once again, it is essential that you use all means at your disposal to communicate WHEN and WHERE FIT are around. Take photos. Give 'em hell!
* Mask Up:
Wear as many things as you can to defend your anonymity from the prying eyes of the surveillance state. They need to know nothing about us other than that we oppose them. If a s.60(a)(a) is in place, the police have the power to ASK YOU to remove your face coverings under threat of arrest if you don't. If they pull it off your face, that is an assault.
Case law also dictates that it is NOT a criminal offence, under s60, to keep face coverings on if they are seasonally appropriate attire. That is, it is cold and you're wearing a scarf and a hood etc. Whilst this little nugget of information will not stop you from getting arrested if they get their hands on you, it will likely win your court case.
It might seem like alot, but if you can familiarise yourself with this information, you will be alot safer, more confident and more assertive on demonstrations. We are also more use to each other when we are well informed. We are better placed to act in solidarity when we know what we're doing. This is what makes us strong.
If you apply this knowledge out there on the streets, you will be taking direct action against the surveillance state. And we all know direct action gets satisfaction.
Good luck, see you on the streets!
Solidarity with Copwatch, France
Fitwatch is giving full solidarity to Copwatch in France who have been threatened with closure by the French authorities for publishing photos of cops known for violence or links to the far right.
The Interior Ministry has filed a case against them which has ordered six French internet providers - Free, France Telecom, SFR, Bouygues Telecom, Numericable et Darty Telecom to block the site, although it is still available using Tor.
In France, there are offences of 'outrage', involving insulting a public servant with supposedly unfounded accusations (eg; calling a cop a fascist to their face) and a law against publishing a public servant's photo without their
permission.
Copwatch are continuing to publish photos of cops accused of brutality and fascism, and are refusing to be silenced, and we send our solidarity in their fight against repression.
Disrupt the FIT at DSEi!
It's that time again. DSEi, Defence Systems Equipment International, the world's largest arms fair, is returning to ExCeL, and Disarm DSEi, alongside others in the Stop the Arms Fair Coalition will be trying to stop them. 13th September has been announced as the main day of action, with Disarm DSEi calling for people to stop the arms dealers in their tracks by blockading the DLR from 10am at Custom House station. Actions will be continuing throughout the week, including at the arms dealers dinner on Thursday.
Policing is likely to be repressive, and previous protests have been marred by police violence and FIT harassment. Whilst two years ago, protesters had the novelty of actually being allowed to voice their opposition, it is unlikely the MET will allow this to happen again.
Fitwatch has a long history with Disarm DSEi, with the first ever Fitwatch action occurring outside a Disarm meeting, and this is a call to continue this resistance.
Frustrate the FIT at every opportunity. Take banners and block their cameras; prevent their free movement through the protest; take action if you see someone being harassed; take their photos and numbers and send them to Fitwatch.
And, as usual, mask up, protect your anonymity (take spare masks for those who might forget), don't give details if stopped and searched and remember NO COMMENT if arrested. Show solidarity with other protesters and show we will fight back and refuse to tolerate any repressive policing.
‘Intelligence on the cheap’? Only if you don’t ask questions.
According to an Evening Standard article on Friday, those poor detectives at NPOIU are providing 'intelligence on the cheap', having to buy heaters for their freezing offices and living off Mcdonalds and Burger King.
However, like the majority of Evening Standard articles, the facts and figures only make sense if you don’t start asking questions. Firstly, it is difficult to tell which part of the NPIOU these figures are based on, or where the figures came from in the first place. Whilst it would be lovely to think they had emerged as part of an open and accountable police force, the piece reads far more as a drip fed police story served into the unquestioning hungry mouth of an Evening Standard hack.
Given there are no obvious figures for undercover work – regular accommodation, vehicles etc., it seems likely, although impossible to say for sure, that these figures are based on uniformed operations, and keeping, amongst others, the above pictured bunch of miscreants employed.
The figures themselves also do not stand up to scrutiny. The 154 hotel visits average at £201 per night, meals average at £13.50, flights (mostly domestic, and very questionable as to their necessity) at £150.95, and train journeys at £67.57. And whilst there are claims for 125 receipts for the M6 toll, no mention is made of how much the mileage of all these excursions have cost the tax payer. This is not doing things on the cheap by any stretch of the imagination.
More importantly, we need to look at why this money is being spent. Close to £100k worth of expenses are listed in the Standard article, which are only a very small part of the operational costs. This money is being spent on activities such as sending Ian Caswell to Plymouth to spy on those nefarious domestic extremists in Trident Ploughshares (did this involve one of the flights? A night in a hotel?), and monitoring gatherings such as Earth First.
Bringing NPOIU under the control of the Met has not legitimatised it and every penny spent on the unit is a penny too much. This is still a shadowy organisation happy to waste vast amounts of public money spying on protesters, and it must be disbanded.
Avon and Somerset police repress local paper
On the afternoon of august 17th, police raided a house in central Bristol where an editor of local newspaper The Autonomist lives. Riot police kicked down the door of the property without warning, detained the inhabitants for two hours, and seized articles relating to the production of The Autonomist. Delighted journalists from the Evening Post swarmed around outside, trying to photograph the detainees and remaining in contact with an officer inside by telephone at all times.
The grudgingly-produced warrant for the raid attempts to link the occupants to recent disorder (as did a frankly libellous sign erected outside by the police). It authorises the seizure of "rocks (may by having glass samples upon)" and "white paint", and refers repeatedly to "domestic extremisim [sic]". The list rounded out with such incriminating articles as "pedal cycles", "clothing", and "literature". Several other items not listed, such as passports, were also illegally seized.
The Autonomist is a popular but controversial local paper, produced by a small group of mainly homeless local people and distributed for free. They're dedicated to reporting unheard voices in the community, but this principled stance has caused problems in the past. Refusal to censor reports of the rising tide of sabotage attacks around Bristol, or to stick to police statements when reporting the riots in april, has earned the enmity of the police.
Collective member Lucy Parsons says "The seizure of phones, computers, and paperwork relating to the production of The Autonomist just as we start to compile the september edition is a clear, worrying, and damaging attack on journalistic independence. The demonisation of those who report the news as "domestic extremists", and the willingness to use violence to silence them, does not fill us with confidence in the police or the future of liberty in this country. Regardless, we will continue to produce The Autonomist, using computers at the library if we have to, and you can expect the september issue at the turn of the month."
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Note to groups, etc - We've lost all of the event listing data. If you've got events on in sept/oct, contact us at BristolAutonomist@Gmail.com
Note from occupants of the house to people who know them - We've not been able to contact a lot of you due to our phones being taken. We're all ok at the moment, and please pass this message around.
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