security

"Only for show" Baghdad checkpoints to blame for bombings

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:37:26 +0100

The Ministry of Justice building. Image author wishes to remain anonymous.

Sunday's double suicide bombing in Baghdad took place in what was considered the city's safest area barring the "Green Zone". As the death toll soars to over 150, the people of Baghdad are left wondering just how the attackers could get through the city's countless checkpoints.

The attack is the worst the Iraqi capital has seen since April 2007, and comes just months after the targeted road reopened to public traffic. At least 25 staff members of the Baghdad Provincial Council, which runs the city, were killed in the bombing.

Two days after the attack al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the bloodshed, saying they wanted to punish what they call "the Ministry of Injustice and Oppression". The government however, blames members of Saddam Hussein's outlawed party, Baath. Today (October 29), dozens of security force members who were on shift over the weekend, including 11 officers and 15 commanders of connected checkpoints, were arrested over the attacks.

The attack is suspected as a first attempt from opposition militants to destabilise Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government in the run up to January's parliamentary election.

Russia to launch nationwide citizens militia

Sophie Team Observers — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:30:28 +0200

Nashi volunteers patrolling with a policeman. © Nashi

The Russian government is planning to allow pro-Kremlin volunteers to set up a nationwide youth militia by recruiting 100,000 destitute 17- to 25-year-olds to patrol the streets in return for food and shelter.

The news comes just months after a similar initiative was set up in Italy. Is Europe seeing a return to citizen policing?

If approved by the government, the plans would see the Dobrovolnye Molodezhnye Druzhiny (DMD), or All-Russian Association of Voluntary, in action across the country by December this year.

Behind the proposed militia is the Nashi, a pro-Kremlin youth movement which has already been criticised by liberals for recruiting skinheads to "patrol" opposition marches.

Set up in 2005, the movement is considered an initiative by President Vladimir Putin and it remains faithful to the current prime minister. On 3 August, they announced their proposal to the government to nationalise youth patrols.

The group already supervises some youth patrols in the country, but the movement is not widespread. Branches are largely disorganized, funded by churches or local businesses and without any authority. Unarmed, they are unable to arrest people.

The law proposed by the Nashi would allow volunteers to carry Tasers and give them the power to stop and search people. The groups would be directly funded by the government and work in collaboration with the regional police. The State Duma, the lower house of parliament, will vote on the law in October.

Why Brasilia residents surround their homes with 8,000 volts of electricity

Sophie Team Observers — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 12:32:43 +0200

Brazil gets a bad rap when it comes to violent crime. Until recently however, the capital city of Brasilia had managed to keep up a decent reputation. Not anymore. One of our Observers in the city says the proof is in the security; electric fences around homes, private surveillance systems.... Brasilia's wealthy residents are clearly not taking any chances.

Neo-fascists want to patrol Italy’s streets

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:55:39 +0200

A neo-fascist group has been disqualified from patrolling the Italian streets after showcasing their uniform — strikingly similar to that of Benito Mussolini's Black Shirts — at a press conference on Saturday.

The Italian National Guards was one of the groups which planned to take up the Italian authorities' offer of patrolling the streets in order to lessen crime. The proposed legislation, which is currently in its final stages of parliament, would allow local authorities to authorise civilian groups to patrol the streets. The volunteers would not be armed and could do little more than alert the police to suspected activity. But since the Italian National Guards turned up belted and booted with eagle-emblazoned headgear and Red Sun arm bands, the initiative has come under fire, both in Italy and abroad.

Our Observer Alberto Celani alerted us to this story.

And if Hamas rockets were to reach Tel Aviv?

Sophie Team Observers — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 15:13:28 +0100

After 22 days of war, 1,300 Palestinian and 14 Israeli deaths, Israel and Hamas have agreed, on either side, to a ceasefire. Was so much bloodshed necessary to end the hostilities? For two Sderot students at least, the rockets were becoming insufferable, and it was only a matter of time before Hamas Qassams would be landing in Tel Aviv.

As part of their studies at Sapir University near Sderot, Yatir Keren and Ron Rochman created an artistic project with the aim of illustrating the daily lives of those living under target of Hamas rockets in southern Israel. The narrative behind the project - entitled 'Distance Is Only a Matter of Time': a rocket launched from Gaza reaches Tel Aviv.

The vending machine that fights crime

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:28:57 +0200

A new generation of vending machines is out in Japan. Fitted with a direct line to the police and CCTV, the flash machines don't just serve coke, but combat crime at the same time. Not such a good idea, according to one of our Observers in the country.

The Help Vending Machine, introduced on Friday, is the product of a collaboration between Coca-Cola and the Aichi district police. The first model was installed in a park in Toyohashi, a town 250km south of Nagoya, which decided to pilot the hybrid system after a relapse in vandalism since August. As soon as someone approaches the machine, the surveillance camera turns on and starts recording. The distributor is also equipped with a telephone, programmed to automatically call the emergency services number, 110. If someone gets into trouble, they only have to open a window on the front of the machine to call for help.

The police insisted that the device would dissuade potential offenders and push passers-by to condemn suspect activities. But soon after, the machine itself became a victim of vandalism. On October 12th, somebody ripped off the not-so-all-seeing camera and spray painted the message "surveillance society" onto the side of the distributor.

Terrorists training in the Canadian wilderness

Team Observers — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:02:38 +0200

A video that will be used as evidence against a group of alleged Islamic extremist terrorists has emerged on the internet just before one of the accused is to stand trial for Canada's first ever terror plot. But the footage was shot on a weekend camp organised by an informant paid by Canada's security services - a detail largely overlooked by the Canadian media.

Hailed as "key evidence" by the Canadian press, the video shows a small group of youths hiking, using a rifle and play fighting in the woods in Ontario. It is being used as proof that the "Toronto 18", of which some were allegedly in the video, were training for planned "large-scale attacks" in Ontario. Eleven members of the group face trial this autumn for alleged involvement in the planned attacks.

The group was arrested during counter-terrorism raids in June 2006. They were accused of planning to attack, amongst others, the Canadian Parliament and The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) headquarters with truck bombs, take hostages, and behead the Prime Minister and other politicians.

Their cases are based on evidence against them largely collected by two CSIS informants, who were paid C$300,000 (€200,000) and C$4 million (€2.6m) respectively for their work. The former is Mubin Shaikh, a Muslim, who organised the "terrorist training" weekend camp shown in the video. Known in Canada for his outspoken attitude and a problematic drug addiction, Mubin Shaikh caused controversy by admitting that the group was not aware of the "terror plot" that lay behind the "winter weekend" camp, as the participants refer to it. When FRANCE 24 tried to contact the CSIS to confirm these details, they told us they were unable to comment.

Since the start of the case, charges against seven of those originally arrested have been stayed. Those released say they were tortured and abused in prison, with some left in solitary confinement for up to 17 months.

Does France really need CCTV?

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 10:53:47 +0200

One of grafitti artist Banksy's illustrated jabs at the CCTV system in Marble Arch, London. Photo: "improbulus" on Flickr.

Video surveillance cameras go relatively unnoticed in London, despite it being the most surveyed city in the world. In France however, where plans to increase their numbers by threefold have just been announced, the extra eye-spies will not go up without a fight.

Following a meeting with the French National Commission of Video Surveillance, the Minister of the Interior confirmed plans to advance a "citizen protection model for France". Announcing an increase from 20,000 cameras to 60,000 by the end of 2010, Michelle Alliot-Marie has caused outrage, with critics rallying against what they call a "useless" scheme that comes with a "phenomenal" cost.

Taser, a non-lethal weapon?

Julien — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 14:56:50 +0100

Canada's federal police watchdog requested yesterday that authorities "immediately restrict" the use of Taser guns (electronic control devices). The news has refuelled debate over the use of the "non-lethal" weapon, which has been blamed for the death of a Polish immigrant killed in Vancouver airport on 14 October. The incident was filmed by a passenger who put the images online a few weeks later. Robert Dziekanski, the man we see in the video, died a few minutes after being shocked with a Taser. We have commentary from an Amnesty International representative and from Tom Smith, co-founder of Taser.

Video filmed by a airport passenger on 14 October 2007.

Robert Dziekanski, 40, had arranged to meet his mother when he got off the plane, the BBC reported. But he couldn't find her and waited for 10 hours in the baggage area. It was the first time that he had travelled by plane. These elements have been considered as reasons for his panicked behaviour when he was confronted by the police.