Monday, November 27, 2006

In Defence of Something or Other

Police want power to crack down on offensive demo chants and slogans

Police are to demand new powers to arrest protesters for causing offence through the words they chant and the slogans on their placards and even headbands.

The country's biggest force, the Metropolitan police, is to lobby the attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, because officers believe that large sections of the population have become increasingly politicised, and there is a growing sense that the current restrictions on demonstrations are too light.
Oh good grief!

This is probably the most worrying part:
The police want powers to tackle a "grey area" in the array of public order laws. At present, causing offence by itself is not a criminal offence.
The implication appears to be that the police are lobbying government to legislate to make "causing offence" a criminal activity. That's just wrong on so many levels.

And all this in the name of something or other. They tell us it's under attack. In that at least, they have a point.

Next week, the government is expected to launch a new anti-obesity campaign. The public information posters have a simple message:
Eat your way to a slimmer you with pies and cream buns!
What could possibly go wrong?

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

"officers believe that large sections of the population have become increasingly politicised"

I wonder how that could have happened.

officers believe that large sections of the population get angry when beaten with a stick

Anonymous said...

mmmm...So the police are worried about people becoming politicised.

Do you remember the days when the people used to worry about the police becoming politicised.

Through the looking glass in Blairland

neil craig said...

Election tallies suggest that large sections of the public are becoming increasingly disenchanted with politics, which I suggest is much more serious.