Do the Police snoop?

[Chrisb]

I was just wondering if anyone has any experience of the Police intercepting post, emails, phone messages, phone calls? I dont have anything to hide other than my own personal life and my private affairs. I read alot recently about how the Police have the power to spy on you.

One very annoying thing happened to me my solictor sent the letter to the wrong number in my building and some of my neighbours have changed their attitude towards me recently. I put it down to them being moody at first but I think my letter may have been opened and resealed. I dont get invited to any of the neighbourhood watch/ Freeholders/ nosey idiots meetings which I know have been going on, maybe this might be why.

[utterlydestroyed]

Well, it is in the current news of police bugging an Mp.

Other people we know, felt our phone line had unusual crackles, clicks, etc.

The police did seize my computer (eventually having to return it after my businesses were effectively destroyed by them).

Paranoia, does tend to kick in a little (or a lot). My concern was/is always police blatant dishonesty in misrepresentation of information ( or more accrurately, their blatant f**king lies).

ie. We had a police officer state I lived alone with a teenage gay youth. The police officer neglected to mention I lived with my (then) adult gay partner, AND my mother, AND her two legal tenants, one of whom was the gay youth the copper referred too. (NB:- All residents of the house, including the gay youth were defence witness, intimidated, bullied, then IGNORED by police)

Hardly call that living alone, with five people all living in the same house!

ie. We had a police Inspector who put in writing (I have the letter) that someone who had screamed at me homophobic abuse in the streets (in front of a witness) and who had spread rumour I had HIV/AIDS, even mentioning it in her 'homophobically' motivated police statement (I do not have HIV & I had to get a letter from the GU Clinic to prove it), according to this Inspector, this was NOT harrasement of me!

ie. Do you know the film, 'The Birdcage', a 15 certificate, comedy with a gay theme starring Robin Williams. This film was shown to some of my student employees (all over 16yrs of age) on a rainy day (we could not work). Our local police said it was a porn film (as it was a gay film) which could be used for 'SEXUAL GROOMING'. Honest to God, rent it, view it, then work out HOW on God's green little planet it could EVER be suggested it was a porn film! It's a funny main stream comedy!

...and this is still tip of the police abuse iceberg!

When I say my local police force are 'homophobic scum', I really, really do mean it!

Police were dishonest, prejudicial, and failed to follow all sorts of guidelines, policy, law & Human Rights throughout, but No matter how nice, it is the 'spin' they put on perfectly legitimate, lawful, legal, behaviour, conduct, activities, lifestyle...so for God's sake don't mention 'woof' to the police. The coppers I know would imply, since you are clearly a homosexual sexual deviant (in police eyes, cos yer gay), then there is possibility of you being into beastiality...THAT'S the sort of offensive twist I mean!

I could give a l-o-n-g list of homophobically motivated twists the police put on the reality of the truth.

Chris...you say your local police are ok about gays, and you have nothing to hide other than your private & personal life. Where I live, my private & personal life being gay was the contrived evidence police tried to use against me! I had acted legally & lawfully, with witnesses & evidence within a lawful gay lifestyle....THAT was what the police were really trying to prosecute me for...being gay!

If I lived in, say, Brighton, the police officers would have been lynched for their homophobic stances, views, misrepresentation, lies, attitudes & practises, unfortunately my local force is renowned for its homophobia.

It was the constant slant, twist of truth, blatant misrepresentation of truth by corrupt and dishonest police officers clearly designed to play on peoples homophobic prejudices against gay persons I really found so utterly, utterly offensive...and still do!

Back on the topic...I WAS warned, by someone who knows, to be very careful with my rubbish, ie, what I put out for the bin man. This was as much about media as it was about police going through ones rubbish looking for anything, finances, membership, anything to put a twist.

[Chrisb]

Police

So what exactly has been done to the Police for this?

Im really shocked at the level of problems you have had over your allegation, dont you feel like moving though?

Im not sure if I am being spied upon, but when you are in this situation, paranoia is inevitable, my bins seem to be emptied more than ususal though, or maybe the local council has a new contractor in who likes doing it often!

I hope you get to put a line under it one day and that justice provails for you.

[utterlydestroyed]

Absoloutly NOTHING has been done about the catalogue of abuse by this homophobic police force,... NOTHING!

I did actually post the names of those police officers we identified (and numerous officers not identified by name, but by where they were) on a local gay website, to enable local other gay persons to know some of the police officers with whom we know serious concerns about their conduct & attitudes...it was as to be expected, of course removed, but not before a number of persons had noted the sheer number of police officers we could identify by name/badge number and those police by where they were at particular incidents.

The IPCC did make twenty two reccomendations against the police force, but it was a fuiasco, the police force is alas in my experience so corrupt, so homophobic it has made absoloutly no difference what-so-ever!

The IPCC (Independent Police Complaints Commission) only investigated (...and I use the word very, VERY lossely) a mere fraction of the complaints ...and there have been more made since!

But to what point...

The IPCC in my experience is completely and utterly ineffectual as a police watchdog over police abuses of power, misconduct, criminality, etc.. Their role is to 'gloss' over, go through the motions, to reasure the public...I'm not reassured! The IPCC experience actually ADDED to the abuse by police. Plus, the IPCC actually handed BACK most complaints to be, errr, buried by the internal police professional standards unit.

I'm not entirely alone in this as a senior gay police officer (in a different force) has recently spoken out about his concerns about the level of homophobia still prevelent within the police forces.

I have only posted a fraction of the dishonest police incedents personally experienced here on this site as it is not 'rape' allegation related, and I know some people do not take me seriously, but I truely mean it when I say, when I see a police officer these days, I empathise entirely with how I imagine a Jew might feel looking upon a Nazi ss.

Heres the tough bit. I actually accept the police do a difficult job and mistakes will occour, but it is the BLATANT dishonesty of police as an organisation to cover up those initial mistakes and then pile abuse on top of abuse to protect bad apples within the force. That is wrong!