Saturday 31 October 2009

Nothing to Hide Nothing to Fear from the Police?

For those that trot out this little ditty every time the Police want extra powers, you should read this report.

Still pictures of actors in the movie "The Firm" somehow accidentally got mixed in with photos of genuine football hooligans wanted for questioning about football violence. Just how pictures of innocent people totally unrelated to the incident the Police want to investigate got anywhere near being mixed up with real hooligans isn't made clear, but one thing is for sure: it should never happen. Just what would have happened if any of the innocent guys HAD been arrested, or if they'd (understandably) been a bit reluctant to go to the station and something nasty had happened during the arrest doesn't bear thinking about.

Just another reason why the Police shouldn't have been given the massive, sweeping powers they have at the moment. They are human and fallible and can make mistakes. Its us the population at large that have to pick up the pieces after any wrongful arrest.

Those proponents of the DNA database should take this as a salutory warning before things go too far and someone gets hurt. The Police are fallible, database engines are fallible, DNA profiling is fallible.

Nothing to hide nothing to fear? I've never heard so much bollocks in so few words.

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