He says there is an increasingly blurred line between the police and the military and that key areas such as counter-terrorism, anti-protest policing, border control and gang policing have adopted a war mentality. The report by the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) and the Network for Police Oversight (Netpol) describes the over-militarization of UK police services as “deeply worrying”. The increased use of high-tech surveillance tools such as phone data extraction technology, mobile fingerprint scanners and live facial recognition technology are among the techniques the report expresses concern about. People of color are identified as being at the highest risk of being targeted. While not all of these techniques are new, the report – A Very British Problem: The Evolution of Britain’s Militarized Policing Industrial Complex – charts their increasing use in recent years and says the technology is “significantly subverting power in favor of the state” . It states: “Black activists are disproportionately subject to excessive police force. Armed counter-terrorism units, immigration enforcement and the UK Border Force draw directly from the military handbook. The police are increasingly acting like border guards working with the Home Office to carry out immigration control.’ He expresses concern that surveillance technology is being developed in the absence of adequate legislative or parliamentary oversight. While many organizations are involved in the development of technologies such as artificial intelligence and facial recognition, there is no single body guiding the adoption of these new technologies. Key areas of concern include:
Portable fingerprint scanners, now used by many police forces and linked to the Home Office’s immigration and asylum biometric system, which holds the fingerprints of non-British citizens who have entered the country. The Home Office’s biometrics programme, a new digital system that enables the seamless sharing of biometric and other data between police, immigration enforcement and other government agencies. Use of military-grade drones to patrol the English Channel to monitor asylum seekers crossing in small boats. A gang matrix depicting people who are believed to be members of gangs, whether or not they have committed a crime. A 2016 matrix survey by Amnesty International found that 87% of those who took part in it were from BAME backgrounds.
The report’s author, Dr Keren Weitzberg, said: “Police are increasingly relying on high-tech, data-driven and military technology to monitor the British population.” Sam Perlo-Freeman, research co-ordinator at CAAT, said: “Policing in the UK is steadily becoming more repressive, but it is not just about what the UK does to its citizens. The UK trains foreign police and security services, especially around border control.’ Emily Apple, communications co-ordinator at Netpol, said: “This report dispels the myth that the police in the UK rule, or have ever ruled, by consensus. It establishes what those from marginalized communities know all too well, that institutionalized and structural racism leads to over-policing, excessive violence and disproportionate criminalization. With the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, we are more likely to see increased criminalization and monitoring of protesters. It’s up to all of us to watch what the police are doing and stand up for our right to dissent.” The Home Office has been approached for comment.
