james holden

Apparently having two mobile phones now counts a suspicious behaviour, and people are being encouraged to report anyone they see with two phones to the police.

A new counter-terrorism poster campaign operating in London, West Yorkshire and other areas of the UK urges the public to rat on their fellow citizens for “odd” behaviour such as photographing CCTV cameras. The intent is to “let experienced officers” decide what action to take.

“Terrorists often need communications. They often collect and use many anonymous pay-as-you-go phones, as well as swapping SIM cards and handsets.” - Peter Clarke, Metropolitan Police

Photographers are also singled out, with the public being encouraged to report anything beyond the normal tourist snapping away. For example, there are many fascinating and detailed bridges in the world, but if you photograph them you risk being reported for photographing transport infrastructure.

At the weekend, I was participating in the OpenStreetMap project, which meant I was methodically walking the streets in my neighbourhood carrying a GPS. Of course, to the general public, it wasn’t immediately obvious what I was doing, and although nobody challenged me (indeed on what grounds could they), I got a few odd looks.

The call for the public to notify the authorities of any suspicious behavior so that the police can decide for themselves can only be counter-productive as it will surely result in a sludge of useless intelligence, in which any genuine causes for concern would be lost.

Met Police Press Release

Lady with mobiles image credit: bruceley at flickr