"A handful of powerful businessmen pushed New York City Mayor Eric Adams to use police to crack down on pro-Palestinian student protesters at #Columbia University, donating to the politician and offering to pay for private investigators to help break up the demonstrations, based on leaked WhatsApp conversations"
This reminds us that #policing - in #SettlerColonial societies like Canada - has always been a central force for dispossession, displacement & containment.
This scares the hell out of me. Not only are they going to use our photos for a purpose we never consented to, but I would expect the misidentification rate for Black people to be far higher than whatever is claimed. As someone who has been stopped by the police before due to a ridiculous case of mistaken identity, I can only imagine trying to talk them out of an arrest when they say "computer says this is you".
Today the government’s anti-democratic mission is seen clearly. As well as suppressing dissent through draconian anti-protest laws, the Met used live facial recognition surveillance during the coronation.
The American College of Emergency Physicians has withdrawn its approval of a 2009 paper on “excited delirium,” a document that describes a “potentially life-threatening” condition that results in unusual strength, pain tolerance and bizarre behavior. Critics say police have used the paper to justify excessive force in cases where a suspect dies in custody, and the American Medical Association has rejected it as a diagnosis.
"police raids do not serve a university’s own interests in maintaining peace and civility on campus. The 1960s made that crystal clear. Bringing law enforcement to campus invariably intensifies protests, fuels acrimony, and creates a climate of distrust. Police involvement doesn’t dampen protests; it accelerates them, often with devastating consequences"
ORG’s investigation into the Prevent duty has uncovered shocking widespread data sharing due to finding a poorly redacted FOI, as revealed in The Observer today.
Our report into the Prevent programme (UK) uncovered an FOI showing that the data of people who are referred to the programme is being shared more widely than previously known.
This includes with airports, ports and immigration services with little transparency or scrutiny.
"The way to fight #crime is not with stops based on hunches and pretext, but by investing proactively in communities and with #policing targeted at people for whom there is suspicion of serious criminal conduct.
On the other hand, there is a real #trafficSafety problem in this country… #transportation officials should focus their efforts... better lighting… #protectedBikeLanes & pedestrian crossings; self-ticketing cars with speed limiters, … [#transit]" 🚎 🚲
In March we sent an open letter to Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, to end discriminatory police practices following the case of the #Manchester10.
While the reply committed to a review of Joint Enterprise, the application of digital evidence must be considered, as it's misused to created tenuous 'gang narratives'. This racialised construct is weaponised to draw flawed conclusions that entrenches racial injustice.
Policing has a new trend: pre-crime. A dangerous formula that acts on a 'susceptibility' to crime, not guilt from someone committing a crime.
The Met's Project Alpha trawls social media for drill and rap videos to criminalise young Black men under racialised 'gang narratives'. Using such music as 'indicators' of criminality reflects the racism present in the UK justice system.
Legal experts have called for the evidence collected by the special investigative office set up to investigate the Lawyer X scandal to be referred to an interstate prosecutor, saying lack of transparency could give rise to questions about perceived conflict of interest.
In an interview I just taped with Rashid Khalidi about #Columbia he said words to the effect of "this is the neoliberal dream of the university--no students, no professors, just administrators and cops on campus"
This is a very good piece by a colleague accusing university presidents of lying, in their own narrow self-interest, about what's happening on campuses. Their craven behavior barely protects them and makes everyone else far less safe. Including Muslim and Jewish students, faculty, and staff.
Legal experts call for Lawyer X evidence to be referred to an interstate prosecutor (www.abc.net.au)
Legal experts have called for the evidence collected by the special investigative office set up to investigate the Lawyer X scandal to be referred to an interstate prosecutor, saying lack of transparency could give rise to questions about perceived conflict of interest.