{"id":506,"date":"2010-06-28T15:42:28","date_gmt":"2010-06-28T15:42:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/wp3\/?p=506"},"modified":"2010-06-28T15:42:28","modified_gmt":"2010-06-28T15:42:28","slug":"police-plans-to-spy-on-muslims-on-camera-put-on-hold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/06\/28\/506\/","title":{"rendered":"Police plans to spy on Muslims on camera put on hold"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"police-camera\"Local councillors in Birmingham remain adamant that a controversial project to track the movement of Muslims in four wards of the city be scrapped after being told that the installation of more than 200 CCTV cameras would be up on temporary hold to allow public consultations.<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Respect Councillor Salma Yacoob for Birmingham Sparkbrook, one of the wards where the cameras are due to be used, said it was \u201cnot enough\u201d that West Midlands Police were trying to reassure the communities after being forced to admit there had been no consultations. \u201cThe cameras have to be removed. It was a huge betrayal of trust by the police. They thought they would get away it without consulting the public,\u201d Yacoob told The Muslim News. \u201cThe installation could be illegal,\u201d she said. \u201cI am concerned about the whole operation not just the cameras. I am concerned that the community should be spied on in this way.\u201d
The outcry follows the disclosure that the scheme, codenamed Project Champion, which includes 40 cameras concealed in walls and trees, was paid for by a \u00a33 million grant from the Terrorism and Allied Matters Fund, after previously being presented as an attempt to combat antisocial behaviour, vehicle crime and drug dealing. It led to West Midlands police and Birmingham City Council issuing a joint apology for not being \u201cmore explicit\u201d and announced that the cameras would not be activated until after a retrospective public consultation.
Lib Dem Councillor Tanveer Choudhry, Chair of the Hall Green ward, told The Muslim News that there were heated exchanges and a lot of anger from residents about why Muslims were being targeted at two constituency meetings held a fortnight ago. The delay for consultations is a \u201cminor victory for the local communities because the police have now admitted that what they did was wrong,\u201d Choudhry said. But he insisted that the Council \u201cshould remove the cameras and we should have a public investigation.\u201d
The Councillor rejected the police argument that the Muslim-concentrated areas where the cameras have been installed, had high crime rates. \u201cStatistically this is not the case. Springfield has the lowest crime rate in Birmingham. It beggars belief what they are doing,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel we are being victimised and stigmatised. It seems the police authority are saying we are all terrorists by ring fencing predominantly Muslim areas. This is an attack on community cohesion. The police are telling the Muslim youth \u2018you are potential terrorists\u2019,\u201d he warned.
Yacoob was equally incensed. \u201cThey are treating Muslims as suspect community. We had refused cameras to be installed in our ward but it was totally rejected by other Councillors,\u201d she said. \u201cThe installation of cameras is divisive and intrusive. This is clear that the cameras were installed to spy on Muslims. It was abuse of authority.\u201d
Council minutes confirm that leading councillors were not aware of or involved in Project Champion, but the responsibility was given to the Safer Birmingham Partnership (SPB) that does not report all of its activity. The funding has remained under the management of West Midlands Police.
In its joint statement with the police and Council, the SPB said that it had heard \u201cboth positive and negative opinions\u201d about the project but that it is \u201cimportant that the facts surrounding the reasons for installing the cameras and the benefits they can bring are made clear.\u201d Although the Counter Terrorism Unit was responsible for identifying and securing central Government funds, and have overseen the technical aspects of the installation, \u201cthe camera sites were chosen on the basis of general crime data \u2013 not just counter terrorism intelligence,\u201d it said. While apologising for undermining public confidence in the police and Council, the statement argued that existing camera networks have brought benefits to public safety and remained confident the new sites will \u201cfurther reduce crime and anti-social behaviour at all levels.\u201d The Home Office refused to comment on what it called \u201cpolice operational activities.\u201d
Parliament is also being asked to denounce Project Champion as a \u201cgrave infringement of civil liberties\u201d in an Early Day Motion tabled by the local Labour MP Roger Godsiff. \u201cThis is seen as moving towards a surveillance society,\u201d Godsiff told The Muslim News. \u201cCameras are being used in heavy Muslim population areas paid for by the Home Office counter-terrorism,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is too much as it is only targeted at only one community.\u201d His motion to Parliament makes no demand for the monitoring to be abandoned only that \u201ccameras will not be activated until these consultations have taken place and the feelings of the local communities have been made known.\u201d
The surveillance of the movement of Muslims, including with Automatic Number Plate Reading (ANPR) capability, is believed to be the first of its kind in Britain. It is in addition to the Government\u2019s controversial Prevent Violent Extremism programme, which the Institute of Race Relations has already castigated as \u201cone of the most elaborate systems of surveillance ever seen in Britain.\u201d
Prevent, set up by the Home Office over two years ago, offers additional funding to work with community groups to effectively spy on all Muslims as potential terrorists.<\/p>\n

Source: The Muslim News<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Local councillors in Birmingham remain adamant that a controversial project to track the movement of Muslims in four wards of the city be scrapped after being told that the installation of more than 200 CCTV cameras would be up on temporary hold to allow public consultations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-c54-reports"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPolice plans to spy on Muslims on camera put on hold - SunniOnline<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/06\/28\/506\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Police plans to spy on Muslims on camera put on hold - SunniOnline\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Local councillors in Birmingham remain adamant that a controversial project to track the movement of Muslims in four wards of the city be scrapped after being told that the installation of more than 200 CCTV cameras would be up on temporary hold to allow public consultations.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/06\/28\/506\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SunniOnline\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-06-28T15:42:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"majed\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"majed\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/2010\\\/06\\\/28\\\/506\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/2010\\\/06\\\/28\\\/506\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"majed\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/26da0e970ff572e94f1b7d9009ab39be\"},\"headline\":\"Police plans to spy on Muslims on camera put on hold\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-06-28T15:42:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/2010\\\/06\\\/28\\\/506\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":866,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"Reports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/2010\\\/06\\\/28\\\/506\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/2010\\\/06\\\/28\\\/506\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/2010\\\/06\\\/28\\\/506\\\/\",\"name\":\"Police plans to spy on Muslims on camera put on hold - SunniOnline\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-06-28T15:42:28+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/26da0e970ff572e94f1b7d9009ab39be\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/2010\\\/06\\\/28\\\/506\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/2010\\\/06\\\/28\\\/506\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/2010\\\/06\\\/28\\\/506\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Police plans to spy on Muslims on camera put on hold\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/\",\"name\":\"SunniOnline\",\"description\":\"The Official Website of Sunni Community in Iran\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/26da0e970ff572e94f1b7d9009ab39be\",\"name\":\"majed\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d14a5567692b3eb9bd620c2cb94ec98fcf8d44e4ec418fc172b76b04163a7ee9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d14a5567692b3eb9bd620c2cb94ec98fcf8d44e4ec418fc172b76b04163a7ee9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d14a5567692b3eb9bd620c2cb94ec98fcf8d44e4ec418fc172b76b04163a7ee9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"majed\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/author\\\/majed\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Police plans to spy on Muslims on camera put on hold - SunniOnline","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/06\/28\/506\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Police plans to spy on Muslims on camera put on hold - SunniOnline","og_description":"Local councillors in Birmingham remain adamant that a controversial project to track the movement of Muslims in four wards of the city be scrapped after being told that the installation of more than 200 CCTV cameras would be up on temporary hold to allow public consultations.","og_url":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/06\/28\/506\/","og_site_name":"SunniOnline","article_published_time":"2010-06-28T15:42:28+00:00","author":"majed","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"majed","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/06\/28\/506\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/06\/28\/506\/"},"author":{"name":"majed","@id":"http:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/#\/schema\/person\/26da0e970ff572e94f1b7d9009ab39be"},"headline":"Police plans to spy on Muslims on camera put on hold","datePublished":"2010-06-28T15:42:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/06\/28\/506\/"},"wordCount":866,"commentCount":0,"articleSection":["Reports"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/06\/28\/506\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/06\/28\/506\/","url":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/06\/28\/506\/","name":"Police plans to spy on Muslims on camera put on hold - SunniOnline","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/#website"},"datePublished":"2010-06-28T15:42:28+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/#\/schema\/person\/26da0e970ff572e94f1b7d9009ab39be"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/06\/28\/506\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/06\/28\/506\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/06\/28\/506\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Police plans to spy on Muslims on camera put on hold"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/#website","url":"http:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/","name":"SunniOnline","description":"The Official Website of Sunni Community in Iran","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/#\/schema\/person\/26da0e970ff572e94f1b7d9009ab39be","name":"majed","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d14a5567692b3eb9bd620c2cb94ec98fcf8d44e4ec418fc172b76b04163a7ee9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d14a5567692b3eb9bd620c2cb94ec98fcf8d44e4ec418fc172b76b04163a7ee9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d14a5567692b3eb9bd620c2cb94ec98fcf8d44e4ec418fc172b76b04163a7ee9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"majed"},"url":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/author\/majed\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=506"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}