Always thought it would happen but was hoping that it wouldn\’t be in my lifetime.
Draconian police powers designed to deprive crime barons of luxury lifestyles are being extended to councils, quangos and agencies to use against the public, The Times has learnt.
The right to search homes, seize cash, freeze bank accounts and confiscate property will be given to town hall officials and civilian investigators employed by organisations as diverse as Royal Mail, the Rural Payments Agency and Transport for London.
The measure, being pushed through by Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, comes into force next week and will deploy some of the most powerful tools available to detectives against fare dodgers, families in arrears with council tax and other minor offenders.
The radical extension of the Proceeds of Crime Act, through a Statutory Instrument which is not debated by parliament, has been condemned by the chairman of the Police Federation. Paul McKeever said that he was shocked to learn that the decision to hand over “intrusive powers” to people who were not police was made without consultation or debate.
Bye bye liberty, it was nice knowing you.
If social services were prepared to take babies from innocent families for adoption in return for cash is there any chance that these powers won’t be widely abused?
“Paul McKeever said that he was shocked to learn that the decision to hand over “intrusive powers” to people who were not police was made without consultation or debate.”
The Police will soon be calling for more intrusive powers to maintain the heirarchy. Besides which any consultation and debate on the matter would not have involved us, the public.
The whole plan is loony – setting an arbitrary target for seizures. It will be gamed. Innocent people will be caught up in it. They are the easiest prey.
Two chances, actually.
Slim. And none.
Kill. Them. All.
Particularly of concern for this writer as Barclaycard has just, without the account holders permission, switched his credit card to an ´Oyster´card which gives him the ability to make ´contactless´payments on London Underground. A boon if you live mainly in France & wouldn´t go near that crime infested sewer for serious money. Presumably when some enterprising tealeaf clones my plastic, TFL´ll be able to clear out my UK current account.
F**k em. I´m clearing the rest of my money out of the UK & it ain´t coming back.
“Presumably when some enterprising tealeaf clones my plastic, TFL´ll be able to clear out my UK current account.”
Unlikely, given that it requires the cloning of a contactless RFID chip. Although it’s possible to do that with Oyster chips (with some effort), I doubt there’s much chance of doing that with the Barclaycard (the notable chip-and-PIN failures have been through PIN stealing).
Not that this undermines your points about the UK.
“Presumably when some enterprising tealeaf clones my plastic, TFL´ll be able to clear out my UK current account.”
Unlikely, given that it requires the cloning of a contactless RFID chip….
So it will be done by some enterprising tea-leaf who has gained access to the Credit Card company database of RFID chip data, then…..
Actually – it’s a doddle to clone contactless cards. You just walk close to someone while carrying a transmitter which talks to the card….
I’m glad it’s happening in my ‘lifetime’. I’m old. I want to live to see the beginning of the worst of it.
Heck, compared to death, this is entertainment.
All the brainwashed, vicious idiots getting the payback I could never hope to give them…..love it.
The marketing ploy called “the smart set” getting it in the neck. Trostsky’s headache to them all!