Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2001 10:28:19 -0500
To: <[log in to unmask]>
From: Ana Viseu <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: the uk profiles children



[The UK is implementing a new database program that will be used to
monitor=
=20
(i.e., keep under surveillance) children who MAY become criminals. The
idea=
=20
is to 'identify' children that exhibit criminal potential (for
example,=20
answer back to an adult) and then keep an eye on them (with the help
of=20
something similar to squads composed of police and community workers).
The=
=20
police acknowledges that the database will contain sensitive
information=20
and that many of these children "have noy yet and probably will not=20
actually drift into active criminality", but still thinks this is a
good=20
measure.

In practical terms what this means is that by the time they reach
their=20
voting age these citizens will have massive files stored in a
police=20
database. And since legislation in the UK regarding privacy is very
lax,=20
this is a dangerous measure... Ana]





http://www.wired.com/news/business/0%2C1367%2C48637%2C00.html

Keeping a Who's-Naughty List

By Julia Scheeres

Nov. 27, 2001

London police are planning to register children who exhibit
criminal=20
potential in an effort to prevent them from developing into
full-fledged=20
lawbreakers.

Kids who tag buildings with graffiti, skip school, or even talk back
to=20
adults run the risk of being entered into a database program that will
be=20
used to monitor their behavior as they grow up, according to police
sources.

Law enforcement officials say the measure is needed to combat
rampant=20
juvenile crime, but critics condemn it as an extreme form of police=
profiling.

The plan was unveiled earlier this month in a speech by Ian Blair,
London's=
=20
deputy police commissioner, to the Youth Justice Board, the
government=20
agency that supervises Great Britain's juvenile justice system.

Teachers, social workers, health care professionals, law enforcement
agents=
=20
and other authorities who have contact with troublemakers will
contribute=20
information to the database program, which will be rolled out in 11
London=
=20
boroughs before being implemented nationally, according to a copy of
the=20
speech. Special squads formed by police and community workers will=20
supervise the actions and behavior of children included in the
registry.

"With partners in those boroughs, we intend to create an
intelligence=20
nexus, which will hold sensitive information about large numbers of=20
children, many of whom have not yet and probably will not actually
drift=20
into active criminality. This is pretty revolutionary stuff," Blair
said.

The deputy police commissioner said the registry was needed to combat
a=20
jump in juvenile delinquency. While most crime indicators have dropped
in=20
Great Britain, street crimes committed by children have
skyrocketed,=20
according to government data. Between 50 and 75 percent of the
muggings=20
that occurred on London's streets in the first nine months of this
year=20
were perpetrated by minors, studies show.

Local authorities will use the database to identify underlying causes
of=20
children's bad behavior and recommend therapy or substance abuse
treatment=
=20
programs.

"In this process, we have every intention of using intensive
surveillance=20
and supervision programs," Blair said.

Asked for a comment on the program, a spokeswoman from the Youth
Justice=20
Board e-mailed the following statement to Wired News:

"The Youth Justice Board is supportive of the idea of increasing=20
information sharing in respect of young people at risk of becoming
involved=
=20
in criminality, and we will be joining with the Met Police to look at
ways=
=20
this can be achieved."

A Metropolitan Police spokesman refused to discuss further details of
the=20
plan, saying it was still in an exploratory stage.

Privacy concerns aren't expected to derail the effort. In his speech,
Blair=
=20
said that Section 115 of the country's Crime and Disorder Act, which
allows=
=20
for disclosure of private information to investigate crimes, may
override=20
the Data Protection Act, which regulates information-sharing among=20
government agencies.

But the director of Privacy International, Simon Davies, said the=20
registries were tantamount to police "profiling gone mad."

"I shudder to think of the action that could be taken by authorities
with=20
such a database," Davies said. "All I can see coming out of this is
greater=
=20
criminalization of children and heightened discrimination against
certain=20
racial groups."




[ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ]
Tudo vale a pena se a alma n=E3o =E9 pequena.
http://fcis.oise.utoronto.ca/~aviseu

http://privacy.openflows.org
[ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ]

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