Next training Thursday Oct 4th 2007
Sep 25, 2007 Freedom of Information
I’ll be doing a day-long course at the National Union of Journalists on Thursday October 4th 2007. The course is open to anyone but space is limited so if you’d like to attend please book either on the NUJ’s training website or by phoning their office on 020 7843 3700.
The day runs from 10am [...]
Today’s police state news: drug testing in pubs
Sep 24, 2007 Law Enforcement
Soon I’ll need to create a new category to accommodate the plethora of stories about new draconian police powers. Today’s entry comes from the Oxford Mail which recounts a new police practice of forcefully drug testing people in pubs.
Police officers tested 150 revellers as they arrived at the pub in Sheep Street between 10.30pm [...]
More on drones
Sep 5, 2007 Law Enforcement
You can now check out the Secret Squirrel page for the detailed notes on my drone investigation.
Article: Flying spies
Sep 4, 2007 Articles, FOI in the news, Law Enforcement
I received an answer to my freedom of information request about the surveillance drone used at the V Festival. I’ll be posting the results of my investigation later today but in the meantime, here’s an article I wrote in today’s Times.
Don’t airily dismiss my protest at a spy in the sky
The Times, 4 Sept 2007
Two [...]
Under-10 crime revealed
Sep 3, 2007 FOI in the news, Law Enforcement
Greater transparency of official data means it is the public, rather than only politicians, who can decide what is interesting and worthy of study. A good example comes from this BBC News story.
Children under 10 suspected of 3,000 crimes
LONDON (Reuters) – Thousands of crimes went unpunished in England and Wales last year because the suspects [...]
New Government Departments
Sep 2, 2007 Book Updates, Central Government
A few updates to the book ‘Your Right to Know’ in light of changes introduced by Prime Minister Gordon Brown:
The Department for Children, Schools and Families takes over all pre-19 education responsibility from the Dept for Education and Skills. It is responsible for all aspects of policy affecting children and young people.
FOI webpage
The Department for [...]
