Calm, almost too calm

A place to live: Are you suspicious about any tenants or guests?
To plan: Have you seen anyone pay an unusual amount of attention to security measures at any location>
Money: Individuals may set up bogus bank accounts, copy credit cards, return goods for large cash refunds.
Equipment: If you are a retailer, do you have any cause to be suspicious about anything being bought?

Sat, 13 May 2006

Community Safety Focus

My council put through our letter box a brochure titled 'Community Safety Focus'. This included a page on 'Terrorism' with sections such as:

Terrorist need:

A place to live: Are you suspicious about any tenants or guests?

To plan: Have you seen anyone pay an unusual amount of attention to security measures at any location>

Money: Individuals may set up bogus bank accounts, copy credit cards, return goods for large cash refunds.

Equipment: If you are a retailer, do you have any cause to be suspicious about anything being bought?

Common sense would have prevented such publication. Don't law abiding residents also need "a place to live"? Don't law abiding residents need to be aware of security measures to respect them? Don't law abiding residents ever return goods even for large cash refunds? Don't law abiding retailers sell legal goods and shouldn't be surprised to have people buy them?

Surely, by this description we - local residents and retailers - are all terrorist suspects and should be arrested?

I sent an email to the Council's Chief Executive about how such advice reinforces a climate of fear that will lead to further wrongful arrests of local residents.