StopWatch

Tories unveil plan for stop and search blitz in crime hotspots Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, announced the policy in a speech to the Conservative conference in Manchester this morning.

Trialling the return of sus laws, are we? Tory party policy proposals on stop and search policing seek to drag us backwards 40 years
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...

Firearms officer used excessive force in fatal shooting of unarmed man in London, misconduct hearing told Jermaine Baker, from Tottenham, killed during operation to stop plot to spring gang leader from prison in 2015

Jermaine Baker, 28, was fatally shot by an officer known only as W80, a Metropolitan police officer, in Wood Green on 11 December 2015. He was unarmed.

Now a police misconduct hearing has heard that the firearms officer used excessive force.

Firearms officer used excessive force in fatal shooting of unarmed man in London, misconduct hearing told Jermaine Baker, from Tottenham, killed during operation to stop plot to spring gang leader from prison in 2015

A firearms officer used excessive force when he shot dead 28-year-old Jermaine Baker in December 2015, a police misconduct hearing has been told www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Help Andrew & Aditi hold the Metropolitan Police to account Andrew Ashong, 44, is a London-based musician. Dr Aditi Jaganathan, 35, is an educator, writer and activist.

6 days left to support this fundraiser where a couple were targeted as suspected drug dealers by Met police officers #DrivingWhileBlack
www.crowdjustice.com/case/help-an...

thebristolcable.org/2024/09/list...

Habib Kadiri, executive director of StopWatch, discusses the significance of stop-and-search and how communities can push back. #WeCopWatch

📢Taser 10 has been authorised, which can also be used on children.
⚠️ Heavier barbs, higher velocity
⚠️ Requires skin penetration
📄 No Child Rights Impact Assessment

We're calling for immediate suspension of rollout until children’s rights are fully considered.
🔗 Read our statement: bit.ly/4pPx1Pp

Last night’s Panorama documentary exposed clear racism, misogyny, and a culture of impunity within the Met. This endangers the public and fundamentally undermines trust and policing by consent. [1/4]

Met plunged into crisis amid fresh claims of misogyny and racism Commissioner Mark Rowley says prejudice has ‘put down deep roots’ within force after BBC Panorama investigation

Calling for migrants to be shot. Dismissing rape complaints. Bragging about using excessive force.

The Met remains institutionally racist, sexist & unaccountable.

We need a police force that respects the communities it serves & works to keep us all safe.

September 2025: Riots, race, and contradictions Met chief: Facial recognition isn't for identifying violent racists, silly! It's just for fun things, like carnivals

September 2025 newsletter: Met chief defends choice not to use mass surveillance tech at a rally for racists, cites freedom of speech stopwatchuk.substack.com/p/september-...

💥 #FiLiA2025 session news 💥

POLICE SPIES OUT OF LIVES: STOP STATE-SPONSORED ABUSE OF WOMEN BY #SpyCops

Survivors of the undercover policing scandal in conversation about their fight for justice.

🎟️ filia.org.uk/tickets

@spiesoutoflives.bsky.social @samiraahmeduk.bsky.social

Doreen Lawrence calls for undercover police who spied on family to be named Mother of murdered teenager Stephen says officers who infiltrated political groups should be named at public inquiry

As Doreen Lawrence said of the #spycops: “They were doing the deception. Why should they be allowed to be anonymous while people like me had their faces all over the newspapers? These people were not innocent. They knew what they were doing.”

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015...

Predictive policing AI is on the rise − making it accountable to the public could curb its harmful effects AI that anticipates where crimes are likely to occur and who might commit them has a troubling track record. Democratic accountability could shine a light on the technology and how it’s used.

In 2021, four residents sued the county, resulting in a settlement where the sheriff's office acknowledged violations of rights. In the same police story, the Offender Management App violates human rights. #StopAutomatedRacism

theconversation.com/predictive-p...

Nine Met police suspended amid inquiry into claims of excessive force Watchdog says there are also allegations of discriminatory and misogynistic comments, centring on Charing Cross police station

In a surprise to nobody who has ever had dealings with Charing Cross Police Station, nine officers are suspended over allegations of excessive use of force and making discriminatory and sexist comments between August 2024 and January 2025 www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Nine Met police suspended amid inquiry into claims of excessive force Watchdog says there are also allegations of discriminatory and misogynistic comments, centring on Charing Cross police station

Nine Scotland Yard officers have been suspended after an investigation was launched into claims of excessive use of force and the making of discriminatory and misogynistic comments, centring on Charing Cross police station www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Statewatch is recruiting a new director! Could it be you? In the background are green halftone images of people holding placards that say "resist" and "people over power". swipe or click right for information about the role

About the role: Statewatch is looking for someone to build on our nearly 35-year legacy of exposing state power and informing dissent. In this role, you would lead a small staff, coordinate with a wide network of contributors, serve as a public face of our work, and ensure we remain bold, effective, and relevant. Working hours: 4 days per week Location: London or remote Annual salary: £40,180 Holidays: 22.4 days, plus public holidays. Swipe or click right for core tasks of this role

core tasks of the role: Day-to-day management of Statewatch. Maintaining and developing relationships with new and existing funders. Strategic monitoring, evaluation, planning and implementation of our work. Representing Statewatch in public forums. Identifying and initiating opportunities for cooperation with relevant entities or individuals. Supervising and advising staff and volunteers, and occasionally writing and editing to support their work. Recruiting new staff and volunteers. Maintaining up-to-date policies and procedures. Reporting to and supporting the Board of Trustees. Swipe or click right for information about you, if you are the right candidate

About you. We are looking for someone who brings ideas, experience, and a commitment to justice. We don’t expect that you have done this exact job before, and we welcome transferable skills. In this role, you will take on the responsibility of maintaining a small organisation; prioritising flexible working, clear expectations, collaborative decision-making and a friendly environment. Swipe or click right for what qualities we are looking for.

We are hiring a new Executive Director! Could it be you?

If so, please apply by 6 October! If not, please share widely.

Role description and application portal here:
buff.ly/Slyukaw

Two Metropolitan Police officers stand in front of a facial recognition van in Whitechapel, which has a camera on a tripod in front of it

The side of a Metropolitan Police van with the words "live facial recognition in operation" on the side, in Whitechapel, east London

The Metropolitan Police have set up their live facial recognition van - a technology that is completely unregulated and prone to racial bias - in the midst of the Bangladeshi community in Whitechapel in east London @bigbrotherwatch.bsky.social

August 2025: Racial recognition Police given backing to rapidly expand the use of mass surveillance tech without the need for a public (or even parliamentary) debate. Nothing to see here, it'll be fine

August 2025 newsletter: Racial recognition
Face-scanning technology used at Black cultural event cements a new vector of racialised overpolicing
open.substack.com/pub/stopwatc...

Following this year's Notting Hill carnival, this blog post looks at the proliferation of the algorithmic technologies and their impact on the policing of marginalised communities
www.stop-watch.org/news-opinion...

Less than three in five people in Surrey think police does "excellent or good job" Less than three in five people in Surrey think the local police does "an excellent or good job", a new survey suggests.

6. 👮‍♀️ Just 49% of people believe the police do "an excellent or good job", while satisfaction with how crime is handled fell to a new low. @stopwatchuk.bsky.social said "people increasingly sense that they do more harm than good"

📝 @claramargotin.bsky.social
www.farnhamherald.com/news/less-th...

NEW: Perceptions of Police

Just 49% of people in England and Wales believe the police does "an excellent or good job"

@stopwatchuk.bsky.social‬ said there is a "growing disillusionment with the police" and questioned whether the service is still "fit for purpose"

🔗: app.radarai.com

Police facial recognition vans feel 'totalitarian', young people say - BBC News Young people say they have concerns about the technology, but that it could make people feel safer.

I agree with Mia!

"Mia Kaivanto, 18, raised concerns about data privacy. She said: "More surveillance isn't necessarily equivalent to more efficient arrests.""

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

July 2025: What does crime smell like? Police chiefs claim the smell of cannabis makes THEM feel unsafe... even more so than those who have been abused by their officers

stopwatchuk.substack.com/p/july-2025-...
Police chiefs feel more endangered by the smell of cannabis than by incidents involving officer misconduct. This raises questions about priorities and safety perceptions.#PublicSafety

Facial recognition cameras too racially biased to use at Notting Hill carnival, say campaigners Exclusive: Letter to the Met says technology ‘unfairly targets community that carnival exists to celebrate’ The Met commissioner should scrap plans to deploy live facial recognition (LFR) at next weekend’s Notting Hill carnival because the technology is riven with “racial bias” and subject to a legal challenge, 11 civil liberty and anti-racist groups have demanded. A letter sent to Mark Rowley warns that use of instant face-matching cameras at an event that celebrates the African-Caribbean community “will only exacerbate concerns about abuses of state power and racial discrimination within your force”. Continue reading...

Facial recognition cameras too racially biased to use at Notting Hill carnival, say campaigners

Government expands police use of live facial recognition vans The Home Office says the technology helps locate suspects but civil liberties groups warn of heightened surveillance.

🚨🚨🚨

We don't need more facial recognition vans on our streets

We NEED legislation to protect us all from this unregulated tech

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

As public concern grows over the recent proscription of Palestine Action, @katiemcfadden.bsky.social joins Peter Caldwell on Talk TV to outline practical steps for protestors and defends the principle of dissent at the heart of democracy. 1/4

#PalestineAction #RightToProtest #CivilDisobedience

Thames Valley Police staff sacked 39 for sexual misconduct Thames Valley Police says the report is

A total of 39 Thames Valley police officers and staff have been sacked after sexual misconduct was proven against them over recent years. A report said said 321 allegations were made between April 2020 and the end of June, with 48% classed as having a "case to answer" www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

There's still time to sign up!
www.greenandblackcross.org/events

'Facial recognition tech mistook me for wanted man' Shaun Thompson is challenging the Met Police's use of live facial recognition technology.

Shaun Thompson, who is bringing a High Court challenge against the Metropolitan Police after live facial recognition technology wrongly identified him as a suspect, has described it as "stop and search on steroids" and called for structural change

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

👁️ Technology that is capable of tracking and identifying any one of us MUST have laws governing it

That's why it's concerning that the Met police are more than DOUBLING their use of facial recognition tech

Join our campaign against this tech: action.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/page/167674/...