I’ve blogged a few times about the absurd lengths to which the government’s “tough on crime” rhetoric takes it, but now Helen Duffett on Lib Dem Voice has done an excellent job rounding up some of the most recent stories:
So far-fetched have been recent grounds for arrest, or for flagging yourself up as a terrorist suspect, that people keep asking me if Lib Dem Voice is running a series of hoax posts. (We’ve had lingering near street ironworks, ordering vegetarian airline meals, handing in lost property, scaring ducks, putting your bin out on the wrong day, looking at things and – easily the most heinous, in my opinion – going equipped with balloons.)
I thought I was joking (albeit darkly) when I said on LibDig that people might one day be singled out for their taste in music, but even that now appears to have happened. Home Office Watch features the terrifying ordeal of a jazz musician arrested by anti-terror police who had taken his soundproofed studio, replete with wires, as a sign of bomb-making.
You can read Helen’s full piece here. The serious point of course is that there are all examples of how keen the state is to keep tabs on the innocent and suspecting on the flimsiest of grounds – rather than concentrating on going after the guilty and genuinely suspicious activity. Each time there is one of these silly stories – remember not just the innocent victims, but also that it’s police time and resources that could have been going on something more worthwhile.
Lynne Featherstone 
As a man I’m in the group this government hates more than any other.If if I do manage to get on a flight once I’m on the plane I’m still automatically regarded as a peadophile by the likes Of British Airways solely because of my gender and thus like all other men, totally segregated from any children on board otehr than my own.It’s a shame no MPs condemn such disgusting discrimination by British companies – the only person who has highlighted the issue is Boris Johnson, and he only did so becasue they tried to stop him sitting next to his own kids!What do other think should be done about this problem? Anyone know if it been raised in the house yet?
One further question – have any Lib Dems spoken out against it and what it the Lib Dem position on such issues?Many thanks.
Yes – we’ve spoken out a lot on these sorts of issues. There’s also details of the legal changes we’d make at http://freedom.libdems.org.uk.
I obviously belong to a suspicious group. Last year 2 friends and I [all 3 of us male and over 65+] went to Whipsnade Zoo. We took cameras with us as we wanted to film the animals [all three of us were members of the zoological society]. After a few hours walking round, we were stopped by security and told to stop filming. When asked why, the answer was….”because there are children around” ! When we refused we were told that we were on Private property and that if we didn’t comply, we would be arrested.I cannot tell you how angry we all were at what that remark implied. Especially as there were many other families around happily filming.It seems that males on their own are now officially ‘suspicious’ .ZLS [Zoological Society London] are now £150 short as we have discontinued our membership in protest at being treated so appallingly.
Daivd – the type of problem you faced is a huge issue these days. men are constantly under suspicion.I just had a read of the Lib Dem’s freedom Bill – it seems ok, but vastly lacking in certain areas.In particular I didn’t see anything about anonymity for those accused of rape – I don’t think any Freedom Bill is going to be taken seriously if it completely misses something as obvious and important as that.However, it does at least address the key issue of removing innocent people form the database so certainyl a step in the right direction.