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Police contact political campaigner asking to "chat"

No comment | 05.12.2008 12:48 | Repression | Social Struggles

A politcal campaigner was contacted on their personal phone number earlier this week by "Mike from Special Branch," asking if they would be interested in having a chat. The campaigner has absolutely no intention of meeting with or "having a chat" about anything with "Mike" or any other policeman.

No thanks!
No thanks!


Recently, a political campaigner was contacted on their personal mobile phone by someone calling themselves "Mike from Special Branch," asking if they'd like to have a chat. When prompted, the officer claimed it would be about the Olympics.

The officer's tone was relatively polite, friendly and reasonable and there were no penalties associated with noncompliance. The threats were only subtle: Aside from the fact that it was the campaigner's personal phone number that was used, the officer, having performed some (perfunctory) background research, the officer was able to slip a few pieces of personal information into the conversation. At one point, he joked that phoning the campaigner was "less embarassing than appearing next to you."

Mike from Special Branch was asking the campaigner to be a grass. Whether or not the "chat" would have been about the Olympics or any other issue, he would have tried to get as much information out of the campaigner as possible, putting them in a situation in which it would have been very difficult to avoid endangering themself and their friends.

The campaigner has absolutely no intention of meeting with or "having a chat" about anything with "Mike" or any other policeman. No matter how polite or how threatening they are to you, no matter whether it is in "the cafe of your choosing" or in a prison cell, speaking to the police is *never* a good idea.

If the police phone you, do not agree to meet up with them. Though they might not be putting you in a difficult or frightening situation now, at any moment the friendly veneer can drop and they can begin making life unpleasant for you. Don't give them the opportunity to do this. The only thing that could be gained by meeting with someone like Mike from Special Branch is the satisfaction of your curiosity, and this is not enough to justify the danger in which you would be putting yourself and the people around you. Grasses, informants and infiltrators are tools of the police: being put in this position can only be harmful to you and your comrades.

The best thing to do is to say that you are not interested and get on with your life and activities. Don't let them scare you: if they find out you aren't going to be helpful, then that's that.

It's also good to be open about the fact, making it harder for the police to isolate you as well as more difficult for them to be able to use you. Tell other people, in order to have support from your friends and make the experience easier to handle sensibly. Even posting the fact that you have been approached on Indymedia can be a good idea, so others know that there are dodgy scumbags giving people nasty phone calls asking them to do disgusting things :-)

For more information on being contacted by the police: www.freebeagles.org/articles/grass.html

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Comments

Hide the following 18 comments

A useful article

05.12.2008 13:37

The advice given not to meet or talk with police in valid and timely. I know from personal experience what bullying coward they are in reality. The "nice" veneer can soon drop and you'll find them in all their gross inhumanity. Take it from someone who knows through personal experience police are scum

George Coombs


You got that right

05.12.2008 14:51

Very good advice I think. No matter how friendly they seem, the police are never your friend. Even when they claim to share your views, they are only doing so in order to get you to open up, in order to gather intelligence on you and your friends.

Never, ever, ever, ever talk to the police.

Evey Hammond


red herrings

05.12.2008 14:59

you could also groom them and when you feel the time is right feed them the wrong information

tactical support officer


The police arent all scum, they do work for a undemocratic system though,

05.12.2008 15:04

as the arrest of a senoior opposition politician proves. This is good advice though, heres to the day when we live in a real democracy.
Any police who really want to serve & protect democracy should help arrest people who start illegal oil wars& their nazi allies for a start or those that deliberately allow 100,000,000 people to die unnecessarily in poverty every decade, check UN figures & NSC population control programmes. If you want to arrest people like Henry Kissinger or David Rockefeller & humanely hold them to justice, you can call me again I would then love to go to a Forest Match with you away or home.

Universal Confederalist


The call was most likely from the press or media not the police!

05.12.2008 15:11

In the past some activists have recieved similar calls claiming to be from police when in fact they are really from journalists out to get a big story and pretend they are from the police at first to put pressure on the activist concerned into meeting up with them. Once they meet they are told by the person who phoned them that they are actually a journalist who is interested in the cause they are campaigning about and are shown their press card.

The media are always hungry for stories and reports before a big action or a big protest and this latest incident was probably a journalist interested in the up coming national climate change march.

Activist


joke?????

05.12.2008 15:25

first be friendly ... after get information third get a gun a kill the bastard ....@nti

ahah ah u know my name anyway


confused

05.12.2008 16:28

whilst the article above is interesting and the advice it gives I would certainly support, the first two comments are a little weird. the read to me like they were written by the author of the original article. it's probably just the weirdness of the topic rubbing off on my easily confused mind.

pete


Same old

05.12.2008 16:39

This is not uncommon,they have tried it often with AR people, they want to discuss issues as to how the police can 'work with us'. Surely by now they realise they are dealing with intelligent, educated people (which is why we do what we do) and are not taken in by this? As usual the idiots trying to fool the intelligent! If they want to be our 'friends' how about allowing us peaceful right to protest wihout filiming us, telling lies about what is and is not the law when it comes to protests etc etc.

anon


lost opportunity

05.12.2008 17:11

Should have asked to meet, have a chat, seen what they wanted.

But, hardly likely an officer from Special Branch would call and say hi it's Mick from Special Branch, let's have a chat.

More likely someone taking the Mick!

Keith


or arrange to meet

05.12.2008 19:29

or arrange to meet and get a pal to photograph him on a straight-to-web phone or camera in case he/his colleagues try to seize the camera = one less Secret Policeman!

if this happens often enough they may be less inclined to try in the future

copwatcher


Special branch

05.12.2008 20:25

Sounds like a journalist.

Special branch was, in London, combined with the anti-terrorism branch a while ago. See the fuss about "anti-terrorist" officers and Damien Green recently.

Me


Special breakfast

05.12.2008 22:10


Next time he calls up tell him your not too keen on the grass but would he like to join you for breakfast.
Slip him a (magic) mushroom omelet and then let him chat away till the cows come home ..

Pasta Funghetti


Sensible

06.12.2008 10:02

Amazing how several posters have been quick to jump in and say it was more likely to be journalists than police. Impersonating a police-officer is quite a serious offence and it is not something journos do lightly. My experience suggests that police are more likely to pose as less threatening journos than the other way around. After all introducing yourself as a copper is not going to make an activist open up, so the logic here seems to me somewhat flawed.

I strongly suspect that a certain group is trying to downplay the impact of the story - I wonder who othat could be...

It appears that Indymedia is increasingly becoming a sparing-ground between the protestors and their opponents.

I have been approached by special branch directly, and others have been approached to grass against me. The police approach people all the time - grasses are for them a cheep and effective way of getting information and breaking up groups, and their use is well documented by CAAT, Greenpeace, McLibel, Evelyn Lubbers and others. Animal Rights have been dealing with them succcessfully for many years now as well.

It is a common tactic to approach people to be a grass on people in different movements - using their creditals in one group to ease their joining of another, and so on.

What is most interesting here, is that the police are preparing already to investigate and counter groups campaigning against the Olympics - this is a positive sign as far as I'm concerned, as long as people do not do what the police would like most, for us all to duck and run.

For more on dealing with infiltrators and grasses check out the activistsecurity handbook at www.activistsecurity.org

Remember, it is your right to say no. Having been through the mill on this one, my advice is to listen politely to the police - more often than not you pick up more about the state of their intelligence on you (often flawed in my experience), then politely say no. I know someone who did string them along and feed them false information - it was a harrowing experience for them, and not something that would ever be recommended as a path worth going down.

Finally, I agree whole heartedly with the original posters comment about being open about being approached. Always best to get in there first. People who have been approached should be offered support - it's a distasteful experience, but it is a sign that we are doing something useful to upset the powers that be.

Have fun...

FTP


But...

06.12.2008 13:10

"Me" - That's a fair point of information (the special branch/anti-terrorism merger), but I'm not sure it means that much in this context. It seems perfectly possible that a cop might still introduce themselves as being from Special Branch in order not to freak out the person they are approaching. I imagine that saying that they want talk to someone about terrorism might be counter-productive if they're trying to make a soft approach.

Hmmm


Who's the special branch nut?

06.12.2008 16:52

I am interested to know more about the Sumac's special branch nut (so I can avoid him). Can people reveal more?

Interested


police

06.12.2008 17:45

Why are people so keen to avoid facing up to the fact that the police regularly do ask people to be informer, unless there is a lot of deliberate misdirection going on. Frankly, implying that "mike from special branch" is the same as the sumac oddball is bizarre and poorly thoughtout logic. Sounds like more poisonous disinformtion to me - cough up the facts before making this sort of allegation.

Interesting that hardly anyone is picking up on the fact that the police are interested in anti-olympics campaigns.

unnecessary


RE: Heads up

07.12.2008 08:13

"unnecessary" you do have a point. I should not have posted my previous comment as it was speculation without evidence to back it up. My apologies.

Companero


Comment withdrawn

07.12.2008 14:33

Companero (see previous comment) has pointed out that a comment, now removed, was made too hastily and should be investigated further before making what may be inappropriate allegations. This has been done in the interests of media integrity, although the decision is under review.

As Indymedia is moderated by volunteers with limited time, and a wish to have the 'lightest tough', requests to withdraw comments can rarely by taken on board.

It goes without saying that everyone should resist enquiry from anyone you do not know and trust, regarding personal campaigning activities, whether from a potential police or corporate snoop, or from a supposedly well-meaning, but misguided person.

It may be possible that discrete enquiries may be made at Sumac, although in the interests of security and privacy it is likely that the matter may have been entrusted to a limited number of people.

I trust that this action is appropriate and proportional. We are assured that the matter will be pursued with vigour and if appropriate reported back here in due course.

NottsIMC