There was dancing in the streets when the Moseley Ward Committee announced it was going to allocate vast amounts of its considerable funds to providing us with an integrated CCTV system. On hearing the news some residents stated that even before the cameras have been installed they feel as much as 16% safer than they did yesterday.
A spokesman for Moseley’s criminal underworld told us yesterday “You can rest assured that none of my members will be committing petty larceny outside of Boots from now on. Oh no.”
This funding allocation has brought into question the somewhat haphazard system of grant allocation that appears to have been instituted by our Ward Committee. It has been long known that a well written application can gain you wealth that most people only dream of but now it seems like anyone will get a fist full of cash if they just turn up to a meeting.
This was emphasised by the curious tale of Mr Dan Massless from Augusta Road, he told us “I only popped into the CDT to ask where the 35 goes from now and the next thing I knew they’d given me 35 million quid to put a member of a BME community into space. It’s a fucking outrage. On the other hand if you do know a black or asian person that has a head for heights please give them my phone number.”
Those sceptics that say the whole CCTV scheme is a blatant waste of money really are not considering the bigger picture. In light of the recent Tornado that attempted to tidy up some areas of Moseley we can now see that footage of such extreme events could be sold on to media companies at a vast profit. A spokesman for Moseley ward hinted to us “I’ve already had that Richard Madeley on the phone. He makes that fantastic show “Eye of the Storm” for Sky Travel and he wanted to know if we had any exclusive footage. Unfortunately it forgot to go near Boots. We’ll get the bugger next time though.”
So next time you get the feeling that someone is watching you stagger out of the Cross you will probably be right.
It’s an outrage. The Home Office has put ANPR surveillance cameras in Moseley without consulting local residents. It was carried out through a front group called the Safer Birmingham Partnership. It’s part of a much bigger CCTV control grid encircling Sparkbrook and Small Heath areas of Birmingham (where the Muslims live). It’s stated purpose is ‘improving safety’ and ‘reducing all types of crime – right up to and including terrorism’. This is about mass monitoring and surveillance by the Big Brother state, not catching a few uninsured drivers – it’s far more sinister than that. We are still awaiting any form of public consultation with Safer Birmingham Partnership (a ‘partnership’ which doesn’t appear to include the local communities concerned). In the mean time there is a Police Tasking meeting at St Columba Church (corner of Chantry Rd and Alcester Rd) at 6pm on Monday 17th May. Please attend and ask questions, raise objections, and of course, film the whole thing on your camera/phone! Also, look out for information and petitions at the next Farmers’ Market (Sat 29th May). Also posters/petition/meetings at The Prince Of Wales soon – tbc.
In the mean time go to the facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=119180531441911&ref=ts
and join the Moseley Resistance. Tell your friends! “NO CONSULTATION, NO CAMERAS!”
I’ve just spotted your ‘Moseley CCTV’ post (‘Lights, Camera, Action!’) is five years old! Clearly we are talking about completely different CCTV schemes! However, my previous post highlights a current (May 2010) burning issue that deserves wider publicity. A Home Office scheme called ‘Project Champion’, part of the government’s Preventing Violent Extremism agenda, has been carried out on the quiet, designating areas of Birmingham (including Moseley) as a ‘Terrorist Quarter’, and encircling them with a ring of surveillance cameras, creating a ‘terriorist ghetto’. There has been no public consultation and consequently most people are unaware that this has happened or what the cameras are for. Spread the word! Wake up the people of Moseley! Or get used to living under the technological tyranny of state surveillance and mass monitoring of innocents. Down with Big Brother!