Join the Snooper Troopers

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Join the snooper troopers

A new series of ads is recruiting suburban mums for the battle against terrorism. Is this really what we need?

Comments (93)

by Jeremy Kuper

guardian.co.uk, Monday 6 April 2009 10.30 BST

Article history

New anti-terror adverts are urging Londoners to look in their neighbours' dustbins to help the overstretched police unmask the enemy within. Either this is a viable way of catching terrorists or the police and security services are getting desperate.

One advert (pdf) shows a mother with a pushchair in an ordinary-looking suburban street – but look closer. The wheelie bin in front of a house is overflowing with discarded containers of bomb-making equipment. With its catchphrase "Don't rely on others. If you suspect it, report it", the advert's message is don't trust your neighbours: they may be making a bomb in their shed.

It does seem unlikely that bomb-making equipment would be dumped in an open bin, to be discovered by a passing mother. You might think that hardened terrorists would be more careful – or at least leave the empty containers in a neighbour's bin, not their own. In any case, the poster gives the men of violence a handy reminder of how to avoid detection.

Another poster invites people to take note of suspicious individuals who are "studying the CCTV cameras".

Britain is already saturated with CCTV cameras and in the words of the outgoing information commissioner Richard Thomas, "Fears that the UK would sleepwalk into a surveillance society have become a reality."

How much more surveillance do we need? Do we really need citizens to watch people watching the CCTV? Now it is not just the state that will be watching you, Mrs Jones at number 22 will have you in her sights from behind those net curtains.

The internet has already spawned a series of spoofs of the new ads, ranging from "suspect everyone", to "Being paranoid doesn't mean you need to lead a lonely life. Just call us."

Contrast this new advertising campaign with the poster from the second world war that simply said: "Keep calm and carry on." That advert was conceived when the country faced possible invasion and gave people confidence at a time when there were nightly bombardments and thousands died.

The bottom line is that the UK's counter-terrorism strategy should not be relying on mothers with pushchairs. These ads seem to be aimed at the wrong people – those who are unlikely to know anything. Whether advertising can ever be useful against terrorism is another question. For many, raising awareness of the threat will only increase the fear and stress of the daily commute. If we must have an advertising campaign, maybe it is time to bring back the "Keep calm and carry on" posters from retirement.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/20...urity-terrorism

[Peikko 1,575]

OK, that's it, the nutters really are on the loose in the UK. That's mad.

[justashooter 430]

OK, that's it, the nutters really are on the loose in the UK. That's mad.

so in the UK they're nutters, but when obama proposes the same thing, he's a great guy?

"obama civilian security force"

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

What does Obama have to do with this?

[DeadPoolX 9]

What does Obama have to do with this?

Not a whole lot. Maybe it's one of those games where you have to find a way to insert someone's name into a topic, whether or not it truly belongs there.

[Peikko 1,575]

As well as attributing things you think someone has said when really they have said no such thing. Shooter, I don't believe in it here, there or anywhere.

[almaty 19]

blame obama is the correct answer for all the right winger...

[DeadPoolX 9]

blame obama is the correct answer for all the right winger...

To be fair, if you inserted "Bush" in place of Obama, that would qualify as "the correct answer for a left-winger."

[Peikko 1,575]

I think in this case it's a personal 'vendetta'. I don't mind, it is what it is.

[Nagishkaw 510]

blame obama is the correct answer for all the right winger...

To be fair, if you inserted "Bush" in place of Obama, that would qualify as "the correct answer for a left-winger."

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

blame obama is the correct answer for all the right winger...

To be fair, if you inserted "Bush" in place of Obama, that would qualify as "the correct answer for a left-winger."

Actually it would be responding to hyperbole with more hyperbole.

[DeadPoolX 9]

blame obama is the correct answer for all the right winger...

To be fair, if you inserted "Bush" in place of Obama, that would qualify as "the correct answer for a left-winger."

Actually it would be responding to hyperbole with more hyperbole.

The point is that people look to blame members of the opposite party (especially when that person is president) for all the ills in society. Whether or not that criticism is warranted is something else.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Some people do, sure.

[almaty 19]

blame obama is the correct answer for all the right winger...

To be fair, if you inserted "Bush" in place of Obama, that would qualify as "the correct answer for a left-winger."

yes, i stole it from charles..with bush..you are correct

[Ban Hammer 13,346]

blame obama is the correct answer for all the right winger...

To be fair, if you inserted "Bush" in place of Obama, that would qualify as "the correct answer for a left-winger."

yes, i stole it from charles..with bush..you are correct

put down that post hole digger!