This week’s blog, Gizmonaut, reports on London’s policing and human rights, watching a variety of sources and cases, contributing to debate and openness on this issue in our capital.
Describe your blog in less than 15 words
Reporting about being calm, almost too calm, on human rights and policing issues, plus technology.
Why did you start blogging?
I created a personal website, gizmonaut.net, in 1999. Its content had remained mostly static. At the end of 2005, I published the story of my arrest by the Metropolitan Police and kept updating it with new developments. Many readers asked for a notification mechanism for when I updated that story. After trying a few options, I started a blog so that readers could subscribe to its RSS feed. Eventually I published on the blog news-related articles on more general issues. The separation about what goes on the blog part of the website and what doesn’t is not clear cut any more.
What about London inspires your blog, or what is its mission?
Security theatre measures that criminalise innocents while not increasing overall security are a constant source of inspiration. A large proportion of posts is about stop and search tactics, the National DNA Database, terrorism and human rights. Most London-related posts are about some aspects of London policing. There are a few posts about technology and foreign topics.
Several posts are based on my unfortunate personal encounter with the Metropolitan Police. They serve several aims: exposing what the Met is doing to innocent Londoners, and documenting the actions I’ve taken and their outcome (question to the MPA, answering consultations, giving talks, participating in demonstrations and rallies, etc.) so that others can figure out if any of these action is also appropriate for them.
Jaz Cummins 