Edinburgh Council send support workers on snooping classes
Edinburgh City Council has begun sending staff on courses designed to train them to look out for anything that might resemble 'terrorist activity'.
According to the Edinburgh Evening News:
Staff sources say that the sessions have included being told how to spot anything suspicious, and being asked to report anything – no matter how trivial – to police, such as quantities of empty bottles of bleach.
Support workers who visit a range of clients in their own home including vulnerable groups, people with addictions and elderly people, have been among the first to get the training.
Concierges, community safety teams and other front-line staff across the council are also to be sent on the sessions, which are hosted by police as part of the Home Office's counter-terrorism strategy.
This is disgraceful fearmongering that erodes trust in society and encourages spying, snooping and suspicion.
Perhaps most shocking of all is Edinburgh Council's decision to start the course with 'support workers working with the elderly and infirm, physically disabled, and those with mental health and learning disabilities, as well people with drug and alcohol addictions and the homeless'.
So, instead of prioritising the most disadvantaged in society, Edinburgh's hard-pressed social workers will now be searching for anything that looks vaguely 'terrorist', even something as benign as empty bottles of bleach.
A sad state of affairs.
By Dylan Sharpe

6 Comments
Furor Teutonicus
18th February 2010XX Perhaps most shocking of all is Edinburgh Council’s decision to start the course with ‘support workers working with the elderly and infirm, physically disabled, and those with mental health and learning disabilities, as well people with drug and alcohol addictions and the homeless’.Xx
All well known “red flaggers” on terroist profiles.
redacted
18th February 2010Having your door smashed in by the police is no laughing matter, but when you get a friendly visit from “social services”, then you should be afraid, very afraid.
Jess The Dog
18th February 2010Good to see taxpayers’ money being spent wisely.
I don’t think.
sheila G
21st February 2010Social workers seem incapable of doing the job they are supposed to let alone protect us from ‘terrorists’
Also could we have some discussion about the annoying and INCESSANT pubic address systems (I’m thinking paticularly about Picadilly train station, Manchester)warning us about slippy floors, skateboarding, security staff pouncing on you for tickets, NO SMOKING or else and on and on and on. Drives me nuts…pity the poor workers in the shopping outlets on the station.
Jordan Retro 12
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传世私服
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