Southwark Council plays Big Brother

By Miranda Bryant

Anti-terror laws are being exploited by Southwark Council to catch residents committing minor offences, an investigation exposed this week.

The council admitted to The Platform that it used the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa) to spy on residents to combat fly-tipping, which is the dumping of waste in unauthorised areas. 

A Freedom of Information investigation by a national newspaper found that 200 organisations, including councils, were using the law to spy, intercept phone calls and access personal computers.

The Southwark Council was found to be mounting cameras on lampposts to watch residents suspected of leaving rubbish out at the wrong time. One local government even used the law to stalk a six-year-old going to school to check if she was living in the right catchment area.

A spokesperson for Southwark Council said: “As a council, we’re committed to using the Act in a responsible, targeted and proportionate way, to provide the reassurance and protection that our local residents deserve.”

An utter waste of good rubbish

By Miranda Bryant

Lorry loads of domestic waste collected for recycling by Lewisham households are being incinerated because of minor incidents of contamination, The Platform can exclusively reveal.

Veolia, the firm contracted to handle the borough’s recycling, is routinely sending lorries away from its centre in Plumstead, because they don’t have the facility to remove unsuitable items.

A source at Greenwich council told The Platform that a stray morsel of food in a single bag of recycling is enough to break the strict criteria applied by the private contractor, employed by both councils, leaving them no choice but to burn it.

She said: “If the wrong items are collected from the street and they’re brought to the recycling centre, then the whole lorry is sent away so we have to be very careful. It happens frequently.”

Veolia did not deny the claims, but refused to elaborate on how often such incidents occur. Terry Dickenson, a senior supervisor at the firm said: “We don’t pass that sort of information on.”

Oba-joyed!

By Vanessa Kortekaas

Obama mania swept across southeast London in the early hours of Wednesday morning, as Barack Obama was declared the first black president of the United States.

Southwark residents at the Anchor pub cheered as the results came in. “This will change the face of politics,” said James Harvey, 23. “We’ve got a mixed race chap who’s fulfilled the American dream. People here are getting the feeling that things are changing.”

Rosie Mcleod, a 25-year-old social researcher, said: “I think he holds the promise of inspiration. This makes me want to re-engage with the US.”

Less impressed with the results was James Hadden, a chartered surveyor. He said: “This is nuts. Obama is too young and inexperienced. I don’t really care [about the results] but I do think black people everywhere will suddenly be in favour of the US.”

Police head back to school

By Enjoli Liston

Every police officer in Southwark will return to the classroom to be taught by a team of under-21s on how to conduct stop and search measures more sensitively.

Chief Superintendent Shirley Tulloch, the deputy borough commander for Southwark, announced that over 900 police officers will take part in the educational sessions from January, after a pilot lesson earlier in the year had proved a ‘great success’.

The Young Advisors charity allows 15-21 year olds to show local leaders how to engage young people in community life, and over the past three months the nine member Southwark team has collected data from their peers about their feelings on stop and search tactics.

Police stop and search powers have long been a matter for debate, with critics saying they allow police to use prejudices to inform their judgements on whom to search. However, the Metropolitan Police felt it necessary to extend these powers recently in an attempt to reduce stabbing-related deaths in the capital.

Council squeezes community centre for £50k

By Ceiri O’Driscoll

A Peckham community centre threatened with closure by the council has been given two months to raise nearly fifty thousand pounds to stay open.

The Spike Surplus Scheme was handed a £440,000 bill by Southwark Council to buy the plot of land it stands on, or face the sale of the building to developers. The original deadline for the bill was September, but volunteers at the centre have negotiated a deal for an initial ten per cent deposit to be paid by the end of the year, followed by the full amount in 2009.