Okay, I’m just paranoid June 4, 2009
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Miscellany , add a commentBlimey! I had a reply from Transport for London about their threats to send photos of anyone using their help points to the police. It turns out that they were just trying to stop people pushing the buttons and shouting. Fair enough I guess, especially when some regulation probably stops station staff just giving the little gobshites an earful.
From Transport For London:
King’s Cross station has been suffering from the misuse of the Help Points in operation there, with abusive shouting down the line getting to be a regular event. I’ve spoken with the station supervisor there who confirmed that officers from British Transport Police will attend and try to apprehend offenders, but unfortunately not always in time. As the Help Points are covered by CCTV, occasional warnings are made specifically directed at culprits caught on camera, that footage will be passed on to the police.
I’m sorry if it was not made clear to whom the announcements were directed and if this caused you any concern. I can only apologise and confirm that these announcements are directed at individuals rather than the public at large, and that CCTV footage is only passed on to the police when an offence has been committed.
I’m not really paranoid, honest June 1, 2009
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Camden,Politics , 1 comment so farWalking through Kings Cross tube station yesterday, I heard the announcer say that anyone using the ‘help point’ would have their photo taken and passed to the British Transport Police.
So, if I’m a tourist, a bit lost, and press the button marked ‘Information’ to ask where to go, my photo is sent to the police??? I wonder what happens next? A posse of armed goons appear and shoot me for having the audacity to hope that the Victoria Line is actually working this weekend? More likely, my mugshot just ends up on some database somewhere, as the government attempts to track every citizen’s every move, swamping itself so utterly in spurious data that the real criminals slip underneath the chaos.
Certainly, this threatening announcement is hardly going to encourage anyone to use the facility. If there’s an emergency, it may even deter someone from raising the alarm.
There is no indication on the help point itself that this will happen, which is surely not legal.
I wonder what they do with it, and how long they keep it. It will be interesting to see if, and how, Transport for London, answer that question.
Apartment security August 3, 2008
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Miscellany , add a commentWalk up York Way past Kings Cross, the new Guardian offices and Arts Centre of Kings Place, until you’re in the heart of the developments yet to appear. Turn right, through a small park which might be a bit dodgy at night, past new flats too expensive to have attracted many inhabitants, to the sixties-style council estate behind. So far, so inner London. It scrapes through the high heels after an evening in the pub test*.
Go through three massive, intercom controlled steel doors to get to the flat. CCTV everywhere. There must be a reason. This doesn’t feel good.
It’s a nice enough flat, needing some work but a good size. The vendor refuses to leave the fluffy wee kitten, but will sell the appliances. The garden is through a glass door in the kitchen, with a flimsy wooden fence and a gate even I could get over, though perhaps not in high heels after a night in the pub. A fit burglar would take minutes to break in.
If I had come in the back way, I’d have liked the place. Now I’m just wondering who would design a security system with such an obvious flaw.
*I refuse to live anywhere I don’t feel safe walking home in high heeled shoes, carrying my laptop bag and a few drinks to the wind. Fortunately, I’m not easily scared.
