IN reply to a recent letter concerning obtrusive surveillance techniques employed by the police, I would like to de-mystify what naturally seems like a highly sinister activity. Just recently I witnessed some sort of musical gathering in the square outside Lancaster museum. I was astonished to find this apparently harmless activity was being closely videod by members of the police evidence gathering unit. Naturally curious to know what kind of evidence this involved I surreptitiously crept behind the cameraman and peered into his open finder. What I saw should not have surprised me, give a man a camera and what does he do? Yes it appeared he was focused on various parts of the nearest woman's anatomy! I suddenly realised what was happening here was not so much as an evidence gathering exercise, as a potential blockbusting production of a locker-room peepshow!

The lamentable thing is that we the public are paying for this. It is time we reminded the police of this, and point out to them that they are no more above the law than anyone else. I believe that in future anyone filmed in this way should object immediately. There are now laws against stalking and if the police carry on filming they should be threatened with such a law.

If all else fails then call the police!

Mr A Petrie

West Road

Lancaster

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.