StopWatch
@stopwatchuk.bsky.social
An independent organisation using research, policy advocacy, litigation, and community engagement to understand the impacts of disproportionate policing and hold forces to account
Contact | info@stop-watch.org
Donate | https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/18388
Contact | info@stop-watch.org
Donate | https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/18388
Reposted by StopWatch
Read the full JUSTICE report, Striking the Balance: Protest Rights and Public Order, here: justice.org.uk/reports/stri... (8/9)
Striking the Balance: Protest Rights and Public Order
Striking the Balance: Protest Rights and Public Order
justice.org.uk
January 8, 2026 at 10:09 AM
Read the full JUSTICE report, Striking the Balance: Protest Rights and Public Order, here: justice.org.uk/reports/stri... (8/9)
BLOGPOST: Where opaque, backdoor algorithmic code governs our life by wielding suspicion by design. Where will it stop? www.stop-watch.org/news-opinion...
www.stop-watch.org
December 15, 2025 at 6:41 PM
BLOGPOST: Where opaque, backdoor algorithmic code governs our life by wielding suspicion by design. Where will it stop? www.stop-watch.org/news-opinion...
Reposted by StopWatch
“The revelation that police continued to roll out a [facial recognition] system they knew was biased against women, young people, and people from racially marginalised groups is deeply troubling."
www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/issue/libert...
www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/issue/libert...
Liberty responds to reports that police knew of facial recognition bias - Liberty
www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk
December 10, 2025 at 11:52 AM
“The revelation that police continued to roll out a [facial recognition] system they knew was biased against women, young people, and people from racially marginalised groups is deeply troubling."
www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/issue/libert...
www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/issue/libert...
Reposted by StopWatch
UK #police forces lobbied to use biased #FacialRecognition technology. System more likely to suggest incorrect matches for images of women and Black people | #disproportionality #law | www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
December 10, 2025 at 12:06 PM
UK #police forces lobbied to use biased #FacialRecognition technology. System more likely to suggest incorrect matches for images of women and Black people | #disproportionality #law | www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Abimbola Johnson, chair of the independent scrutiny and oversight board: 'These revelations show once again that the anti-racism commitments policing has made through the race action plan are not being translated into wider practice.'
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
UK police forces lobbied to use biased facial recognition technology
Exclusive: System more likely to suggest incorrect matches for images of women and Black people
www.theguardian.com
December 10, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Abimbola Johnson, chair of the independent scrutiny and oversight board: 'These revelations show once again that the anti-racism commitments policing has made through the race action plan are not being translated into wider practice.'
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Reposted by StopWatch
REVEALED 🚨
Documents uncovered from the National Police Chiefs’ Council show the police knew about bias in the Police National Database facial recognition system for over a year but ignored it after forces complained about missing potential matches.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Documents uncovered from the National Police Chiefs’ Council show the police knew about bias in the Police National Database facial recognition system for over a year but ignored it after forces complained about missing potential matches.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
UK police forces lobbied to use biased facial recognition technology
Exclusive: System more likely to suggest incorrect matches for images of women and Black people
www.theguardian.com
December 10, 2025 at 10:16 AM
REVEALED 🚨
Documents uncovered from the National Police Chiefs’ Council show the police knew about bias in the Police National Database facial recognition system for over a year but ignored it after forces complained about missing potential matches.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Documents uncovered from the National Police Chiefs’ Council show the police knew about bias in the Police National Database facial recognition system for over a year but ignored it after forces complained about missing potential matches.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
There is a growing ethnicity gap in Met section 60 searches. How can Black Londoners trust them to make any progress on tackling racism if they do not record the ethnicities of half the people they search under the power?
@nadinewrites1.bsky.social
www.blackcurrentnews.co.uk/p/exclusive-...
@nadinewrites1.bsky.social
www.blackcurrentnews.co.uk/p/exclusive-...
Exclusive | Met police search Black Londoners 18 times more than white people under section 60
It is the third consecutive year of increases in section 60 searches. Nothing was found in 89% of searches under the power
www.blackcurrentnews.co.uk
December 8, 2025 at 2:49 PM
There is a growing ethnicity gap in Met section 60 searches. How can Black Londoners trust them to make any progress on tackling racism if they do not record the ethnicities of half the people they search under the power?
@nadinewrites1.bsky.social
www.blackcurrentnews.co.uk/p/exclusive-...
@nadinewrites1.bsky.social
www.blackcurrentnews.co.uk/p/exclusive-...
Reposted by StopWatch
Logan Smith, a teenager who got out of an ambulance on a motorway hard shoulder, was Tasered by police before being hit and killed by a car, says IOPC www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Teenager was Tasered by police before being killed by car on M5
Logan Smith, 18, got out of ambulance driving him to hospital in Somerset, says official watchdog
www.theguardian.com
December 5, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Logan Smith, a teenager who got out of an ambulance on a motorway hard shoulder, was Tasered by police before being hit and killed by a car, says IOPC www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Reposted by StopWatch
The latest testing conducted by the National Physical Laboratory on the reliability of facial recognition technology says it has an inbuilt racial bias, something senior police officers have repeatedly denied.
Labour ministers, of course, love it www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Labour ministers, of course, love it www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Home Office admits facial recognition tech issue with black and Asian subjects
Calls for review after technology found to return more false positives for ‘some demographic groups’ on certain settings
www.theguardian.com
December 5, 2025 at 1:40 PM
The latest testing conducted by the National Physical Laboratory on the reliability of facial recognition technology says it has an inbuilt racial bias, something senior police officers have repeatedly denied.
Labour ministers, of course, love it www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Labour ministers, of course, love it www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Reposted by StopWatch
Ministers are facing calls for stronger safeguards on the use of facial recognition technology after the Home Office admitted it is more likely to incorrectly identify black and Asian people than their white counterparts on some settings www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Home Office admits facial recognition tech issue with black and Asian subjects
Calls for review after technology found to return more false positives for ‘some demographic groups’ on certain settings
www.theguardian.com
December 5, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Ministers are facing calls for stronger safeguards on the use of facial recognition technology after the Home Office admitted it is more likely to incorrectly identify black and Asian people than their white counterparts on some settings www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Reposted by StopWatch
UPDATE 🚨
The govt have launched their long-awaited consultation on police use of facial recognition.
But they want to expand it to every town centre.
Why are they making this decision before the public has even had the chance to tell them what they think?
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crim...
The govt have launched their long-awaited consultation on police use of facial recognition.
But they want to expand it to every town centre.
Why are they making this decision before the public has even had the chance to tell them what they think?
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crim...
Facial recognition to be expanded in fresh crime crackdown
Critics called on the government to limit roll-out of facial recognition, but others have urged ministers to accelerate the expansion to ‘boost safety’
www.independent.co.uk
December 4, 2025 at 11:17 AM
UPDATE 🚨
The govt have launched their long-awaited consultation on police use of facial recognition.
But they want to expand it to every town centre.
Why are they making this decision before the public has even had the chance to tell them what they think?
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crim...
The govt have launched their long-awaited consultation on police use of facial recognition.
But they want to expand it to every town centre.
Why are they making this decision before the public has even had the chance to tell them what they think?
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crim...
Reposted by StopWatch
Just out: our report on #spycops boss Ben Gunn at the public inquiry. Managers have a lot to cover so reports are very long reads, but well worth it. Incredible admissions from Gunn: 'There was no legal basis for a lot of the work we were doing'
campaignopposingpolicesurveillance.com/2025/12/02/u...
campaignopposingpolicesurveillance.com/2025/12/02/u...
UCPI Daily Report, 20 Oct 2025: Dennis ‘Ben’ Gunn evidence
A long-read report on the Undercover Policing Inquiry questioning Dennis 'Ben 'Gunn, the Met Special Branch commander of operations 1988-91
campaignopposingpolicesurveillance.com
December 2, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Just out: our report on #spycops boss Ben Gunn at the public inquiry. Managers have a lot to cover so reports are very long reads, but well worth it. Incredible admissions from Gunn: 'There was no legal basis for a lot of the work we were doing'
campaignopposingpolicesurveillance.com/2025/12/02/u...
campaignopposingpolicesurveillance.com/2025/12/02/u...
Reposted by StopWatch
Senior officers who ran the #spycops unit that infiltrated Black justice campaigns were 'horribly & incredibly' racist, a whistleblower has told the public inquiry.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Two Met officers running spycops unit were ‘incredibly racist’, inquiry told
Undercover unit monitored Stephen Lawrence’s family, as well as thousands of mainly leftwing political activists
www.theguardian.com
December 2, 2025 at 6:23 AM
Senior officers who ran the #spycops unit that infiltrated Black justice campaigns were 'horribly & incredibly' racist, a whistleblower has told the public inquiry.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
November 2025 newsletter: PCCs getting phased out, while suspicion-free stop and searches yielding massive racial disparities in London) come back into vogue
open.substack.com/pub/stopwatc...
open.substack.com/pub/stopwatc...
November 2025: Abolition is possible... for PCCs
Role introduced to bring greater democratic accountability to policing ditched, while a tragic violent incident brings yet more talk of ramping up stop and search
open.substack.com
December 1, 2025 at 7:11 AM
November 2025 newsletter: PCCs getting phased out, while suspicion-free stop and searches yielding massive racial disparities in London) come back into vogue
open.substack.com/pub/stopwatc...
open.substack.com/pub/stopwatc...
Reposted by StopWatch
Police tech doesn't predict crime. It predicts policing.
Fed on flawed police data, so-called 'crime-predicting' tech automates racism and discrimination against overpoliced communities.
The Safety Not Surveillance coalition spread the word.
Sign up ➡️ action.openrightsgroup.org/join-fight-a...
Fed on flawed police data, so-called 'crime-predicting' tech automates racism and discrimination against overpoliced communities.
The Safety Not Surveillance coalition spread the word.
Sign up ➡️ action.openrightsgroup.org/join-fight-a...
November 28, 2025 at 9:46 AM
Police tech doesn't predict crime. It predicts policing.
Fed on flawed police data, so-called 'crime-predicting' tech automates racism and discrimination against overpoliced communities.
The Safety Not Surveillance coalition spread the word.
Sign up ➡️ action.openrightsgroup.org/join-fight-a...
Fed on flawed police data, so-called 'crime-predicting' tech automates racism and discrimination against overpoliced communities.
The Safety Not Surveillance coalition spread the word.
Sign up ➡️ action.openrightsgroup.org/join-fight-a...
Reposted by StopWatch
Last week the Safety Not Surveillance coalition hit the streets of London.
We sent the message that so-called 'crime-predicting' tech must be BANNED!
Because we have the right to be presumed innocent, not predicted guilty.
Sign up for campaign updates ➡️ action.openrightsgroup.org/join-fight-a...
We sent the message that so-called 'crime-predicting' tech must be BANNED!
Because we have the right to be presumed innocent, not predicted guilty.
Sign up for campaign updates ➡️ action.openrightsgroup.org/join-fight-a...
November 27, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Last week the Safety Not Surveillance coalition hit the streets of London.
We sent the message that so-called 'crime-predicting' tech must be BANNED!
Because we have the right to be presumed innocent, not predicted guilty.
Sign up for campaign updates ➡️ action.openrightsgroup.org/join-fight-a...
We sent the message that so-called 'crime-predicting' tech must be BANNED!
Because we have the right to be presumed innocent, not predicted guilty.
Sign up for campaign updates ➡️ action.openrightsgroup.org/join-fight-a...
Reposted by StopWatch
We've written to the Home Secretary and Chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council raising our concerns that guidance encouraging police forces to disclose the ethnicity and nationality of suspects charged in high-profile cases is having a devastating impact on our country.
Police disclosing suspects’ ethnicity is fuelling prejudice, say campaigners
Fifty groups write letter calling for policy in high-profile cases in England and Wales to be scrapped
www.theguardian.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:15 AM
We've written to the Home Secretary and Chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council raising our concerns that guidance encouraging police forces to disclose the ethnicity and nationality of suspects charged in high-profile cases is having a devastating impact on our country.
⚠️ Interesting fact about the use of force figures published yesterday: available police records indicate no violence detected amongst individuals subjected to use of force in almost half of all incidents. Click the link to read more www.stop-watch.org/news-opinion...
Use of force: no violence necessary
New estimates shed light on profiles of individuals subjected to force
www.stop-watch.org
November 21, 2025 at 2:06 PM
⚠️ Interesting fact about the use of force figures published yesterday: available police records indicate no violence detected amongst individuals subjected to use of force in almost half of all incidents. Click the link to read more www.stop-watch.org/news-opinion...
Reposted by StopWatch
So-called “crime predicting” technology risks creating mass human rights violations.
We deserve real safety, not more surveillance.
Sign up for updates ➡️ action.openrightsgroup.org/join-fight-a...
@amnestyuk.bsky.social @medact.bsky.social @stopwatchuk.bsky.social @migrantsrights.bsky.social
We deserve real safety, not more surveillance.
Sign up for updates ➡️ action.openrightsgroup.org/join-fight-a...
@amnestyuk.bsky.social @medact.bsky.social @stopwatchuk.bsky.social @migrantsrights.bsky.social
Join the fight against crime-predicting tech
Why is this important? The police say AI will make us safer. The truth? It automates injustice and racism. Predictive policing tools don’t predict crime — they predict policing. Built on flawed police...
action.openrightsgroup.org
November 20, 2025 at 4:17 PM
So-called “crime predicting” technology risks creating mass human rights violations.
We deserve real safety, not more surveillance.
Sign up for updates ➡️ action.openrightsgroup.org/join-fight-a...
@amnestyuk.bsky.social @medact.bsky.social @stopwatchuk.bsky.social @migrantsrights.bsky.social
We deserve real safety, not more surveillance.
Sign up for updates ➡️ action.openrightsgroup.org/join-fight-a...
@amnestyuk.bsky.social @medact.bsky.social @stopwatchuk.bsky.social @migrantsrights.bsky.social
*NEWS* 'Stop and search, arrests, and mental health detentions, March 2025' shows a small decrease in stop-search volumes by the higher suspicion-led standard (section 1), in contrast to creeping rises in suspicionless searches (section 60, section 342E, section 11) 🧵 www.gov.uk/government/s...
Stop and search, arrests, and mental health detentions, March 2025
Statistics on stop and search, arrests for notifiable offences. This release will also include statistics on detentions under Section 135 and Section 136 of the Mental Health Act previously included i...
www.gov.uk
November 6, 2025 at 9:38 AM
*NEWS* 'Stop and search, arrests, and mental health detentions, March 2025' shows a small decrease in stop-search volumes by the higher suspicion-led standard (section 1), in contrast to creeping rises in suspicionless searches (section 60, section 342E, section 11) 🧵 www.gov.uk/government/s...
Reposted by StopWatch
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bristol-co...
Join us at the #ECC on 6/11/25 from 18:30 to 20:30 for a community meeting on predictive policing and stop and search. Share your thoughts on their impact in our neighborhoods. #WeCopWatch
Join us at the #ECC on 6/11/25 from 18:30 to 20:30 for a community meeting on predictive policing and stop and search. Share your thoughts on their impact in our neighborhoods. #WeCopWatch
November 1, 2025 at 4:38 PM
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bristol-co...
Join us at the #ECC on 6/11/25 from 18:30 to 20:30 for a community meeting on predictive policing and stop and search. Share your thoughts on their impact in our neighborhoods. #WeCopWatch
Join us at the #ECC on 6/11/25 from 18:30 to 20:30 for a community meeting on predictive policing and stop and search. Share your thoughts on their impact in our neighborhoods. #WeCopWatch
Reposted by StopWatch
DS Derek Ridgewell, a police officer known to have framed at least 13 Londoners, may have set up more than 100 innocent victims metro.co.uk/2025/11/01/r...
Racist police officer may have framed 100 innocent people
DS Derek Ridgewell targeted mostly black people in the 1970s, who he falsely accused of robbery and beat up if they tried to resist arrest, before fabricating a semi-confession and lying on oath so th...
metro.co.uk
November 2, 2025 at 8:35 AM
DS Derek Ridgewell, a police officer known to have framed at least 13 Londoners, may have set up more than 100 innocent victims metro.co.uk/2025/11/01/r...
Reposted by StopWatch
"There appears to be a growing pattern of undercover officers raising mental ill-health as a reason that they should not attend the inquiry to give oral evidence" www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Doreen Lawrence calls for ‘cowardly’ undercover officer to face public inquiry
Mother of murdered teenager to challenge ruling that David Hagan is too ill to give live evidence at spycops inquiry
www.theguardian.com
November 2, 2025 at 11:03 AM
"There appears to be a growing pattern of undercover officers raising mental ill-health as a reason that they should not attend the inquiry to give oral evidence" www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Reposted by StopWatch
🚨LIVE FACIAL RECOGNITION IS EXPANDING
The Home Office told us they’d consider a legal framework to govern it’s use.
But what we’re seeing is a rapid rollout - and no safeguards to protect us.
🧵
The Home Office told us they’d consider a legal framework to govern it’s use.
But what we’re seeing is a rapid rollout - and no safeguards to protect us.
🧵
October 30, 2025 at 5:42 PM
🚨LIVE FACIAL RECOGNITION IS EXPANDING
The Home Office told us they’d consider a legal framework to govern it’s use.
But what we’re seeing is a rapid rollout - and no safeguards to protect us.
🧵
The Home Office told us they’d consider a legal framework to govern it’s use.
But what we’re seeing is a rapid rollout - and no safeguards to protect us.
🧵