Police

France’s state of emergency- the new normal?

Earlier this year, French president Emmanuel Macron announced that the state of emergency would be extended to the 1^st November 2017, and as the latest lapse of the regime is being renewed, has this really become the “new normal”?

Firstly, a little bit of context. The state of emergency was introduced in France as far back as 1955 during the Franco-Algerian war, resulting in more power given to the military to help protect the country during the conflict with Algerian forces in North Africa. As it stands nowadays, it means that the French government has the power to ban protests, keep terrorist suspects on house arrest, and have checks at cultural and sporting events. These measures were introduced after the terrorist attacks of November 2015 in Paris, when over 100 people lost their lives after shootings at the Stade de France, the Bataclan concert hall and at other locations in the area. Terrorism reared its head again after the lorry attack on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice in the south the following July, which resulted in the state of emergency being extended again after many died and scores were injured.

I also can’t help feeling a little uneasy at the sight of the black-and-red Vigipirate triangle at entrances warning that bags will be checked…

Having been in Paris for two months, it’s not been difficult to notice the increased police and security presence: at major tourist attractions, metro stations, even in supermarkets, where cashiers ask shoppers to show the contents of their trolleys and shopping bags, as I quickly discovered. I also can’t help feeling a little uneasy at the sight of the black-and-red Vigipirate triangle at entrances warning that bags will be checked, despite me being from London and generally feeling safe despite the everyday threat of terrorism. Having already been extended for the fifth time since the attacks in November 2015, and now just extended again, it seems that this state of vigilance is highly likely to continue. During his election campaign president Macron emphasised that he would increase police presence, and other candidates were similarly grilled on their stance on the matter. Just recently Macron also announced further measures including a new security policy in the pipeline for early 2018.

Robert Zaretsky writing for Foreign Policy in 2016 wrote that this state was close to becoming “France’s new ordinary”, and one year later, I’m inclined to agree. It could certainly be argued that that terrorism is now an ordinary occurrence, around the world as well as closer to home. The fact that there have been attacks in Paris as well as in the UK, makes it feel as though the threat is now very close. In addition, increased security in everyday places such as supermarkets affirms that it’s becoming normal.

What strikes me further about the situation is that it has wider social implications. Specifically, involving those from a Muslim background. It seems that rejecting people from that certain background is becoming the French norm. Indeed, from what I’ve observed and read, the French government and to some extent the media are pointing the finger, as the radicalisation of French Muslims supposedly contributed to the recent attacks. It’s because of this radicalisation that the French government is going to be introducing harsher measures for those with no proper right to stay in France. While this is certainly understandable in the interest of national security, the view that is certainly extreme. Now I can accept that it’s occasionally difficult to separate fact from fiction, but it can’t be right to exclude them purely because they belong to that certain religious group. Unfortunately, some have taken it to be fact more than others, and I’m frankly disappointed that it’s like that. Paris is a tolerant city, there are people from all over the world here, as in other parts of France, and there are many Muslim migrants, mainly from the Maghreb region. While being vigilant is important, indeed essential, to help prevent further attacks on innocent citizens, it’s also worth bearing in mind that those being falsely targeted due to prejudice have done nothing wrong. In the authorities’ eyes, they just so happen to belong to the same group of people that have no mercy when it comes to incidents that cause fatalities.

While being vigilant is important, indeed essential, to help prevent further attacks on innocent citizens, it’s also worth bearing in mind that those being falsely targeted due to prejudice have done nothing wrong.

Despite all this, Parisian life carries on. People still visit the Louvre, use public transport and sit outside cafés enjoying their evenings. Yes, there was a time of fear and sorrow, which was marked appropriately, but amazingly Parisians stood together to denounce the attacks in their beloved city, as citizens of Manchester and London did earlier this year.

Policing in the past?

As students and as members of a technological generation, we tend to pride ourselves on being a bit more tech-savvy than our elders. Maybe your parents or grandparents will need help with ‘The Google’, or they will want to know what ever happened to that happy little paper clip from a few years ago. These things are expected. But unfortunately time goes on, and as more new tech comes out and the capability of these machines becomes exponentially better, changes must be made.

There is a temptation to stick to what we know, to what we have. One’s laptop seems like a trusty old car or even a well-honed musical instrument. It gets the job done, more or less. It’s a bit slow, sure, but you’ve had it for so long now: it works fine, and it has all of your best photos on it.

Unfortunately, this same mindset seems to be shared by many of the UK’s regional police forces, except they set themselves into the habit way back in 2001. Manchester’s police force, the second biggest in the UK, has admitted to 1 in 5 of their computers still running on the Window XP, with 1,518 of their computers still running the almost two decades old operating system. That’s over 20% of their office systems.

They’ve brought a horse to a car chase.

Now, some of the more tech-savvy readers here might say that this is not necessarily an issue – which it wouldn’t be, so long as those computers were isolated. But they’re not. They’re connecting directly to the public internet, and essentially exposing themselves to all sorts of malevolence.

This is what happened to the NHS in May. Ransomware known as ‘Wannacry’ infiltrated weak links in the network and scrambled files, making them inaccessible and unusable. As a result, appointments were cancelled and they were charged to retrieve these files.The attack on the NHS was dealt with relatively quickly; following some simple steps the malware was easy enough to remove, even if files were lost. Updates from Microsoft (which had been released prior to the attack but not installed) fixed the vulnerability quickly enough. However, Windows XP does not get the same frequency of updates as more up-to-date systems, if at all!

Its old, it’s not a focus anymore, and as a result remaining vulnerabilities are not sought out. Still running Windows XP right now is like still driving a car from 15 years ago, with hundreds of thousands of miles on the clock, without a windscreen, and with a bumper sticker that gives the person behind you the code to your building. They’ve brought a horse to a car chase.

The use of old systems does not just affect the individual machine – as long as those systems remain on the network, hackers have access to any connected machines too. If the same attack happened to the police, not only would they all be more vulnerable but recovery would take longer, and it would be harder to remove the malware and deal with the problem.

The police’s vulnerability makes the country more vulnerable.

Files rendered inaccessible could mean everything in a court case. Evidence could be lost or tampered with, aliases and plans could be unearthed and published. The police’s vulnerability makes the country more vulnerable.

When asked under a Freedom of Information request, the vast majority of UK police forces refused to reveal the number of computers still running XP citing security reasons, with the exception of 8 forces. These were running less than ten Windows XP computers, most of which were properly isolated.

To give you an idea of just what this might mean, the BBC has revealed that in 2015 London’s Metropolitan Police Service (the MET) had 35,640 computers still running Windows XP. The MET is the largest police force in the country and the fact they operating with such outdated systems showcases vulnerability and is highly concerning. Something needs to change.

Exe student cares for Calais

Following recent and severe clashes between police and migrants at the Calais ‘Jungle’ camp, one University of Exeter student has found a unique way to lend her support.

Final-year student Georgina Lewis is currently raising money to buy swimming goggles for refugees living in the ‘Jungle’ in an attempt to protect them from police brutality, which has increasingly involved the use of tear gas.

“A need for swimming goggles in a refugee camp might seem absurd, but the reason for it growing ever more important and necessary by the day. The police are using tear gas more frequently, in higher volumes, often without much provocation, if any at all.

“Swimming goggles will at least provide protection for eyes, so refugees can see, and aren’t left with painful eyes as a result of the tear gas,” she told Exeposé.

Having visited Calais in October last year in order to deliver physical donations and letters of support, Georgina made many friends – both support workers and homeless migrants – on the scene. Based on reports from these contacts, she described the current situation on the ground: “Sometimes hundreds of tear gas canisters are thrown into the camp – often at night – forcing people to leave their camps in the middle of the night.

“Men, women, children, and babies are affected, and the effects are very severe. One person last week went into cardiac arrest, for example. Mostly the symptoms are not this serious, but are horrible – they make eyes burn, can affect the respiratory system and make skin burn.”

With a pack of 500 goggles costing around £240, the Exeter student is now seeking fundraising help via her YouCaring page. While she recognises that they will “not solve the problem”, they should still “make a huge difference” in making refugees’ lives more comfortable.

“We cannot let this fundamental breach of human rights continue. I will be writing to Ben Bradshaw this week and also to organisations such as Amnesty about how appalling it is that this type of fundraiser is even necessary,” she added.

To donate to Georgina’s page, please click here.

Freshers’ Week 2015: Noise complaints fall

AFreedom Of Information (FOI) request has revealed that the number of noise complaints received by the University during this year’s Freshers’ Week fell by almost 40 per cent compared to 2014/15.

In total, 22 complaints were received during the period 12-20 September 2015, compared to 36 complaints that were received by the University between the dates of 13-21 September 2014. The number of complaints received during Freshers’ Week 2013 was 26.

According to the FOI request, Estate Patrol services were called out 721 times in total during Freshers’ Week. A full breakdown of callout reasons is not held by the University. However, reasons included First Aid, students and staff being locked out of buildings and noise complaints.

The number of students taken home by Estate Patrol during this year’s Freshers’ Week was 41, nearly 60 per cent higher than in Freshers’ Week 2014. This may be partly due to Estate Patrol hiring two additional cars this year so were available to provide an enhanced service to students.

Commenting on the results, University Community Liaison Officer Rory Cunningham said:

“The University experienced a decline in complaints during Freshers’ Week. We also recorded fewer incidents of serious anti-social behaviour and student welfare issues. The Students’ Guild Welcome Team worked closely with the Police, Estate Patrol and licensed premises to address welfare concerns in the city centre.

“We hope to build on the success of our partnership approach and have already considered improvements to next year’s planning.

“Residents have also commended the positive attitude of the vast majority of students during this busy social period.”

Speaking to the Express & Echo, a spokesman for Devon and Cornwall police said Freshers’ Week had been “a great success.”

Guild President Laura-Jane Tiley said: “The Students’ Guild strongly values our relationship with the community and will be working closely with the University and our community partners this year to maintain and develop our community links.”

Last year, the University was forced to apologise to local residents after complaints were made about the behaviour of students during Freshers’ Week, leading to the Football Varsity cancellation.

Student ‘grabbed’ near halls

n Exeter student was ‘grabbed’ by a stranger walking home during Freshers’ Week, it has been revealed.

Speaking anonymously, the fourth year student told Exeposé she had left her workplace in town at 2 am to walk home on 17 September. She noticed a stranger following her on Old Tiverton Road, continuing until she reached her Sylvan Road home, near Lafrowda.

The student then proceeded to hide behind her neighbours’ bins, at which point the stranger approached and grabbed her, lifting her off the ground. Managing to injure the stranger’s face with her keys, she was able to escape.

Devon and Cornwall Police have not yet found the perpetrator, who was described as young, blonde and wearing a short black jacket.

The 22-year old, who pointed out that she was “neither drunk” nor “provocatively dressed” said: “I have been here four years and never question walking home. I am never scared in most places in Exeter.

“If I had been drinking or was new in town, I don’t think I could have had the same reaction.”

VP Welfare & Diversity, Naomi Armstrong, commented: “I am very sorry to hear of this student’s experience… I would encourage all students to take care when travelling home at night -stick to well lit areas, walk with company or, if possible, get a taxi.”

Anyone who may have information pertaining to the Sylvan Road incident is asked to contact Devon and Cornwall Police.

Exeter’s top crime spots revealed

A citywide crime map has been released, revealing which areas in Exeter reported the most incidents in July this year.

The interactive online map breaking down total recorded crimes by location showed Mary Arches street to be Exeter’s most crime-prone area.

Mary Arches, which borders Fore Street and is located near the Cathedral, saw 29 incidences recorded in July alone. Little Castle Street, which runs adjacent to the High Street, came a second with 23 crime reports.

A total of 22 crimes took place on student hotspot Sidwell Street, home to burger restaurant Hub Box and popular student cocktail venue Monkey Suit, whilst Prospect Place, North Street and Guinea Street saw 17 and 12 respectively.

July saw 1,114 incidents recorded in total, with 52 under postcode EX4 6JS, a popular second and third-year student accommodation area, which encompasses Pennsylvania Road, Old Tiverton Road, Union Road, Victoria Street, Culverland Road and Springfield Road.

Anti-social behaviour and sexual offences were the most common types of crime listed, with 386 of the former and 204 of the latter.

The data, which was released by the Home Office and can be accessed via the Police.uk website, allows users to search for information on offences in their neighbourhood using their postcode.

How safe is Exeter?

The information, released to Exeposé by regional police departments under the Freedom of Information Act, reveals that Exeter is one of the safest university cities to live in, based on the reported crime in the cities surveyed.

Of the nine university cities that were investigated, Exeter was found to have the second lowest number of reported burglaries, muggings and drug related offences, and the joint lowest number of murders during the period 31 May 2014 – 1 June 2015.

Exeter also had the third lowest number of reported incidents of sexual assault and rape during this period, with 115 and 86 incidents reported respectively. However, when the relative size of each city’s population is taken into account, Exeter was found to have higher rates of sexual assault, rape and drug offences per capita than Sheffield and Leeds.

Exeposé collected the information by sending Freedom of Information requests regarding reported crimes to police departments in Exeter, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Oxford, Cambridge, Norwich, Bristol and Bath. The safest city investigated was Bath, which had the lowest recorded number of burglaries, muggings and drug offences, and the second lowest number of sexual assaults and rapes. However, when population weighting was introduced, Bath had higher drug offences per capita than Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds and Exeter.

The safest city for sexual assaults and rapes was Norwich, with just three sexual assaults and five rapes reported in the last year.
There was also only one reported case of murder in Exeter, Bath and Norwich.

According to the statistics, students were most at risk in the last year in Manchester, which had the highest number of crimes in every category, including 27,781 burglaries, 1,825 rapes and 36 murders.

Bristol was the least safe city in the South West, with higher numbers of every category of crime than Exeter or Bath being committed in the last 12 months.

Speaking about the statistics, Naomi Armstrong, Vice-President Welfare & Diversity said: “It’s great news that these statistics confirm Exeter to be a safe city for our students to live and study.

“The Students’ Guild works closely with local police and the University to ensure that we can continue to enjoy a safe community.”

A University spokesperson said: “Exeter has a reputation as being one of the safest cities in the UK. These figures confirm to students and parents alike that Exeter is among the very best locations to be in the country.”