BBC – the

Big Brother

council

With more than a hint of delusions de grandeur, Boston Borough Council refers to itself as “BBC” in internal documents and e-mails.
It makes our tiny, insignificant local council sound so much more important - but recently we feel that the abbreviation might also stand for Big Brother Council – given the menacing overtones of many recent communications to the public.
The latest edition of the borough’s electronic bulletin, which appeared on Friday – proclaims: “There will be no hiding place for any who spoil the streets of Boston.
The borough council is determined to take a pro-active approach to all cases of littering and graffiti vandalism. It has turned the might of its hugely powerful and sophisticated 72-camera CCTV system against those who wilfully throw down litter and who fail to clean up after their pets.
"And now the council has teamed up with the police, schools and colleges to track down idiots who plastered Boston with an eyesore epidemic of around 100 pieces of graffiti.”
For the borough to adopt a tough stance towards its delinquent citizens is entirely proper - although the braggartly description of the huge power and might of its sophisticated CCTV sounds almost comic in light of the fact that no fewer than one hundred graffitti attacks have apparently already gone unnoticed.
Now turn to the previous edition of the borough bulletin.
“Litter louts – we’re watching you” screams the banner headline - which threatens …
“Eagle-eyed CCTV staff will, in addition to their usual duties, be spotting litter louts.
“And, as part of an innovative project, those litter bugs caught by one of the
borough’s 72 CCTV cameras who cannot be identified by the council or the police
will appear in a name-and-shame feature in the Boston Standard.”
This is an old stunt, recycled by our green council and local “newspaper” and whilst it may well reduce littering pro tempore, again, it has a rather sinister feel. Not only that, but it does not name and shame  anyone at all - it simply publishes their grainy photo and asks the public to do the rest.
And of course, it closes the stable door after the horse has littered - as does so much CCTV enforcement. How much better would it be if a police or council presence on the streets were to act as a deterrent?
Now take a look through the council website - where threatening stories litter almost every page.
• “Your waste: Your responsibility. Waste cowboys could land you with a fine and a criminal record by illegally fly-tipping your waste….”
• “Don't get caught without a TV licence. Did you know that you can be fined up to £1,000 if you are caught watching TV without a licence?
• “£75 fine for dropping a cigarette end. Thoughtlessly toss a cigarette end to the ground and, if it hasn’t started a grass fire, the filter tip will still be there when you pass that way in ten years' time.”
• Do you live in East Lindsey or the Borough of Boston? If so the East Lincolnshire Community Safety Partnership wants to hear your views on crime and anti-social behaviour.
All of this is well and good in that the messages need to be put across – but presenting them in such a relentlessly threatening manner can become oppressive and unsettling.
What next: “Breathe out with care – air pollution is an offence for which you can be fined ….”
It seems almost as if the council is looking for something to threaten us with these days – and at least one of the issues mentioned above is not a local authority responsibility.
But if it must be done, could it not be done more positively to encourage us to become participants in better group behaviour – rather than isolating and threatening us?
Which brings us to another thing.
We’ve lost count of how often we have been invited to complete the borough council's Hate Crime Survey.
We can only assume that not enough people yet feel hated, and that this document will appear repeatedly until they do.
To encourage us, the borough says: “A hate crime or incident is any crime or incident which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a person's actual or perceived social group or groups.”
The definition is wide enough to encompass almost anything, but although the survey contains 19 questions, only seven  truly relate to the topic.
1. Have you, or a person you know, experienced a hate crime or incident?
2. If ‘yes’ … what type of hate crime were you a victim of?
3. Did you tell anybody about it?
4. If ‘no’ … why not?
5. How would you feel most comfortable reporting hate crime?
6. What could improve the way the council and police tackle hate crime?
7. Have you heard about the Stop Hate Crime 24 Hour Help Line?
Well, answers to that lot will advance matters considerably, won’t they?
Then follows the usual Getting to Know You nonsense …
“We want to provide great services to everyone and it would really help if you could give us some information about yourself.”
Information such as: Have you ever identified as transgender; your sexual orientation (choice of four, plus other;) religion (choice of seven) and disability which offers a choice of six – plus “other (for example, disfigurement”.)
Whilst answers to these questions are voluntary, they still seem strangely inappropriate.
And a national newspaper reported last month that town hall sex snoopers had been banned from bombarding people with intrusive questions about their private lives.
Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles was appalled that residents using basic services were being grilled about their sex lives, disabilities, religion, ethnicity and employment.
“At a time when taxpayers are watching their pennies, the last thing councils should be doing is sending out unnecessary and intrusive questionnaires,’ he said.
“Local residents shouldn’t be asked to reveal detailed personal information just because they’ve enquired about getting their bins emptied or how to join their local library.
“Clamping down on such town hall activity will save taxpayers’ money and protect the privacy of residents of all backgrounds.’
Perhaps someone at The BBC could tell us what happens to the information once it is received – and precisely why they need to know it.

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Our former blog archive is available at: http://bostoneyelincolnshire.blogspot.com