It was a huge erosion of democracy when the UK applied the new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 in April 2022. It gave police so much more illegitimate power of citizen that it almost felt like a giant step towards a Children Of Man scene. Police now can snatch anybody, for any suspicious reason from the streets and detain them without a charge for up to 16 hours. It was first widely used in September in the coronation of king charles where it was used to crush down on protests and since then was used several times to crush climate demonstrations. In a podcast about this topic, it was crazy how a woman described the new powers the police now have. It certainly is a step away from democracy and aligns more with a autocratic stance against its own citizens - I do not know if a police reform like that would had any success in an EU country as it is really cutting deep into the freedom rights of citizens. Next step would be for the UK to extend these rules to private homes or (as we see it already coming) private conversations. The UK is currently trying to outlaw encryption of private communication. I hope UK citizens are aware of where their country is currently drifting, as it does not look good from any angle and is a slippery slope to a much more authoritarian future.
It was a huge erosion of democracy when the UK applied the new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 in April 2022. It gave police so much more illegitimate power of citizen that it almost felt like a giant step towards a Children Of Man scene. Police now can snatch anybody, for any suspicious reason from the streets and detain them without a charge for up to 16 hours. It was first widely used in September in the coronation of king charles where it was used to crush down on protests and since then was used several times to crush climate demonstrations. In a podcast about this topic, it was crazy how a woman described the new powers the police now have. It certainly is a step away from democracy and aligns more with a autocratic stance against its own citizens - I do not know if a police reform like that would had any success in an EU country as it is really cutting deep into the freedom rights of citizens. Next step would be for the UK to extend these rules to private homes or (as we see it already coming) private conversations. The UK is currently trying to outlaw encryption of private communication. I hope UK citizens are aware of where their country is currently drifting, as it does not look good from any angle and is a slippery slope to a much more authoritarian future.