Don’t Talk to the Police!
Statement about ongoing police investigations into undercover police operations
January 2018
There have been a number of incidences recently of the police contacting victims of spycops infiltration directly to ask them to co-operate with ongoing investigations related to their undercover operations.
Being contacted by the police can be intimidating and isolating, particularly for people affected by abuses of police power. We therefore want to make the following points clear for anyone who finds themselves in that situation:
You are under no obligation to talk to the police
You are not alone
We have no confidence in the police investigating their own wrongdoing. These operations, Herne and Nitrogen/Sparkler, are conducted by the Metropolitan Police who have a poor history of honestly investigating themselves.
Operation Herne was shown to be actively covering-up when it failed to report the spying on the Lawrence family, pretending nothing was amiss. The Ellison Independent Review, published on the same day clearly demonstrated otherwise.
Operation Herne also asked very invasive questions of the private lives of women targeted for relationships, yet refusing to confirm or deny whether the men involved were police officers or not. A collective decision was taken back in 2013 by many of the women involved not to cooperate with the investigation. (1)
It was the lack of trust in the police that lead for calls for a public Inquiry in the first place. Thus, we believe the appropriate places for the activities of the undercover units to be investigated are currently the Inquiry, for all its flaws, and the legal claims being brought against the police.
So, if you are contacted by the police:
- Know your rights (2)
- Just say “no comment”
- If you have a lawyer representing you, tell them to speak to your lawyer.
- Please contact any of the groups listed below to let us know if you are being bothered by these police investigations, and for support, advice and help finding a lawyer if you need one.
- For more background see Police Self-Investigators are Doorstepping Spycops Victims
In solidarity,
The Spycops Communications Group [e-mail SCG]
The Undercover Research Group [e-mail URG]
Police Spies Out Of Lives [e-mail PSOOL]
The Campaign Opposing Police Surveillance [contact COPS]
(1) Read the women’s statement
(2) Legal Defence and Monitoring Group guide to your rights: No Comment [PDF]