Posted by Tina
Apparently enlisting children to snoop on the neighbors is OK as long as its for the right reasons. Just ask our cousins across the pond…
Children as young as eight have been recruited by councils to ”snoop” on their neighbours and report petty offences such as littering, the Daily Telegraph can disclose. The youngsters are among almost 5,000 residents who in some cases are being offered 500 rewards if they provide evidence of minor infractions. *** The “covert human intelligence sources”, as some local authorities describe them, are also being asked to pass on the names of neighbours they believe to be responsible, or take down their number-plates. *** Ealing Council in West London said: “There are hundreds of Junior Streetwatchers, aged 8-10 years old, who are trained to identify and report enviro-crime issues such as graffiti and fly-tipping.” *** Harlow Council in Essex said: “We currently have 25 Street Scene Champions who work with the council. They are all aged between 11 to 14. They are encouraged to report the aftermath of enviro-crimes such as vandalism to bus shelters, graffiti, abandoned vehicles, fly-tipping etc. They do this via telephone or email direct to the council.” *** Some are assigned James Bond-style code numbers, which they use instead of their real names when they ring a special informer’s hotline. *** In one case, a family was followed by council staff for almost three weeks after being wrongly accused of breaking rules on school catchment areas.
Any ideas on what “fly-tipping” could be? And what do you think about kids reporting neighbors to authorities for things like dropping food…something that happened to a young mother feeding her baby? Is this a good idea…smart, clever, or a little too Nazi for Chico?