I do look at other sources, but this again via Kable: “Liberty has published a report on the rise of the surveillance society, which seeks to restore the balance of the relationship between the individual and the state.” (Warning–I could not find the report on the Liberty website.)

This comes one week after news that the EU Human Rights Commission is considering whether DNA retention should be allowed absent a conviction for a serious crime, and only 3 days after a NHS hard drive with confidential patient information appeared on eBay.

As the Kable article is a short piece, more quoting becomes almost theft, but I’ve got good IPR lawyers… “Published on 13 September 2007, the report, ‘Overlooked: Surveillance and Personal Privacy in Britain’ explores the increase in surveillance, including the mass retention of personal information on government-run databases and the growth of the national DNA database.

It comes a week after Liberty won a six month battle with the Avon and Somerset Constabulary to have the DNA of a 13 year old boy, falsely accused of writing graffiti, removed from the DNA database.

According to the pressure group, the DNA database is the largest in the world with 3.9m samples. Rules allowing DNA samples to be taken at the point of arrest rather than conviction has disproportionately affected black men, with nearly 40% of black men represented, compared with 13% of Asian men and 9% of white men.”

And again, one interesting fact in the body of the story: “A YouGov poll commissioned by Liberty found that only 17% of Britons trust the authorities to keep their personal details confidential, while 57% believe the UK has become a “surveillance society”.”

And yes, regarding the title of this post, I did spend 4 years in the Navy and yes, I’ve been waiting for a chance to use the phrase.