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Would joined up intelligence really prevent the lone lunatic attack? If so how?

elcapitan 10y ago
Also, weren't the Paris attacks organized from Brussels?
cmdkeen 10y ago
The suggestion is that "lone lunatics" don't wake up one day and decide to commit murder without there being any warning signs in advance. Even people who aren't in a cell are likely to exhibit changes in character, association and behaviour that could bring them to the attention of the authorities. One of the other things about the UK over the past 15 or so years has been the massive investment in "community policing". It has been a huge cultural change, police forces became police services. Thousands of PCSOs were hired and conscious efforts made to get officers out of cars and into communities building up relationships. While sources aren't revealed I'd be amazed if some of those 40 foiled plots hadn't been in part stopped due to better initial local intelligence rather than hi-tech GCHQ gizmos.
DanBC 10y ago
You monitor people who download certain material. You then see if they apply for passports or buy tickets to Syria (or the gateway countries to Syria). You then monitor them to see if they buy knives, guns, fertiliser / etc. You also monitor them to see if they're talking about their plan to kill people (because so far most of these attacks seem to have had some planning in semi-public fora.) To me this list is scary, and we should resist governments that ask for these powers. But currently this is at the mild end of what UK gov is asking for (and doing). They'd go much further in their human rights violations. As an example of some intrusive monitoring, and other measures, that were aimed at stopping radicalisation of a family, and preventing a child from flying to Syria: https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/judgments/london-borough-tower-hamlets-v-b-13-july-2016/ https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/judgments/london-borough-tower-... This case in interesting because they could have used "joint enterprise" to convict the family, but chose not to. (A good thing, joint enterprise is linked to many miscarriages of justice).

Also, weren't the Paris attacks organized from Brussels?

The suggestion is that "lone lunatics" don't wake up one day and decide to commit murder without there being any warning signs in advance. Even people who aren't in a cell are likely to exhibit changes in character, association and behaviour that could bring them to the attention of the authorities. One of the other things about the UK over the past 15 or so years has been the massive investment in "community policing". It has been a huge cultural change, police forces became police services. Thousands of PCSOs were hired and conscious efforts made to get officers out of cars and into communities building up relationships. While sources aren't revealed I'd be amazed if some of those 40 foiled plots hadn't been in part stopped due to better initial local intelligence rather than hi-tech GCHQ gizmos.

DanBC 10y ago

You monitor people who download certain material. You then see if they apply for passports or buy tickets to Syria (or the gateway countries to Syria). You then monitor them to see if they buy knives, guns, fertiliser / etc. You also monitor them to see if they're talking about their plan to kill people (because so far most of these attacks seem to have had some planning in semi-public fora.) To me this list is scary, and we should resist governments that ask for these powers. But currently this is at the mild end of what UK gov is asking for (and doing). They'd go much further in their human rights violations. As an example of some intrusive monitoring, and other measures, that were aimed at stopping radicalisation of a family, and preventing a child from flying to Syria: https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/judgments/london-borough-tower-hamlets-v-b-13-july-2016/ https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/judgments/london-borough-tower-... This case in interesting because they could have used "joint enterprise" to convict the family, but chose not to. (A good thing, joint enterprise is linked to many miscarriages of justice).