Fitwatch: The Story So Far

It's been just over a year since we started a concerted campaign against the FIT Teams, so we thought it was time we celebrated some of our achievements.

FIT no longer feel safe on our demonstrations. According to their own statements, they have felt "intimidated" by our tactics, and we have at times, rendered their intelligence gathering operations "ineffective". We have seen several demonstrations where the cameraman has had to be "withdrawn", and we have shown we can do this even when our numbers are small.

In June last year, I wrote "The cops are so comfortable outside our meetings they think they don’t need back up. Four cops and a photographer feel safe outside our meetings." This is no longer the case. There were ten officers at the London Fete meeting, and they called in a van of TSG to back them up.

Despite numerous arrests, they have yet to secure a conviction. Trials have seen judicial review threatening senior crown prosecutors wheeled out to unsuccessfully take on unrepresented defendants. Evidence has included statements from Superintendents, and the printing out of the contents of this blog.

On the streets, we have been part of a general trend in changing the psychology of demos. Increasingly, people are refusing to be pushed around, and more willing to take on the police. Forcing a photographer to withdraw from the crowd is like pushing through a police line - it shows resistance can be successful. It shows we can change the dynamic of a situation.

We've got a long way to go, but after years of subjugation, we've started fighting back, and the effects are visible. Let's keep up the pressure and see what we can achieve in another year.