Security guards and town hall workers are being armed with sweeping police-style powers, it has emerged.
For a few hundred pounds, state and private sector employees can receive Home Office accreditation.
This allows them to hand out fines for a raft of offences, from dropping litter to riding a bike on the pavement.
They can also stop cars to check their tax discs, seize alcohol from underage drinkers and demand people's names and addresses.
The hope is that they will free up rank-and-file officers from having to perform these unpopular tasks. The uniformed, badged army of snoopers will become a vital part of the 'extended police family', ministers say.
But privacy campaigners have dubbed them Home Secretary Jacqui Smith's 'Stasi' after the East German secret police.
Phil
Booth of NO2ID said: 'This is a sinister move towards a Stasi snooper
state in which jobsworths are devolved the powers of the police -
including the right to demand you identify yourself.'
They can wear a special badge, and a uniform approved by the local chief constable. At present, they are wearing their employer's existing uniform with the badge sewn on, but police chiefs could eventually be encouraged to decide on a standard uniform across their force area, the Home Office said.
The department said that the revenue raised by the fines given out would go to the Treasury, and would not be kept by private firms or councils.
So it is likely that the only people who would be attracted by this scheme, are people who have a desire to be little Hitler's, want to wear a uniform and flash a badge at everyone.
They should feel right at home in a uniform just like this then.
Administrative STASI NCO Tunic
If you are one of those impatient types and just cant wait for the Home Office, you can buy yours here
This entire fiasco is in my view legalised extortion. I don't have any evidence, but cough up or it will be the worse for you.
I understand it works like this:
If you pay up (£50 within 10 days, £75 within 14 days), you do not, in fact, get a criminal record. If you contest, your details are passed onto the county legal department, and if found guilty the fine can increase to £2500 and a criminal record. You have no chance whatsoever of having a court believe your word against one of our countries highly trained and scrupulously honest political police.
Legalised extortion.
But, There IS another way!
The Libertarian Party will ensure that criminal records obtained under these circumstances are expunged from the records and are destroyed, and will repeal many of these draconian laws enacted over the past 10 years.
Your Life, Your Country, Your Choice.
