The officers involved were PC 2204, WPC 5189 & PC 5135 Jackson. PC 2204 made a search of the volunteer's wallet when they refused to give their name. They gave no formal warning or receipt of the search, which leads me to conclude that this was probably an illegal search. To complain please contact

Jim Booth – Executive Director
Thames Valley Police Authority
The Farmhouse
Oxford Road
Kidlington
Oxon OX5 2NX
Telephone: 01865 846780
Email:  tvpa@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk

Oxfam are being outrageous and their actions are pure discriminatory against the less advantaged, the very people this BINGO (big international non-governmental organisation) and so called charity claim to help in all their mail shots.

This is a group committed to recycling and helping the poor, so why are they being so wasteful and wasting taxpayers money by calling the police. Is it because they only thing they really care about is their own wagepackets?

OxFree used to happen before on a Thursday night after the shop had closed, when the bins were opened to the public and the unwanted donations given out for free to all and sundary. No discrimination and no cost for anyone. Oxfam changed the times when they put out their bins to stop this.

Please contact Oxfam and ask why they have adopted these polices and are calling the police on those helping to recycle and the disadvantaged. OxFree is a great initiative that should be supported and endorsed by all charity shops. Oxfam should not be criminalising people volunteering to help deal with their rubbish and the people they claim to help.

Chair: Rosemary Thorp -  rthorp@oxfam.org.uk
Director: Barbara Stocking -  bstocking@oxfam.org.uk
Oxfam House, John Smith Drive, Cowley, Oxford, OX4 2JY, UK
Tel: 01865 473 727
Fax: 01865 472 600
Email:  oxfam@oxfam.org.uk

OxFree will be back, to a high street near you. Help recycle and reuse - get out and give away. See ya soon, bhoyos.....

Yea I can witness to that!
I saw the whole thing through the window of a flat I was burgling across the street.

Dear Jake,

That sounds ridiculous. If you want to get in touch with me (email above) then I and other Green councillors
will try to find out what is going on and sort it out.

Cheers,

Matt

To reduce any companys waste for collection will reduce its waste bill,so the people involved were saving Oxfam money!
Nice one!!

Good that people refused to give details, but the search wouldn't have got the cops very far if people weren't carrying ID of some kind...Searching wallets on the pretext of looking for drugs or whatever is an easy way for them to get round people refusing to give details, and you see it often. When they don't just try it on and claim you have to give your details that is! Maybe people shouldn't take ID in situations where they think they might get police attention?

I spoke to the cycle-officer (Ben) on Wednesday co-incidentally before I saw these postings & suggested the police might have better things to do. He agreed but said they'd been called there by Oxfam.

Today (Sat 28th) I spoke to the manager in Oxfam Cowley Rd (another Ben). He explained that in the past they'd had problems with people selling stuff & generally making a mess. I explained that this was different: an excercise in waste re-use and generally an altruistic gesture.

Perhaps if we can assure Ben the Oxfam manager that this is actually a good thing & won't give them problems then he won't object?... (e.g. ripping the trade waste bags invalidates them). Lets work something out.

Mmh, sounds like that both the manager of Oxfam and the police are not quite above the bending of the truth.

Certainly the manager is telling tall tales. There has been no incidents of people selling stuff - OxFree events have always been free with no charge whatsoever for the goods, and he knows this. The reason the stopped on Thursday evenings was because Oxfam stopped putting their rubbish out precisely because of OxFree.

I take it that he is the one who has been throwing around the accuastions of theft. Very community minded that man.

And as for the police, well there are a lot of people dissatisfied in East Oxford over their selective policing of crimes. Make it remotely political and they are all over it like a bad rash, otherwise you can whistle in the wind for all the attention they will pay you.

Dear Baloney,
I don't think the manager of Oxfam is telling lies; he was referring to experiences of another shop he used to work at.
We can either remain in conflict or try to resolve a solution equitable to both sides. I hope I am able to help in this.