HOME | IMC UK | Editorial Guidelines | Mission Statement | About Us | Contact | Help | Support Us

Oxford Indymedia

+++ Oxford Cops are now cycle-friendly but still recycle-unfriendly +++

Jake | 25.01.2006 16:09 | Free Spaces | Repression | Oxford

Oxfam try to clamp down on Ox-free recycling


Today, a peaceful and successful Oxfree action (recycling the rubbish deemed not worth selling any more by Oxfam) was halted when Oxfam staff (who for some reason didn't appreciate the recycling of the goods they had already deemed only good enough to be thrown away) called the police.

The cycle-cops upon seeing the warm coats, gloves, hats and other stuff being handed out for free to members of the public (which unfortunately consisted mainly of people without the means to afford these goods if sold by Oxfam let alone other non-"charitable" shops) demanded to know the identity of the people who were bravely attempting to help Oxfam live up to the Oxford City Council's recycling scheme ("We would encourage you to think about the waste you create and take responsibility for it") not to mention Oxfam's own recycling policy!.

Upon refusing to give a name for doing nothing illegal, a person at the stall was searched under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, Section 1 (which isn't even the correct section - clearly all the exercise the cycle-cops are getting has not been helping their mental clarity) and forcibly (and illegally) had their name and details recorded. No arrests were deemed necessary - maybe they just wanted the name of someone to get good gloves to warm up those frozen cycling fingers.




Jake

Additions

defend freeshops - come to the next OxFree

10.02.2006 13:47

OxFree will take place again next Wed (15th Feb) at 5pm outside
Oxfam on Cowley Road. see:
 http://www.protest.net/imcuk/index.cgi?span=event&ID=538865

This time we are calling for anyone who believes freeshops
are worth defending against these narrow-minded attacks
to come along and show support. Let's make it bigger than ever
to show that we won't allow them to intimidate us.

.


Comments

Hide the following 10 comments

Make a complaint

25.01.2006 17:56

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

Sarah Esterhuizen


OxToss

25.01.2006 18:19

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

B Jackson


We'll be back

25.01.2006 18:21

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

Oxfreedom


Effective policing

25.01.2006 18:43

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

Fingers Mc Lite


Sounds ludicrous

25.01.2006 18:46

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

Matt S
mail e-mail: matt[AT]greenoxford.com
- Homepage: http://www.greenoxford.com


Waste money

25.01.2006 18:59

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

Jeenz


Don't take ID?

27.01.2006 10:57

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?

f


lets get a dialogoue going....

28.01.2006 20:05

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.

Cllr. Sid Phelps
mail e-mail: sid@greenoxford.com


porkies everywhere

28.01.2006 22:31

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.

Baloney Jackson


give me a call

29.01.2006 12:36

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.

Cllr. Sid Phelps
mail e-mail: sid@greenoxford.com


Publish your news
-->

Kollektives

Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World

Other UK IMCs
Bristol/South West
London
Northern Indymedia
Scotland

Oxford Topics

Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista

IMCs


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech