Posted on 12/05/2008 1:41:19 PM PST by BGHater
They creep around in the dark spreading misery, rumour and secrets from inside Westminster.
Even so, paperboys and girls are hardly likely to pose a threat to national security.
One local council, however, thought it necessary to use swingeing anti-terror laws against them.
Cambridgeshire County Council used the controversial Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) to spy on eight paperboys thought to be working without permits.
It sent undercover council officers to lurk outside a Spar in the village of Melbourn and take notes on the movements of the boys.
The evidence was used in a criminal prosecution of the shop's owners for employing five of the boys without the correct documentation.
Cambridgeshire's approach is just the latest example of local authorities using the RIPA for minor misdemeanours.
Such activities have been likened to those of the Stasi, the East German secret police.
A Cambridgeshire bylaw states that all paperboys must have a work permit issued by the council and signed by the child's employer, headteacher and parents.
Working children must also be over 13 and cannot start work until after 7am.
This week Cambridge Magistrates' Court was told that Dips Solanki, 42, and his wife Rashmi, 38, had failed to get the correct work permits for five paperboys.
Prosecutor Simon Reeve told the court that the couple ignored letters and visits from a child employment officer. He said that although eight applications for work permits had been sent to the children's school, only three were signed.
Most people would not regard a paperboy as a threat to national security
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Improper paperwork to deliver papers? Burn ‘em!!!!
I think it is more like the KGB or SS but they may be correct.
Always go after the easy target, it improves the statistics, and they never shoot back.
Jihad on his mind.........
If you have never read “Angela’s Ashes” please do. The connection to your post is subtle.
Henry Bowman, call your office.
L

He might have one of these hidden in his bag.
Unfortunately stories like this abound in UK papers. Tinhorn tyrants and jobsworths make even the smallest village resemble East Germany with neighbor informing on neighbor and government watching them all.
Nobody can tell me it’s not part and parcel of the supremacy of socialism. Even ‘right-wing’ Britons often view government involvement in daily life as a good thing. It was only a matter of time before this mentality filtered down to provincial and local governments (councils). Civil servants believe they can do no wrong hence the silly and petty rules that abound....3 firemen (1 to climb and 2 to hold a 6-ft stepladder) to check a smoke detector battery...now enterprising lads on paper rounds (aka routes) have come under the, erm, helpful gaze of government.
Too freaking funny! I use to love that game (original Nintendo console).
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