I’ve noticed something weird going on in Karori recently. Check out this sign from the window of the Karori Post Office (click for big):
That’s right. It’s a serious-looking Big Brother poster warning Karori residents that surveillance and recording of their physical whereabouts, conversations, phone calls, text messages and internet use “may” be operating, for “National Security Purposes”.
Watching your community
Here it is again, on the Karori Mall noticeboard:
Click for the larger version, and you’ll see that the signs feature logos at the bottom: the SIS, the Police and the NZ Defence Force are all in cahoots on this one.
Fine print at the very bottom of the sign reads: Defacing or removing this notice is prohibited under the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002. Offenders face a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment. Good to know!
Consider how odd the signs look – they appear to date from the 1970s. When I first saw the signs, I thought they were part of some protest by an activist group, but they almost look too serious and stodgy to be a tongue-in-cheek protest.
If it is for real, I have two theories:
Theory 1: The SIS are running some sort of training courses in Karori and these signs are letting residents know not to report the not-very-subtle dark van which circles the block every ten minutes to the cops.
Theory 2: They are keeping tabs on the neighbours of MPs who live in the suburb, and this is to let those neighbours know they should behave, or something.
One more thought: when law enforcement really has someone under surveillance, the LAST thing they want is for them to KNOW they are being watched.
Just to contrast this weird unexplained “National Security” surveillance going on in Karori, here is some private security surveillance outside a commercial building in Kenepuru.
There’s a big sign telling nefarious persons that there is surveillance, and this serious-looking camera:
We know exactly what they are watching – the entrance to their own building – and why – for reasons of physical security, protecting the equipment inside the building. Its totally transparent and there is nothing dodgy going on.
These weird signs make me wonder if we can say the same for whatever is happening in Karori …
Update: Another sign spotted, this one doesn’t look quite so official (hat-tip: dubh on Flickr):
It’s gotta be a tongue-in-cheek protest.
The orwellian imagery and language is so overt, surely a real cop/SIS officer wouldn’t actually create that poster!
And, as you say, if it is truly surveillance for some “national security” purpose, they wouldn’t advertise it.
Most people will probably miss the message. It’s a bit scary – the UK shows us that the population will accept all kinds of government intrusion into their privacy, we’re probably on the same track (just a few years behind)
Left by Craig D on May 10th, 2010