Archive
Prints in politics: cheap, easily replicated and widely accessible
Printmaking is an ideal medium for wide and diverse engagement with art: it is replicable, cheap, and widely accessible. These features have made prints particularly attractive to political activists looking to inspire collective mobilisation. The Statewatch Library & Archive contains a number of examples of the medium, from a wide variety of movements. Read More
Franco-British “one in, one out” deal condemned as absurd and dangerous
British and French organisations, including Statewatch, have denounced the "one in, one out" deal between the French and British governments. The deal is ostensibly aimed at limiting unauthorised migration across the Channel/La Manche. The statement, published in Le Monde, highlights the dangerous consequences for migrants' rights. Read More
Police racism and criminalisation across Europe increasingly fuelled by digital ‘prediction’ and profiling systems
London, 30 June 2025 – The civil liberties organisation Statewatch has published a report that reveals how police and criminal legal system authorities across Europe are using data-based, algorithmic and AI systems to ‘predict’ where crimes may occur and profile people as criminals, despite the EU’s apparent ban on so-called ‘predictive policing’ systems in the Artificial Intelligence Act. Read More
New Technology, Old Injustice: Data-driven discrimination and profiling in police and prisons in Europe
Police and criminal legal system authorities across Europe are increasingly using data-based systems and tools to ‘predict’ where crime will occur, to profile people as criminals and to assess the ‘risk’ of crime or criminality in the future. Read More
France: Flaws and injustices of ‘predictive policing’ laid bare in new report
As part of a European initiative coordinated by Statewatch, La Quadrature du Net has published an English translation of its report on the state of predictive policing in France. In light of the information gathered, and given the dangers these systems carry when they incorporate socio-demographic data as a basis for their recommendations, La Quadrature calls for a ban. Read More
France: How the “war on drugs” is turbo-charging surveillance powers
A French law is set to unleash invasive new police surveillance powers. Fuelled by absurd rhetoric, the government is proposing what has been dubbed “the worst surveillance law in the EU”. Experts warn that it will fail to achieve its aims. However, the broad scope of the law means the powers can be used against migrants, their supporters, and to crack down on dissent. As official reports have made clear, dealing with drug use and trafficking requires long-term, low-tech policies – not high-tech police surveillance powers. Read More
France, Germany and the Netherlands push for EU-wide “tracking and bugging of vehicles”
Germany, France and the Netherlands are advocating for a reform of the European Investigation Order (EIO) to simplify cross-border surveillance of vehicles. A joint non-paper sent to other EU member states aims to amend the 2014 law to enhance cross-border surveillance cooperation. The reform would allow police to continue using GPS trackers and bugging devices on vehicles when they travel into other EU member states, without requiring additional legal approval in each country. Read More
Frontex flights and fatalities in the Channel
Following the Channel shipwreck in November 2021, when at least 31 people drowned while French and British coastguards ignored their calls for help and failed to coordinate a search and rescue operation, European ministers met in Calais for crisis talks. Their response: have Frontex deploy an aircraft to “fly day and night to help the French, Dutch and Belgian Police” monitor the coastline for crossings. The French interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, said at the time: “We cannot accept that any more people die.” Read More
The case of Civipol: commodified mobility policing in West Africa and its colonial continuities
Current European attempts to outsource migration control to West Africa mirror historical entanglements between colonial logics, corporate interests and policing. This article looks at the place of public-private relations in French colonialism in order to historically situate the activities of Civipol, a French public-private actor owned both by the French state and major security companies, that has specialized in building African states’ internal security capacity. Read More
EU: Hamas ban plan sparks concerns of crackdown on pro-Palestinian action
A Franco-German-Italian plan setting out proposals to counter the activities of Hamas at both EU and global level has raised concerns that governments may use it as a justification for further attacks on pro-Palestinian protest and campaigning. The document outlines strategies ranging from restricting resources to banning support networks. Read More