Stacy Summary:   As soon as the alleged war on terror began, many warned that the state and their tech company allies would turn all that technology on us, with profit being the motivation.

• UK police using controversial technology to target the public in bid to meet targets on arrest rates

The UK’s soft-crime initiative is now a multimillion-pound industry: parking fines levied last year totalled £330m, with another £100m from speed cameras. These numbers are expected to grow, along with fines for a burgeoning range of offences for everything from overloading wheelie bins to feeding the ducks. Some 200,000 spot fines for these garnered £12m last year.

Critics say this has the dual corrosive effect of penalising the mostly law-abiding middle class, while diverting enforcement resources from more serious, but hard-to-prosecute criminals. The disclosures also undermine police assurances that “law-abiding citizens need have no fear” of the UK-wide surveillance network of spy cameras.

This target culture has allegedly led to unethical practices during roadside stops, according to concerned police sources. Some officers, they say, trawl through drivers’ personal data on police databases to find any reason to arrest. Alternatively, they “wind up” motorists who, in their frustration, become abusive and are then arrested for a public-order offence.