Ok, this is going to be short and sweet....
Reading the Guardian web site I come across a story that strikes me as just one stick the police are using to quell the Occupy movement in the UK:
Metro police send warning letters to known demonstrators
Seems like the Metro police are being ever so polite, sending out these notices to people who have been arrested at past demonstrations that they could be in terribly big trouble if caught even near a demonstration any time soon.
Why, yes, maybe they were being pro-active by warning people who had their charges suspended or given probation with the stipulation that they not attend demonstrations while on probation or a certain amount of time. Would save them time when the target is brought in to court.
"Yes, my Lord, we sent a letter to Miss Jones warning her that to participate in another demonstration would invoke heavier charges against her, but she ignored the warning, so we want to charge her with these crimes under the anti-terrorist statutes since the City of London had buildings damaged and regular business interrupted by her actions." (Of course, Miss Jones might have been a half-mile away from the area where a handful of anarchists did the damage, she might have been trying to stop the anarchists by standing in front of the buildings and pleading for those people to stop and remain non-violent at any cost, but, really, it doesn't matter, not if the Met and the Crown want you in prison, or just threaten you with prison and ruin).
But, alas, no, not really.
These warnings are being sent to people who were never charged, or had charges dropped after being arrested during the protests against cuts and raises in tuition fees, other austerity measures, that have been on-going for months in the UK.
The letter also goes to point out that even an arrest record, let alone convictions, can be a life-long barrier to employment, especially in these difficult economic times.
So next, I expect that the UK authorities will start putting activists under some sort of ban on travel, house arrest or other measures to inhibit their work and participation.
The UK has one of the largest surveillance systems used against their own population in the world.
Go read the whole story, I can't do it justice.