Cardboard Copper

It’s currently that strange week between Christmas and New Year in which wrapping paper and mince pie crumbs litter the house, unwanted presents line up under the settee and of course the shops go crazy with their Boxing Day and New Year sales. I was walking aimlessly round town the other day when I wandered into a branch of Poundland. Don’t worry, I didn’t buy anything there! I’ve boycotted the place because of their use of Slavefare labour, see: http://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/slavefare-in-hospitals.html But I came across this strange fellow standing in a corner. It’s actually not a policeman at all it’s a cardboard cut-out! These peculiar placements of decoration, nicknamed “PC Boardman”, are claimed to reduce the incidence of shoplifting by 75% (although amazingly one was lifted itself a few months ago: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/9573361/Crime-reducing-cardboard-policeman-is-stolen.html). For me this is another example of the very commonplace and casually accepted psychological manipulation of people by authorities. It disturbs and upsets me. Just before Christmas I came across another similar example: http://hpanwo-tv.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/christmas-muzak.html