DECEPTION

Bike theft is something which everyone who rides a bike will be a aware of, whether it has happened to you or not. The way you lock your bike and what kind of lock you use is the most obvious way to minimise the chances of becoming a victim of this crime.

Imagine coming back to where you locked it to find your main mode transport gone. For me it is one of those moments when you feel sick with rage.

I identified the branding on a bike to be the element which gives the bike as a whole the most value. My ornament is a series of covers worn by, and stored on the bike which hide the branding. The frame covered by sheets of plastic painted the same colour as the frame and slid into place. The saddle covered by the skin of an old saddle, stored inside it when not in use, and the badge made to be removable. You are then left with a bike which looks much more bland than it actually is.

Overlapping Narratives

An exploration of how people from different walks of life with no ostensible connection can be brought together through an act of crime. This relationship is random, a wrong time wrong place kind of thing, and is therefore almost impossible to predict or prevent. Instead the ornament seeks to explain the impersonal nature of crime as well as the plethora of reasons behind each action; its not fate exactly but everyone is where they are for a reason (shopping, social, toilet)...

VEHICLE BREAK IN PREVENTION

The potential criminal tries to break into the older vehicle through the gap in the door seal (door seals being poorly designed in older vehicles). The criminal encounters an additional type of seal on the inside of the door which is different to usual. Criminal perseveres and surprisingly the plastic strapping is allowed to pass through the seal and over the door lock mechanism - but when the criminal tries to pull on the strapping which is necessary to open the lock the strapping simply won't move - it has become trapped in the fibres of the seal and rendered useless. A one way seal – allows in but not out; preventing the crime taking place and also capturing evidence of the crime.

The seal has layers of material; rubber, foam and natural matting, meaning the seal is breathable but will not let water in.

FAKE ID

Ingrained in teenage culture is the desire to obtain what society says they cannot have. Partly for this very reason many under age teens try and get into nightclubs with fake ID. An innocent crime at first thought but one which ends up involving many.

With my version of Fake ID the need for someone Else's real ID is negated, along with the crime of fraud and aiding under age drinking. Using the 'Fake ID Manual' the under age teen need only apply a layer of latex, coloured to suit the skin with possible other additions such as cut hair for a beard, in certain areas to achieve the appearance of someone older (But not too old). Once the bouncer is fooled the teen can easily peel the latex off and carry on with their night with no hastle.

Over Protection

The crime is over protection, here I take this crime and give it a new twist that can be applied to everyday life. It has a number of functions, and protects in a number of ways. But ironically when worn it can act as a camouflage in the outside world instead of alerting you to its presence. which goes to show how bombarded we are with warning signs on the average british high street. This links to my original crime of the over protection of children by showing that by over protecting to such an extent that we have become desensitised to warnings.

PROTECTIVE VEST

The main factor that leads to violence in football courts is the own structure of the sport. Sports based on dynamism whereas athletes come in direct physical contact then production of violence is unavoidable. The violence is then automatically transfered to the crowd where it starts behaving aggressively for no important reason. The solutions and the proposals for tackling the problem of violence at football matches are too many and several can be directly applicable. My proposal is a protective vest that can be worn by all types of people in order to protect them in case of unrest or 'kettling' (police tactic for the management of large crowds during demonstrations or protests. It involves the formation of large cordons of police officers who then move to contain a crowd within a limited area) in a football match.

RECORDING MEMORY

When a drink is spiked, is the crime of this act the fact that the victim unknowingly ingests an illegal substance, or the fact that the victim's memory is effectively stolen from them?

I acted to find a solution to the latter, but ended up creating a device that attempts to acknowledge both crimes. My device is very simple, it features three key objects; a four track recorder, a microphone, and copious amounts of microphone wire. Together these enable the victim's memory to be preserved for the morning and also act as a preventative solution by letting the potential spiker know they are being recorded.