Technology sees what is unseen......Thermal Images show "Occupy" camp is mainly empty overnight

Police in London used a thermal imaging camera and found that at night, 90% of the tents in the "Occupy" camp set up outside London's St. Paul's Cathedral were empty.

That means that the protesters who vowed to stay until things were fixed mainly go home for the evening and "occupy" at home. This is not unusual as many like to protest but a much smaller number will give up their comfort for long stretches, especially in the colder temps that have become the norm this time of year.

I would be interested in seeing what a similar survey of the other "occupy" camps like NYC & Boston showed....likely we would see very similar results.


The thermal images that prove 90% of tents in St Paul's protest camp are left empty overnight - 'The time has come for the protesters to leave,' says the Bishop of London

By Tom Kelly and Damien Gayle - UK MAIL
26th October 2011

These are the damning images that prove the anti-capitalist protest that has closed St Paul’s Cathedral is all but deserted at night.

Footage from a thermal imaging camera taken late at night reveals just a fraction of the makeshift camp was occupied.

An independent thermal imaging company, commissioned by the Daily Mail, captured these pictures after similar footage from a police helicopter found only one in ten tents were occupied after dark.

In these shots, taken late on Monday night, the presence of body heat from humans is represented by yellow and red inside the tents.

The tents that are coloured purple indicate they are colder and thus empty. The buildings behind are also yellow and red because of the higher temperatures inside.

The images suggest the vast majority of the demonstrators who gather around the cathedral to denounce capitalism during the day go home or to a hotel to stay warm at night.

But despite being an almost entirely part time protest, the activists last week forced St Paul’s to shut for the first time since the Blitz, and the cathedral appears unlikely to reopen for months

The Bishop of London this morning also stepped into the row over the occupation, saying it is 'time for the protesters to leave'.

Richard Chartres, the third most senior cleric in the Church of England, said in a statement: 'This demonstration has undoubtedly raised a number of very important questions.

'The St Paul's Institute has itself focused on the issue of executive pay and I am involved in ongoing discussions with City leaders about improving shareholder influence on excessive remuneration.

'Nevertheless, the time has come for the protesters to leave, before the camp's presence threatens to eclipse entirely the issues that it was set up to address.