Three
Edinburgh City Council employees have been suspended
from duty after they were caught reproducing
pornographic DVDs and CD-ROMS on local authority
computers.
The scam was uncovered on Tuesday this week
after a tip-off to trading standards officers,
who caught the computer pirates during a late-night
raid.
It is thought the staff members, all security
guards, had created 5,000 CD-ROMS using council
computers in one year.
Privateering
The counterfeit DVDs, including Hollywood blockbusters,
pornographic films and music CDs, were being
made to order for pirate traders at Edinburgh’s
Ingliston market, where they were sold for up
to £10 each.
It is thought the scam was only exposed after
some of them attempted to sell DVDs to their
friends and other Edinburgh City workers.
A spokesman for the city council said: "We can
confirm that a number of staff have been suspended
pending investigations into the possible misuse
of council property and equipment."
Last night, a council source said: "This has
been going on for some time and they have easily
made thousands of pounds .
Vehicle
Watch
"They were actually copying the CDs using a
DVD writer built into council computers at the
Russell Road depot when they were supposed to
be guarding the vehicles.
"A lot of other workers knew it was going on
but they turned a blind eye."
She added: "They’ve been copying the films
and music CD’s for at least a year and
they have copied a lot of pornographic material
downloaded from the internet and copied from
DVDs bought in Amsterdam."
Pirate
Market
Eric Robinson, the head of regulatory services
at Edinburgh City Council, said recently that
Ingliston Market was one of the major trading
points for fake DVDs in Scotland.
He said: "If you said to me that the majority
of stalls at Ingliston were selling counterfeit
goods, I’m sure my officers would not disagree
with you. Even after we raid the market, you
can almost guarantee the stalls will be full
of pirate DVDs the following weekend."
The trade in illegal CD-ROMS and DVDs accounts
for more than £300 million in lost sales.
Locate
In Scotland Losing Out
Scotland
is losing out on opportunities to sell itself
as film location according to correspondence
being published in The Scotsman newspaper. A
location finder based on the Isle of Skye and
a Los Angeles resident have both written to
the newspaper complaining that Scotland’s
potential as a location are being sold short.
Sallie
Olmstead wrote: "I was appalled to learn recently
that the Scottish representative in Los Angeles,
the entertainment capital of the world, is essentially
an unpaid volunteer because Scottish Screen
executives felt it would be foolish to "compete
with Hollywood", and that active representation
to bring commercial, fashion, television and
film shoots to Scotland would not be needed.
Business
Not Culture
"I suggest that the Scottish parliament moves
the funding and oversight of film/TV/commercial
production information and incentives under
the jurisidiction of its economic and business
development arm, rather than leave it to languish
under education and culture.
"Once a project has been completed (finished
television programmes such as Monarch of the
Glen, or films like Braveheart), it becomes
a cultural product that can be screened and
promoted.
Scotland
"Seize Control" Urged
"The British Academy of Film and Television
Arts does a nice job of promoting British films
and TV programmes in the US, while the British
Film Office in Los Angeles focuses on securing
projects that will create work and jobs on British
soil. Now it is time for Scotland to seize control
firmly over a sector of the economy that can
bring more high-paying, low-polluting jobs to
Scotland.
"The government must take a more active role
in promoting such a beautiful nation, complete
with history, scenery, support services and
talented citizens who are eager to work."
The
author of the letter signs herself as SALLIE
OLMSTED,
Century Park East, Los Angeles, USA
At
the same time, the proprietor of a company set
up to find locations for film on the Ilse of
Skye has written about his disbelief at lack
of Scots film presence where he has been promoting
his company.
He says: "Regarding recent discussion on Scotland’s
place in the film industry, and the furore at
Scottish Screen, the lack of representation
by the Scottish film industry became apparent
to me while I was on a recent visit to Hollywood,
as a guest at the British Academy of Film and
Television Arts Oscar party.
Watched
With Disbelief
"Scottish Screen’s decision to suspend
funding to those Scots working there, and willing
to represent the interests of Scotland’s
film industry, was watched with disbelief.
"The British consul-general, Paul Dimond, on
the other hand, was magnificent in his support,
and it is very much to the credit of the British
Film Commission that my modest Highland venture
of a film and television location company in
Skye surfaced in Hollywood.
"The warmth of the welcome I received from my
American hosts was very much appreciated, and
was only qualified by genuine puzzlement on
their part at the absence of Scottish film representation.
Scottish
Film Inc., LA
"At the very least, there should be a Scottish
film office in Hollywood. If our parliament
would like to go a step further, could there
not be tax relief credits for companies bringing
film and related employment here?
"Scotland has benefited enormously in recent
years from the creative industry of Hollywood,
and to acknowledge that could be even more productive."
K
MACKINNON
Bosville Terrace
Portree, Skye
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