Success my Arse!

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Success my Arse!

by Fentyke @ 04/08/2008 – 14:35:27

Last Friday, Peterborough police were searching passengers for Drugs and knives at Peterborough Station. On site were aproximately 8 coppers, 2 sniffer dogs and 2 knife/metal detetcting gates sited just inside the main doors. They say they checked 160 people and found..... wait for it..... Zero knives. In the 6 hours they were there, they did however arrest 4 people for minor drug offences and catch a number of fare dodgers.

Guess what? They have declared the exercise a success. What bollocks. At best this was the right strategy in the wrong place at the wrong time. I certainly don't class 4 minor drug offences a good days work for 8 coppers or efficient use of such resources. I also question their claim that 160 people were checked because everyone I saw entering and leaving the platform via that main door was checked by both the metal detector and the sniffer dog. And I was only there for a few minutes as I stood in the que wondering what the hold up was for. What I think they meant was that the machine beeped or the dogged wagged for 160 people and all these people were thoroughly searched.

As far as I'm concered, 100's of people were inconvenienced, delayed and made to feel like a they were under suspicion of something they hadn't done. On top of that, it was more than possible to avoid being checked because the cafe doors were unmanned. Any crim with half a brain would simply exit or enter the platform from here if they wanted to avoid an unexpected search.

So commuters. We're not just moaning old cunts with too much money, Peterborough police also think some of us a re knife weilding, drug taking crims who deserve to be banged up.

http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/Police-hail-39success39-of-railway.4354234.jp
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14 Comments to Success my Arse!

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- Devils Advocate (Visitor)
- 04/08/2008 @ 14:51:38
Whilst I see your point Fentyke about it being an inconvenience to your journey we have to face facts that knife crime is on the increase.

I recently had a situation on board a train where a fella didn't have a ticket (or at least claimed he couldn't find it) and couldn't verify his identity. The police were called and during thier search to look for his ticket they found a knife in his inside jacket pocket. Now assuming he wasn't a chef (and he didnt look much like one!) he was only carrying that for one reason and it certainly shook me up a bit and brought it home to roost just what could have happened when they pulled it from his pocket.

I think initiatives like this do help, although they certainly aren't the sole response to knife crime, but we need to start to do something to create a safer environment for both passengers and staff on board our trains and stamp this sort of dangerous/potentially dangerous crime out. If this means some slight inconvenience to a rail journey then surely its worth it?
- - deana24
  - 04/08/2008 @ 16:42:57
  Acutally I thought, nationally, statistically, figues show knife crime is down but the people involved in knife crime are younger.
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- Fentyke
- 04/08/2008 @ 15:40:22
I agree but I did say I thought this may be the right strategy but wrong time and wrong place. This was a high profile action that cost shed loads and realised nothing other than a lot of positive and negative PR. This could have been changed to a lot of positive PR had they chosen a more suitable location such as Queensgate or the bus station where, lets face it, they stood a better chance of catching people. I've no objection to walking through a metal detector and happily did on Friday. I even had a little laugh and a joke with the coppers as I did so. However I must admit, I don't take kindly to being sniffed at by some bloody mutt pariculalrly as one wag of his tail could have resulted in some bloddy copper putting his hand up my arse.
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- Electrics need juice (Visitor)
- 04/08/2008 @ 19:12:49
Would you rather not have incentives like this or increase your chances of being stabbed? It may be a little inconvenient to have a delay to your journey home, but being murdered would be more inconvenient.

This happened on a Friday evening a time when young people come into Peterborough for a night out, these people might carry knives and have illegal drugs on them.
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- Fentyke
- 05/08/2008 @ 08:52:20
I'd rather have incentives that actually stand a chance of achieving the objective instead of an expensive PR campaign which affects nobody but the innocent. This happened on a Friday afternoon/early evening. They were long gone before the few deluded youngsters that might come into Peterborough carrying a knife while on night out arrived. How many times do I have to say this was the right strategy just wrong time and wrong place. I am not against the move it's just that I would rather have seen it happen where there was a better chance of catching those that it targeted.
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- Razor Ronnie (Visitor)
- 05/08/2008 @ 10:22:56
Knife crime and drugs.
It is lamentable that so many young people are being stabbed, but lets face it, in the main they are largely young black people who are involved with drugs or robbery. Our delightful PC state will not admit this for fear of being accused of being a racist.

It is rare to see a young white boy as a stab victim and when they are its usually a black thats knifed them.
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- Lady (Visitor)
- 05/08/2008 @ 16:16:42
Police were at the station from 1600 to 2200. While walking through I did see the coppers pounce on one bloke and drag him off kicking and screaming, not sure what that was for!! I dont really agree with saying they werent there for when the young people most likely to be carrying knives would be coming through. However, I do think setting up similar operations in different locations is quite a good idea. Wouldve been hader to stage it in queensgate admittedly, but im sure they could do it. Yes Razor it does seem to be mostly black youngsters that do the crime, but we cant tar them all with the same brush. I have a cousin who is 18 and black but he couldnt be further from a knife wielding thug. That operation could have gone better, but hopefully itll deter some thugs, though I seriously doubt it.

Bring back capital punishment, thatd deter them!!
- - Razor Ronnie (Visitor)
  - 05/08/2008 @ 17:06:10
  I agree you cant tar them all with the same brush. The real problem is in the inner city areas where dealing drugs and robbery can earn you a lot more then £300 a week collecting garbage.
  
  Its a real social issue which wont go away.
  
  legalising the drug trade would help, but i cant see Boots selling grams of Cocaone etc in my life time!!
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- Fentyke
- 05/08/2008 @ 19:16:11
Thanks for clarifying the times LADY.
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- Lady (Visitor)
- 05/08/2008 @ 20:25:15
Yea I think youre right there Razor. I doubt even inner city projects would help now. Seems like a lot of this culture came from America. Gun crime seemed to spiral when they banned handguns, what do you think???

Real shame, you aren't safe anywhere. Would be nice to see more police presence on the trains, especially those late night FCC's.
- - Razor Ronnie (Visitor)
  - 06/08/2008 @ 09:39:34
  There seem to be more guns available from Eastern Europe now that the borders are open. Knifes remain the real issue though. I dont have an awful lot of hope for the various education projects where youths are taught the error of their ways.
  
  Yep your right, bring back capital punishment!
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- badwolf06 (Visitor)
- 06/08/2008 @ 16:55:05
I laughed at the article which said that the detectors resulted in on eperson being arrested for drunken disordely, so would they not have detected this if the machine had not been there?

Like Devil i have come across passenger who had been searched by the police and have discovered some lethal hardware,its all well and good arresting them but its no good if when they get to court they just receive a caution or suspended sentence, there needs to be harsher sentences for carrying knives, regardless of previous good character,poor me syndrom, if you carry a knife then you must suffer the consequences.

Yes i guess it was a bit on a bugger especially on a friday night when commuters want to get home for the weekend break, but i think although they did not find any knives its a good idea,although maybe they should have had officers standing at the cafe entrance doing seraches also.its the same with tickets, whats the point in having 4 people checking tickets at the main entrance, when the cafe entrance is unmaned, because ticket dodgers are totally honest!!!!
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- Lady (Visitor)
- 06/08/2008 @ 21:21:04
Good point about Eastern Europe. We seem to let them all in!!! This country needs tougher immigration laws amongst other things, its too soft on everything. It makes me so mad!! You could write a blog just on this stuff!!! I do think capital punishment would be a good way of deterring violent offenders. They would stab someone again would they??

Its a shame guards and passengers have to put up with a small minority of wankers who make some journeys miserable. A better police presence would be great, but I cant see it happening, the BTP seems stretched as it is.

There is no easy solution but the government needs to pull their fingers out their arses and do something. Enough hot air!!!

Sorry rant over now!!!
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- Tony Traveller (Visitor)
- 07/08/2008 @ 15:36:25
Well I got back at about 6:30 to 7:00 Friday eveningto be greeted by two Revenue Protection folk (not the usual morning ones who are most polite) at the platform entrance. My ticket was checked by one (the older of the two and most polite as well) and just as I was putting it away the other, young one, tried to grab it to check it - he failed. The metal detector was roped off but there were a couple of BTP scuffing around one of whom had a good stare at me so I stared him down.

As an operation to 'detect' weapons it was a failure and looked, at that time, just like an excuse for BTP to have a 'visible' profile.

I thought, initially, it might have had something to do with the footie match the following day.

Whilst I understand the desire to have a visible presence it would be much better to do this by carrying out regular patrols rather than these spasmodic knee jerk events. The more I see the less respect I have for the Senior Police Officers who direct these things. Mind you I wouldn't do a constables job especially in the BTP having to pick up the pieces after a fatality on the tracks and I respect them for that.
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