On the other hand, I wouldn’t want to
give them any more ideas…
British police are planning to use anti-terror laws to stop and search members of the public during the 2012 Olympic Games, The Times newspaper said on today.
The attack helicopter with stealth mode is probably on the drawing board as I type…
Steve Thomas, Olympic National Transport Security Co-ordinator for the Home Office, said tougher security measures were planned given the heightened threat Britain is likely to face during the 2012 Games.
"If there is a severe level of threat we will be looking to use Section 44 at every Underground and railway station," Thomas said.
So even if you are planning to travel and work normally and ignore the wretched Olympics as best you can, or were planning to come to the UK and take some tourist photos regardless of the wretched Olympics, you can look forward to being stopped and searched under Section 44 by
some gum-chewing uniformed goon just to create the right ‘security theatre’ for some visiting dignitaries…
A Apache helicopter to deter car-thieves might not be so bad though.
ReplyDeleteI'd quite like one myself!
ReplyDeleteHmm. I'm a copper and I was in total agreement with the recent decision against S44 power being used as indiscriminantly as it is/was being used.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the Olympics are going to be a huge challenge, and also a huge potential for terrorism. More bang for your buck, so to speak.
I don't know what the answer will be, but as a fairly liberal copper I don't expect members of public to be searched as part of their day to day lives, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
The question for me is whether the Olympics count as exceptional circs? I don't want everyone getting stopped and searched (and frankly I don't do it), but at the same time we have a legal and moral responsibility during the olympics to do everything we can to make it not go 'bang.'
Hmm again. Glad it's not me making those decisions...
"The question for me is whether the Olympics count as exceptional circs? "
ReplyDeleteThere's no doubt they are a huge security target. And seeing security ramped up accordingly is a no-brainer.
But surely the question should be, how successful has S44 been? How many terrorists has it caught?