England Street Scanners for Knives

[CWL]

I was planing on taking the wife to London this year, changed my mind.

Airport-style scanners on London streets
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/05/15/knife.scanners.ap/index.html

 

[sm]

The new program, called Blunt 2, started this week in one borough and should be in place in all 32 London boroughs within the next few months, said a Metropolitan Police spokesman, who asked not to be identified in line with police rules.

The scanners have been in use by police for several years, but many more have been purchased and they will now be used much more aggressively under a law that gives police the right to search people without having to demonstrate beforehand that there is reasonable cause to believe they are committing a crime, the spokesman said.

"We've put it in under Section 60 of the Public Order Act, which is slightly more in your face," the spokesman said. "We can give officers on the ground the powers to go ahead and do it. We've got 550 metal detector wands and 244 search arches that can be used. If there's a problem, we can place them outside a row of shops or a shopping center and check people going in."

<Expletives!>

Paging Winston Churchill, Big Brother needs his butt kicked!

Dear London,

Do these scanners pick up copies of 1984 and Animal Farm authored by Sir Eric Blair otherwise known as George Orwell?

Steve

 

[The Tourist]

Obviously that country has no document that reads "rise up and abolish it."

 

[hopkin]

Next thing you know we'll have them at school entrances because so many kids are killing each other. You missed the comment about "for use against people suspected of carrying concealed weapons", didn't you?

Honestly, Big Brother jibes from Americans are hilarious. We have always been at war with islamic miltants. We have always been at war with islamic militants.

And you wonder why everyone thinks you're a worthless bunch of ****s.

 

[CWL]

You missed the comment about "for use against people suspected of carrying concealed weapons", didn't you?

No. I didn't.
Here in the USA, there is protection given against unlawful search & seizure as well as against 'profiling'. So London police can not like the looks of somebody and subject him/her to a search?

We have always been at war with islamic miltants. We have always been at war with islamic militants.

No you haven't, besides this law isn't geared towards religious zealots.

And you wonder why everyone thinks you're a worthless bunch of ****s.

Never ever wondered this. Visited 30 countries so far, made plenty of friends, don't plan on going back to England tho.

 

[hso]

Ok, I'm having trouble seeing this as anything as a political/civil lib thread with knives as being secondary. Anyone want to help me see how it's more knives than civlib since it is essentially a search and seizure question for a country that doesn't even have the same level of guarantee of personal rights as the US?

 

[conw]

London's reputation as a generally safe city has been rocked this year by a marked increase in stabbings, with more than 100 reported in the capital so far this year. Most have not been fatal, but the slaying Monday of a 22-year-old man outside a McDonald's in the busy Oxford Street shopping area generated gruesome headlines.

 

[conw]

Compare and contrast.

Honestly, Big Brother jibes from Americans are hilarious. We have always been at war with islamic miltants. We have always been at war with islamic militants.

The proles, normally apathetic about the war, were being lashed into one of their periodical frenzies of patriotism.

 

[Cosmoline]

I've always said if you want to see real 21st Century tyranny in action, just go to your local airport. THAT IS THE MODEL. Implied relinquishment as the means, terrorism and crime as the pretext. First airports, then courts, then schools, then public buildings, the public roads (checkpoints anyone?) NEXT PUBLIC SPACES IN GENERAL. The Brits as usual are a few steps ahead of us, but only a few. Watch for this sort of thing to start in Central Park and work its way out to public spaces everywhere.

 

[CWL]

Hi hso,
Please move this if you feel necessary (I didn't know where to post this so I stuck it in "non-firearms" discussion), but I hope you won't lock this.

Interesting how the view of Brits are so different than ours. I'm seeing the same on other forums as well: seems to be a Brit attitude of "this is for our own good".

 

[Piedmont Plinker]

My experience with the British people was that they were generally polite and more accomodating than, say, New Yorkers.
That said, I have heard English people comment on the "relative tranquility" of the US.
London also seemed to have its fair share of scumbags.
But seriously, this is over the top! They don't even need probable cause to stop you now. And if you think Britsh cops don't carry guns, well...

 

[hopkin]

Ok, I'm having trouble seeing this as anything as a political/civil lib thread with knives as being secondary.

HSO, it's nothing to do with knives. It's a chance to spout slogans and forget about breaches of their own civil liberties. What are the chances the thread would have become anything more than that?

Honestly, haven't you seen enough of these to spot them?

 

[Car Knocker]

What size knife is considered a concealed weapon? Would my Victorinox knfe with a 1-3/8" (3.5 cm) blade be illegal? ANY sharpened piece of metal no matter how small? If I work at it, the edge of my credit card can cut - is that considered a weapon?

 

[sixgunner455]

The only thing I see this as having anything to do with knives is that knives are one of the things that they are looking for.

I don't fly anymore except for business requirements because of things like this. It's not worth the hassle to me. I'm not alone.

And the airline industry is changing as a result. Flying is much more expensive, more than I would expect just based on the increase in the cost of fuel. Kind of shifting back to a business traveler's tool, and a luxury for everyone else.

Won't tolerate being searched everywhere I go. Not worth it to me.

These are not potshots at the airline industry, or England, or the English. People comment on threads like this because they are concerned about civil liberties, and not just the ones inside their own borders.

 

[hso]

I can't think of anywhere on THR that this is appropriate. APS though would be perfect. Sadly, I can't move threads to different websites, even sibling sites.