‘The British police are the best in the world’.
Believe it or not, that was a phrase I heard all the time when I was growing up. It was repeated so often and with such unshakeable conviction that it practically entered the folklore. The police were seen as the very embodiment of the British belief in ‘firmness but fairness’ and their stewardship of a remarkably pacific country was as much a given feature of life as clement weather or fertile topsoil.
I do not know whether or not it has ever been true but I can understand the reasons why it was so widely believed. There was a time when the British police were charged with enforcing reasonable laws (in what was equally widely assumed to be the ‘freest country in the world’) and they managed to do so with reasonable efficiency while maintaining a public image of politeness and deference. British ‘bobbies’ were seen as less ‘trigger-happy’ and ‘gung-ho’ than their US counterparts and less corrupt and brutal than their European ones.
Does this axiom hold water today? Someone should ask the staff of Huntingdon Life Sciences:
Just a little bit more than ‘campaigning’, I’d say. In fact, not only are these criminals prepared to use violence, they are prepared to use murderous violence:Staff who work for HLS, the animal laboratory, have been under attack for four years. But the violence is about to become a lot worse, reports Andrew Alderson
On Thursday, 1,200 company employees will be sent a short, factual e-mail by their management. It will warn them that animal rights activists are planning a 48-hour weekend of action from midnight on August 1 and staff should take extra care over their safety at home.
For two days and nights, employees of Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS) will face an even greater likelihood of having bricks thrown through their windows, their cars covered in paint-stripper, incendiary devices put through their letter boxes and hooded men attacking them as they walk from the car to the front door.
The Telegraph can reveal that the executive was attacked when he heard intruders outside his home and discovered them setting fire to his barn. Assailants knocked him to the ground and left him unconscious besides the burning barn, but he regained consciousness before the flames engulfed him.
It makes for a pretty grim picture, doesn’t it. So surely the agents of the most expansive and interventionist state Britain has ever had will leap into action in order to restore law and order and keep up their end of the ‘social contract’, yes? Er, no.
Police in Cambridgeshire say that they have insufficient powers to tackle persistent, illegal protesters: they admit that with “hit and run” tactics it is hard to make arrests and harder to obtain convictions.
Too much like real hard work is what he actually means.
Chief Inspector Steve Pearl, the head of the special operations unit, said: “We do not have the legal remedies to tackle some of the things that are going on. The law needs to be changed.”
Do mine freakin’ eyes deceive me or what? Does this state bureaucrat mean to tell us that out of all the various Public Order Acts, Criminal Justice Acts, Police Powers Acts and a whole slew of Anti-Terrorist legislation they cannot find a single provision to deal with a bunch of crowbar-wielding, pyromaniacal thugs who are using violence, vandalism and intimidation to drive a perfectly legitimate tax-paying company out of business?
What on earth was the point of parliament churning out all these vast acres of legislation and bestowing on the police more powers than they have ever had in their history if all they can do in the face of homicidal, snarling domestic terrorists (in the true sense of that word) is to shrug gormlessly and say “sorry, guv, nothing we can do”?
Of course, if the directors of HLS really wanted to ensure a police presence all they need to do is try to defend themselves against one of these attacks. That will bring the squad cars screaming down in a heartbeat. Short of that, they might care to reflect on exactly why it is they are bothering to pay for state protection at all and opt for the self-provision route (e.g. hiring a few guys whose middle names are “the”.)
What a disgrace. As Tony Martin has said upon his release, the world has gone quite quite mad.
The corruption of the police in the UK is not in the accepted sense, that they take bribes or other inducements, to look the other way, but rather in the sense that they have such low morale that they, in effect are corrupt of spirit, and of purpose.
Their day appears to be so overladen with red tape and unnescessary bureacracy, that the real purpose for their existence has all but disappeared.
When they can no longer provide even the lowest level of protection for the community, e.g. in mugging and burglary prevention, one assumes that maybe they are involved in more serious crime detection and prevention. This does not appear to be the case, as David’s post indicates.
It seems that if an offense is commited that results in a fine being paid, e.g. anything to do with motoring, (and in effect becomes another tax, rather than a deterrent), then enforcement is mandatory, but any offence that involves the appearance of an officer in court with the end result being imprisonment or probation for the offender, then this is relegated to ‘the back burner’, and is not considered to be serious enough to justify an officer even making the pretense of showing interest. You see, fines equate to revenue, anything else is an expense.
This becomes very apparent in the HLS case. To provide policing and protection for the employees of the company, would be very costly to the policing authority, and if any perpetrators were to be apprehended, they would soon be released with a wrist slap or a warning, and if fines were to be imposed, they would be only minimal, and would in no way cover the policing costs. Ergo, the excuses are made and only token protection is provided, and once again, ‘Thug’ Britain wins.
The various police forces in the UK have long ago, quite cynically and deliberately, betrayed the faith that the public used to have in them. Whether this deterioration is due to political interference, or to a poor management, with cock-eyed ideas, is open to argument, but, make no mistake the present day police are very different from the ones that David remembers. Sadly they are no longer worthy of the title of ‘community friend’.
I can’t speak for all Americans, but I do recall growing up with a sort of sepia fondness for your Bobbies. Always on foot (if not in tinny cars) with their nightsticks after a criminal.
I’ve followed the ecoterrorists in the past and just about everything they stand for is repugnant, and if not, what they choose to do to advance their non-repugnant beliefs is even worse. It seems utterly unreal such blatantly criminal people can get away with what they’ve done and it’s absolutely enraging the State can’t muster up the balls to do something effective about it. It’s a monopolistic protection racket that sucks; is there a worse situation?
A large part seems to be the general dismissal of any sort of respect for property rights. I occasionally wonder how quickly the US will flush itself down the toilet, but I know I can visit this blog to get a snippet of an existence much darker.
It really is a shame. At least your beers blow ours all to hell. 🙂
I sympathize with the HLS staff who are being terrorized. My sister works for a biotech firm that develops artificial devices for human implantation. They test the devices on animals first.
At least one animal rights group here is under investigation because of threats to staff, assaults and attempted assaults on staff. My sister carries pepper spray at all times, got a gun permit and has been taking lessons at a local gun club.
Probably the HLS staff couldn’t get gun permits, but what about pepper spray? Is that legal in the UK?
Unbelievable. You know, I have to wonder how long it will be before someone gets fed up with being terrorised by violent thugs and abandoned by the authorities, and decides to *genuinely* take the law into their own hands. I don’t just mean Tony Martin style – having a shotgun on the farm, but actively going after these crooks and taking them out. David Carr’s prediction of lots of “Mack the Knife” type characters may become ever closer to reality if this state of affairs goes on for much longer, because after a certain point, law abiding people will lose their respect for the police and start doing something to protect themselves from violence.
Chris Josephson: Pepper spray – if that’s the same as mace spray – is indeed illegal here.
Maybe we’ve all been reading too many books by Ngaio Marsh and Margery Allingham, where English policemen are honourable good guys who always deduce who the murderer is. Is it possible to read too many books by Margery Allingham and Ngaio Marsh?
Things we aren’t allowed to carry for self defense :-
Guns -totally illegal
Tazers -totally illegal
Pepper spray -totally illegal
Knives – Illegal to carry a non-folding knife with a blade > 3 inches, illegal to describe a knife as suitable for combat. Interestingly, it is legal to carry a blade of any size as part of national dress or for religious reasons.
Collapsible batons – illegal to carry in public
If it were legal to owna firearm and use it in self defense then the problem of these enviroloonies would solve itself within a few weeks. Obviously we couldn’t have that.
Steve writes: “If it were legal to carry to own a firearm and use it in self defense then the problem of these enviroloonies would solve it’s self in a few weeks”
Though far from being pro-gun-control I can’t help thinking that that is rather optimistic. There is an obvious parallel with abortion doctors and clinic workers in the US. Presumably these people have learnt to take their security very seriously including (I would imagine) being armed, and yet this has not stopped the death threats , assaults, and in at least one case I know of, murder.
To Charles Hueter
I have often pondered this. Just why, in a country renowned for the excellence of consumer product, is the food and beer so god-awfully bad.
Eamon Brennan
I think the difference between the SHAC cretins and the anti-abortion types is what the violence is aimed at. Although they do make death threats against abortion doctors, from what I have read most of their physical attacks seem to take place at/against abortion clinics.
The environuts seem to focus more on attacks on the homes, cars etc of the staff, and physical assaults on HLS staff, at their homes. In most cases people are going to be willing to use violence to defend their homes/families, whereas I don’t believe they would be ready to defend their place of work to the same level.
On a related note, I seem to remember reading a few months ago about a security guard who disarmed an armed robber then shot him with his own gun. Does anyone know what came of this, and if the security guard was charged?
“Collapsible batons – illegal to carry in public”
I don’t think that’s true. I know that batons that can be extended by means of a spring (You couldn’t make this up, could you ?) are expressly illegal to carry, but I believe Mike Burke and/or John Hurst have argued successfuly that there is no legislation that authorises police officers to carry batons, so they must be relying on thier common law rights to arm themselves. In this respect they are just like the rest of us. I believe the local force thought about it a bit and then gave his ASP back.
Oh, and some trivia for all you knife lovers out there: the three inches referred to above is measured around the scalloped edge of a knife that has one. And lockable blades don’t fold according to the english legal system.
Lemme get this straight – a group with a long record of violence announces that it will be committing a string of crimes against a known and limited set of targets at a set time, and there is nothing the police can do about it? WTF?
Say, I don’t suppose the employees of this firm could decide to set up a cricket team that weekend, and have lots of team meetings and stuff that would require passing out cricket bats to the lot of them?
Thank God we have such caring, competent governments fighting the War on Terrorism (I’d sure trust these guys with my life and freedoms). Maybe Huntingdon Life Sciences should move to Baghdad.
What was that bit about blades being part of national dress being expressely legal?
I think it’s time to sponsor a dress-up week, so which approved traditional british? ethnic group is the heaviest armed and armoured?
I think it might be some time to show some ethnic solidarity.
The mind boggles.
Fred
The problem is that the ecoterrorists you mentioned (who overlap quite a bit w/ the animal rights crowd discussed above) see pollution as a “societal crisis”, and plenty of people are willing to toss the usual moral and political rules out the window when society is threatened.
Fred, under the Criminal Justice Act of 1988, section 139, Articles with blades or points and offensive weapons :
it shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove that he had the article with him?
(a) for use at work;
(b) for religious reasons; or
(c) as part of any national costume.
Whether you’d get away with claiming a religious obligation to carry a 5 foot claymore is another matter entirely.
How about if I show them my WWJMBD (What would John Moses Browning Do?) bracelet? Would that make my 1911 a religious item?
Well, how about a quarter-staff? Just an elaborate walking stick, eh wot?
The upstream identification as domestic terror is spot on. It seems that eco-terrorists have that same hands-off aura as unions over here and frankly I’m ready to go after both, hard.
Truly a pity. I think we should adopt some eco-friendly means to deal with ecoterrorists. Natural selection has always been hastened by removal of the least capable from the gene pool. However, in letting these fools run amok and brutalize law-observing citizens, we’re going backwards.
I think we need to create vigilante posses. One only wonders how the BBC characterize eco-terrorists.
So, I can carry pointy sharp things as “part of any national costume,” eh? It doesn’t look like the costume has to be a nationality that I can claim ethnic descent from.
What do the fashionable Gurkhas wear with their kukris? Or perhaps, for the more flamboyant and historically minded, a full-on samurai outfit complete with both swords. Sounds like it would be legal, and few things are more intimidating than a two-and-a-half-foot razor blade.
So I could carry a tomahawk in Britain? After all, it’s part of my “national costume” as an American…
I see quite a few kilted gentlemen walking around Edinburgh with a discrete Skean Dhu (or sheathed dagger) tucked into their socks, as far as I know none of them have been busted for carrying a concealed weapon.
Mr. Brennan, I dunno. Maybe we’re so busy playing with our toys, we don’t care much about how dinner tastes? 🙂
Mr. Cattanach, quite right. On the surface, many of these people proclaim their devotion to civil society, peace, and understanding…but when confronted with a private entity they cannot stand, they won’t hesitate to throw their pacifistic ways out the window. Press them on this issue, about how hypocritical or contradictory they are, and you get a general “it’s all subjective anyway” shrug, if not a “your cold emotionless heart wouldn’t understand.”
Hmm…good ‘ol John M. Browning was an American and quite a celebrated one at that, so I guess that means his Hi-Power would be safe on my side while touring the English countryside! 🙂
Just wait until they take away your boxcutters and nail files. *grits teeth*
Eamon, Charles,
Spare me the outmoded stereotypes. Just as your Bobbies are no longer the friendly, efficient types that they used to be, the food and beer in the U.S. is no longer limited to T.V. dinners and deep fried hamburgers. It now ranges from the pedestrian, to the sublime.
I would stack up the craft brewed beer from any one of the dozen microbreweries near my house, against anything I’ve ever drunk in Britain, or Germany or Belgium for that matter. No less a critic than Michael Jackson – a frequent visitor to many U.S. cities – seems to think that the U.S. has climbed out of the back seat with respect to beer. And no offense meant, but if you mean to tell me that Tennants lager is any better than Miller…. (Admittedly, it does come in bigger cans.)
As for our shoddy chain restaurants… I’ll concede on TGI Fridays and McDonalds, but you have them in Britain now too, and oddly enough, they seem pretty popular amoung your Booboisie. And I’ll gladly stack up our “chains” like McCormick & Schmicks or Ruth’s Kris against any Brit chain you care to wield. Never mind the fact that in any city of over 100,000 people in the U.S. (except maybe Charlotte) you can find dozens of top quality gourmet restaurants featuring all sorts of ethnic cuisine, plus innovative home grown specialties. If you want to go downscale for local food, I’ll gladly put Bedders fish & chips up against Swans Barbecue in Kinston, NC.
With respect to the more serious problem, of eco-terrorists, I understand that they compost quite nicely, being mostly composed of granola, hemp, bean sprouts, and bullshit. You need to cut them up into small-ish chunks first, and make sure they are covered with a nice layer of loose, rotting vegetation. The material you pick out of their teeth works nicely, I’m told.
Be careful though — the organic soap they use does little to take off dirt or grease, obviate body odor, or clean hair. Those white dreadlocks on the male are regrettably quite toxic – otherwise they’d make a fine doormat. Also, be advised that Birkenstocks and Ho Chi Minh sandals don’t degrade at the same rate the greasy little hairy buggers do. Take the sandals to a tire recycling plant.
Also, be sure to wear gloves and a hat. The smell can be quite noxious, and you don’t want to get the grease from these unwashed creatures on your hands, or get the smell in your hair. The stench alone can blind most humans.
While baiting them is generally illegal, you can use bait in some states, so long as you aren’t baiting in conjunction with a trap. Most of them will respond to small piles of cannabis left out in the open. If you are using calls, a boombox gently pushing out Phish works quite well; though others tell me that Rusted Root and Rage Against the Machine work quite well. If you aren’t sure if the cannibis and sweet tunes have trapped a WTO Protestor or an eco terrorist, just take a look at how they are dancing. If they are shouting profanities and herky-jerky, odds-on they are a WTO Protestor. The presence of cries like “BusHitler” and “ImpeachBushNow” are further signs you’ve captured a free-trade-hater. On the other hand, if they are in a trance-like daze and doing a slow hippy dance, then you probably have an eco-terrorist on your hands.
Ken, Charles, I think your Tomahawk and Hi-Power are allowed only if part of a national costume. The Tomahawk should be no problem if you are togged out as a Mohican or an Apache, and the loincloth would probably be a big hit in some of the more adventurous nightclubs.
I am not aware off-hand of any American national costumes that include a semi-auto handgun, although there are any number of Colt reproduction revolvers that would go nicely with a cowboy outfit. And, again, the chaps and spurs should be a big hit at the right nightclubs.
Samizdata – the one stop shop for legal, armament, and dating advice!
T.H.
I believe that even reproduction revolvers and pistols are illegal, and carrying one could get you a prison term.
As I read this post, I thought of an earlier post today over at Jackie’s au currant. Faced with a child slavery case, including a headless youngster floating down the Thames, …
‘Metropolitan Police Commander, Andy Baker, said: “I must stress. We are not judging any culture. We are investigating crimes and the crime of murder.” ‘
Well, of course. Wouldn’t think of, like, judging.
I have to laugh when I read about banned weapons. Ever since I got a “very” painful demonstration from an ex-para on what you can do to the human body with a…
Rolled up newspaper.
and Bill
Eamon, Charles,
And Bill, no stereotypes necessary, just personal experience.
The whole point about beer is that its not just about the micro breweries, which are fantastic. In England you can buy a can of Boddingtons off a supermarket shelf. Its not exactly Tanglefoot or Abbots but it tastes just fine. You can’t do that in America. And Miller, Budweiser, Coors et al don’t even qualify as lager.
As for your shoddy chain restaurants… TGI and McDonalds are hardly the worst of it. What about IHOP.
Chains in Britain? OK Pizza Express and Nandos.
But seeing as how you are the expert. Where can you find a half-way decent curry in New York?
Eamon
Eamon –
As my aikido instructor once pointed out to me. There is only one weapon – your mind. Everything else is just tools. Including your body.
Actually, Eamon, I’ve seen Boddington’s on supermarket shelves here in the US.
(And I’ve had it on tap at the local BritPub, and wasn’t really impressed, sadly. More of a Bass fan, myself.)
Careful, TH, or they’ll be outlawing those brutal, bloodthirsty arts like Aikido.
The law in Britain is that anything which is ‘an offensive weapon’ is illegal to carry… this means the police have considerable latitude to arrest people. Carrying a bottle can be an offensive weapon in some contexts. If they want to nail you, they can.
As for Scott… the HLS case is a classic example where the ‘norms’ of civil society do not and should not apply. If the state will not protect the HLS people from the eco-terrorists, the HLS people should hire themselves some people with Russian surnames to sort the problem out themselves on a perminent basis. It is not like they do not know who the people responsible are. The HLS employees are being subjected to actual violence and should respond in kind, but on the basis that the state is actually part of the problem, not part of the solution, they should simply arrange for these people to disappear.
Just so I am not missunderstood, I think they should kill them and dump their bodies in a chipper before tossing them in the North Sea. Self defense is not murder.
Omnibus Bill: However you should remember the lesson of dolphin friendly tuna nets. Your pile of Cannabis will also attract large numbers of free range libertarians, so you should ensure the traps allows easy exit for them.
This should not be a problem. Just design an escape mechanism which requires the slightest understanding of reality.
Just a bit of fun, Bill. No serious stereotyping, just the offhand remark. Not to threadjack further, but I do enjoy the astounding variety of food and dining available in the US (I live in Austin, TX and it would take some time to taste everything) and I have easily consumed more local brew than foreign. There’s a canned pint of Boddington’s in my fridge as I type this, along with a few Red Stripes. I have been, however, thwarted in my search for a American beer comparable to Fuller’s London Porter…
Anyway, and in all seriousness, one of my goals before I become too frail to do so is to enjoy a decent-length tour of Europe with an emphasis on the Anglosphere. However the level of crime is a bit of a deterrent, especially for someone as un-street savvy as I. Especially in light of the fears of terrorism, it’s doubtful either side of the Atlantic will pull back it’s restrictions on items of personal defense. It would be bad enough getting robbed or assaulted while overseas, but to get slapped with improperly defending myself would be just dismal.
An American dress code does seem kinda stupid on it’s face. T-shirts and pants are spreading faster than SARS did.
Two options for self-defense:
1. Whips — especially if you’re a landowner/ farmer with livestock. I would imagine a decent, 5-foot leather lash might make the ungodly think twice.
2. Red spray paint — especially if you’ve painted (say) a furniture item or wall recently in the same color. A blast of red aerosol paint in the face will make the ungodly stop and think a bit, if they’re capable of that.
Thank goodness I would have about five or six handguns to choose from, if eco-terrorism of the kind you mention existed in Texas.
Perhaps, because about 3% (yes, it’s only 3%!) of Texans carry guns, the eco-freaks have decided it’s safer to ply their trade elsewhere.
Eamon, you poor lad. Stuck in New York and you can’t find a decent domestic beer, or a decent curry. As for the Curry – I don’t know much about Indian in manhattan. I’d suggest asking the first three Sikhs you see. Or check the Village Voice online – the Counter Culture column reviews restaurants and I think they’ve done a few decent Indian joints in the last year.
As for the beer – check out Sam Adams, which is available at every 7-11, or Sierra Nevada which is available everywhere, bars, groceries, etc. Brooklyn Ale isn’t bad, comparing favorably to McEwans. And if you go to the liquor store, you might find DogfishHead Ale, several Magic Hat Brewery beers – Blind Faith being the best; or Tupper’s Hop Pocket Ale. Michael Jackson, BTW, thinks Sierra Nevada is one of the five best beers in the world, and it’s only about $6 per six pack – though your results in NYC may vary.
Funny though, you talking about the Brit cops while you live in NYC. As an upstater, we always used to laugh about the poor schmoes stuck downstate.
In Upstate – real upstate like Syracuse or Buffalo, if you ventilate a burglar, you will have to dodge the local sheriff — because he’s trying to pin a medal on you, and maybe deputize you.
Downstate, you ventilate a burglar, and Elliot Spitzer himself will prosecute you, you will face a civil suit, and Al Sharpton may initiate a race riot in front of your house just to teach you a lesson. The cops would just as soon pin a medal on your chest, but Spitzer and Sharpton have them cowed, too.
Upstate, Sheriffs are elected, and the local cops answer to the local mayor, or city supervisor. Downstate, they answer to celebrity protestors like Susan Sarandon and AL Sharpton. You figure out who is more suited to providing for your security.
True story. When I was a boy, we lived in a rural area outside Syracuse. During the middle of the night one summer night when I was about 15, I heard some noises downstairs. My dad was a poor sleeper, so I figured he was up, and since I wasn’t sleeping so well that night, I thought I’d go downstairs and drink some iced tea with him and have a chat.
When I got to the top of the stairs, I noticed the kitchen light wasn’t on. That was odd, since my dad had crummy night vision and always turned the lights on. So I stopped for a second, and listened. I heard scratching noises coming out of the family room, and then I heard the apocalyptic footsteps of God — my old man cycling a round into the chamber of his pump action Ithaca 12 gauge.
The scratching stopped, I stopped breathing and my old man didn’t move, but I saw his outline in the kitchen door as he brought the thing up to his shoulder. Then I heard a flurry of activity, and somebody flying out one of the kitchen windows.
When the cops showed up, they knew exactly who the burglar was from the way he ripped the screen and popped the window. This particular fellow had a bad habit of raping or slitting the throats of people he found at home. One of the cops, a VietNam vet who used to hunt deer on our land, expressed a bit of regret that my dad hadn’t shot the guy on his way out.
I guess it ain’t London, eh?
Hi Bill
I don’t live in New York. I am just a frequent visitor who can’t find a decent curry. And it wasn’t me talking about British Bobbies. Living in Chelsea in London means that as far as I am concerned, the British bobbie is strictly a matter for cryptozoology. I’ve never seen one.
As for Charles Hueter drinking Fullers, I sincerely hope it’s London Pride and not ESB, otherwise I fear for your future. 🙂
Eamon
About a year ago, here in Maryland, there was an incident of continuous burglary at a local family owned business. They were hit three times in two weeks – same MO each time.
The family pleaded with the Baltimore County police for protection and were told, in no uncertain terms, that it was too expensive for them to provide (what are we paying for?).
The father and some employees waited, armed with shotguns, for the reurn of the intruders. When they bkoke in again – there were three or four, I believe – two were shot. One later died. The father was initially charged with manslaughter by the States Attorney.
The media picked up on the story and the public responded. There was an uproar all the way to the state capitol. People were outraged that a citizen was being criminalized for defending his business, which was his family’s and their employee’s livelihood – especially after the police had refused to provide them protection. The charges were unceremoniously dropped.
It seems to me that you Brits have forgotten that the first line of defense against crime starts with individuals. People need to have the right to defend themselves and should have the full support of their neighbors, their community and of the state when they do so. The police can’t be everywhere. More importantly, do we really want them to be?