Police stopping and searching in Waterloo

This morning at rush hour, I saw (and not for the first time) at least 10 police (not sure if they were real or those pretend ones) filling the short tunnel that runs from all the bus stops by the IMAX up to Waterloo station. They had trestle tables set up in the tunnel and seemed to be stopping and searching people (I only saw them stopping men). They were frisking and then taking their bags to one of the tables and searching through.

Can anyone shed any light on this - is this a regular occurence, were they looking for someone/thing in particular?

I have to say I felt rather uncomfortable.

I got stopped and asked my name and address and had my bag searched at Tower Hill tube station a couple of years back by PCSOs. It did annoy me, (why pick me? Why waste my time? etc) but then again a little inconvenience for me or others is not as bad as the possible consequences of not doing it?

Part of Operation Blunt 2 I'd imagine...

Because of political correctness the British police I believe are not meant to use any form of profiling in their searches, though they obviously pick little old ladies less than hooded youths. There will be times any of us could be searched at airports and stations, and I still firmly believe we do not live in a police state and that the police are following our democratically elected governments policies in carrying out new initiatives to try and catch violent criminals. If you want to blame anyone for the inconvenience then blame those people who think it's clever or brave to carry a weapon like a knife whilst sitting next to you on the tube, not the police!

Good, if you have nothing to hide then you will have no problem being searched. There needs to be more of this.

benrowe wrote:

Good, if you have nothing to hide then you will have no problem being searched. There needs to be more of this.

Where do you live? What's your phone number, and bank account details? Are you married to that woman? Where were you on January 15th?

Every move we make is on CCTV. The Govt is doing its best to get us all on a DNA database. This all costs millions of pounds. And crime still carries on. Seems to me that it's not really the solution.

oh please....like my bank details and personal details and address are the same as frisking me for a knife. fine, if they want my details and DNA that's one thing....but if they just want to frisk me then I am all for it. your attitude is the reason this country is going down hill!

benrowe wrote:

oh please....like my bank details and personal details and address are the same as frisking me for a knife. fine, if they want my details and DNA that's one thing....but if they just want to frisk me then I am all for it. your attitude is the reason this country is going down hill!

Not at all; your attitude is the reason this country is going down hill. We used to be free subjects in this nation, we no longer are. Where else in the free world can you be detained without charge for 42 days?

I was randomly stopped and searched in my car, under the terrorism act, near Parliament square. Fortunately it was a fairly perfunctory search, otherwise they would have found a sharp, pointed knife in my car, which is there for emergency picnics. Had they found it, I have no doubt I would have ended up being detained at HM's pleasure and having to justify myself in court - and have appeared as a "crime solved". That's not a solved crime, that's intrusion into private lives.

Needless to say, said implement no longer lives in my glove box.

Your approach is just so soft and PC, no wonder these kids aren't scared and carry knives. They're not going to give them up until they are taken out of their sweaty little hands and you're naive if you think otherwise. This is the reality of the world we live in now...so either we stand and watch like you lot and expect things to just sort themselves out, or we take action like in NYC and see results.

Wasn't this how the Brixton revolt started?

The police do not have the right to search your bags whenever they feel like it, however much they might like to.

The full details of when they do seem to be summarised at the association of Police Authorities' site (Stop and search rights).

As I understand it, in general, they can only search you if either they have reason to believe that you are committing a crime or equipped to do so, or if there is an identified risk of serious disturbance in the area.

If you are stopped, ask why. If they can't give one of the above reasons, refuse them their request, politely and preferably in short words.

Remember that the politicians who tell us that if we have nothing to hide we have nothing to fear are the same ones that refuse the publication of their expense claims.