I'm obviously so much of an old git these days that the dogs are never
put near me and no one inspects my ticket.

Guess I am too, because last time I passed through Seven Sisters they had a
walk through metal detector in use and I was just allowed to pass. Just as
well really as I was in a hurry and for once I was carrying a rucksack
containing several chisels and drills :-)

Though I no longer live in Lower Edmonton, the police checks seem to have
been a common thing at Edmonton Green for several months, though generally
tied in with copious numbers of revenue collection staff. Apart from
reinforcing the revenue collection, reports in the local rags suggest the
checks are quite successful in detecting drugs, picking up wanted persons,
and intercepting those who might be bent on criminal activity.

Dave Newt wrote:
Paul Corfield wrote:
... that finds the deployment of *20* Met Police / Community Support
Officers and a drug sniffer dog at Walthamstow Central Tube Station to
"check" passengers something of a waste of resource?

I've been tempted to write the same thing on here several times.

If they hung around after rush hour so they might actually be there at
the same time as ticket touts and drug dealers, I wouldn't mind, but
then I suppose catching a commuter with half a joint in their pocket is
a lot less hassle for them.

No ticket checks being done just everyone being shoved past the dog's
nose and generally standing around blocking the area behind the ticket
gates.

And the ticket checks are right before the barriers anyway, so unless
they're after catching people with fewer zones than they should have on
their ticket, I'm not sure what the point is (especially since the
operation seems to be aimed at drugs and knives more than fare evasion).

I've no problem with a small police presence to support a proper revenue

Agreed.


Do the police actually turn out to support routine ticket checks, or do
they request ticket checks to be carried out at stations where they
want to slow down the crowd so that they can sniff them (or spot
someone they are after)?



control check but we get these police overload checks far more
frequently than a ticket check. Do criminals now solely travel by tube
train?


If I were selling copious amounts of drugs, I think I'd get myself a
car, or at least avoid the rush hour tube!

I'm just not quite sure WHO they're after. I'd be a lot less sceptical
if I ever saw them do it at 9pm on a Friday.

In article ,
Paul Corfield wrote:
... that finds the deployment of *20* Met Police / Community Support
Officers and a drug sniffer dog at Walthamstow Central Tube Station to
"check" passengers something of a waste of resource?

Walthamstow Central is something of a crime hotspot; these operations
are significantly reducing crime in the immediate area.

Or so said the borough commander a month ago.

I've no problem with a small police presence to support a proper revenue
control check but we get these police overload checks far more
frequently than a ticket check. Do criminals now solely travel by tube
train?

No, but there are an awful lot of people passing through the station, so
it's a good place to start looking.

--
I don't play The Game - it's for five-year-olds with delusions of adulthood.

On Fri, 12 May 2006 21:32:18 +0000 (UTC), Mike Bristow
wrote:

In article ,
Paul Corfield wrote:
... that finds the deployment of *20* Met Police / Community Support
Officers and a drug sniffer dog at Walthamstow Central Tube Station to
"check" passengers something of a waste of resource?

Walthamstow Central is something of a crime hotspot; these operations
are significantly reducing crime in the immediate area.

At 16.30 in the afternoon? I agree the place is damn intimidating after
20.30 at night but then you never see 20 policemen there at that time of
night.

It would be much simpler if One simply increased their staff presence
and reopened the ticket office after 21.00 - that would deter part of
the criminal element.

Or so said the borough commander a month ago.

Well I'm sure he knows far more about crime levels than I do but I have
never perceived Walthamstow as being the crime capital of the East End.
I don't feel threatened walking about the place. If his comments are
correct I would expect to see a far higher police presence around the
borough all the time than I do see. I think his comments are a simple
justification of what is in effect cheap and obvious policing.

I've no problem with a small police presence to support a proper revenue
control check but we get these police overload checks far more
frequently than a ticket check. Do criminals now solely travel by tube
train?

No, but there are an awful lot of people passing through the station, so
it's a good place to start looking.

Being cynical I think they are using the fact that terrorism took place
on the tube and that is therefore easier for the police to undertake
operations in that environment that they could never get away with if
they did them on Walthamstow High Street.

--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

On Sat, 13 May 2006 10:15:49 +0100, Paul Corfield wrote:

Well I'm sure he knows far more about crime levels than I do but I have
never perceived Walthamstow as being the crime capital of the East End.
I don't feel threatened walking about the place. If his comments are
correct I would expect to see a far higher police presence around the
borough all the time than I do see. I think his comments are a simple
justification of what is in effect cheap and obvious policing.

As the DCI in charge of the metal detector operations at stations
says, "Part of our remit is to reassure the public"[1]. So perhaps
with these displays of police presence, they are merely discharging
this duty.

[1]
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4869290.stm

On Mon, 15 May 2006 10:11:16 +0100, "R.C. Payne"
wrote:

Paul Corfield wrote:
... that finds the deployment of *20* Met Police / Community Support
Officers and a drug sniffer dog at Walthamstow Central Tube Station to
"check" passengers something of a waste of resource?

No ticket checks being done just everyone being shoved past the dog's
nose and generally standing around blocking the area behind the ticket
gates.

I've no problem with a small police presence to support a proper revenue
control check but we get these police overload checks far more
frequently than a ticket check. Do criminals now solely travel by tube
train?

posting in a personal capacity, not a work one

Perhaps they had some intelligence information suggesting that something
neffarious was on the offing. I could imagine a similar post, had
things gone differntly, dated 7 July 2005 along the lines of, "What were
all those police doing at King's Cross underground today ..." and a
normal day's service followed.

Perhaps they also had it the week before and three weeks prior to that
and possibly someone "very" dangerous was supposed to be travelling when
they installed the metal scanner in the main line ticket hall?

I would much prefer that we had a regular and properly resourced set of
beat officers that patrolled the patch and would be visible and could
help out the staff doing revenue checks or otherwise. It is the
perceived waste of resource from having 20 policemen there with about 1
or 2 of them doing any work that I object to. If there is that much
resource available then spread them down the line, put them on the
trains and let them patrol the bus station to keep the marauding hordes
under control.

The issue with having 20 officers crowding the area behind the gateline
is that it poses a safety risk at Walthamstow. The reservoir area behind
the gateline is limited and relies on people flowing through the gates
on a regular basis without delay. If the train service has a gap then
you can have a surge coupled with another full train often 1 minute
behind. I dread to think what would happen if someone got stopped too
near the escalators or someone fell over the drug dog and then you got a
crowd unable to alight the escalator. The last time I went past, the
dog and handler were very close to the top of the escalator which I
don't think is appropriate for that particular location.
--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

Being cynical I think they are using the fact that terrorism took place
on the tube and that is therefore easier for the police to undertake
operations in that environment that they could never get away with if
they did them on Walthamstow High Street.

Indeed I've always though it was noteworthy that William Bratton, he of
zero tolerance policing fame, developed his ideas while head of the NY
Transit police. Personally I would accept a much higher level of
policing intrusion while using the transport system than I would in the
rest of my life.