Steve Woods“Look how many police are here, just for elderly people holding placards. It's a joke. The state is a joke.”
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/over-arrested-hundreds-gather-defy-palestine-action-ban-london
Richard Michael Blaber@wood5y These OAPs are real "terrorists", aren't they? The genuine #criminals in #London must have been laughing their socks off!
Alex@rtnVFRmedia Suffolk UK@rmblaber1956 @wood5y Metpol are flush with resources compared to other provincial constabularies - they can do this *and* nick the real criminals (for instance the same weekend they nicked the two lads who stabbed the rap video cameraman in Primrose hill)
Maybe the protestors should change tactics and hold the demos in provincial towns? Alas, I'm not sure though if the same level of support for them exists outside the big cities...
@vfrmedia @wood5y My point is there is an #opportunity #cost to this, & the #MetPolice are not THAT "flush with #resources". Every #black person they're harassing on the streets, & every #pensioner they're #arresting for supporting #PalestineAction & opposing #Israeli #genocide in #Gaza is a #burglar or #mugger they're NOT arresting. They devote far too much time, effort & money policing #protest, simply because the #Government & the #politicians don't like it.
@rmblaber1956 @wood5y Met have something like 33 000 officers compared to about 5 000 in Essex, so dealing with protest (or something like Notting Hill Carnival) isn't much of an immediate drain on officer numbers.
If we don't believe rightwing press paranoia and assume the bulk of Londoners *aren't* criminals, that means there are way more officers per average person in London than anywhere else.
What protest clampdowns do do is create a decline in trust between the Police and much of the general public (at least those they are targeting), which means that especially younger and working class folk aren't exactly going to dial 999 if they see someone robbing a house or trying to mug someone.
They might even try to sort things out themselves, which leads to more violence..
@vfrmedia @wood5y Greater London's #population is 9,927,000 (see: https://worldpopulationreview.com/cities/united-kingdom/london), so 33,000 #police #officers is only 1 per 300.818 #residents of all ages, if my #mathematics is correct. (0.3324%.)
Using same method works out as 0,25% for Essex, and 0,18% for Suffolk and 0,002 (!) for Thames Valley.
I picked these areas as I've either lived or worked there (as well as London), they match up with my own personal experiences of how many Police officers I encountered on my travels (as someone who was a raver and party animal in the 90s/00s, it was often more than I wanted to!)
The Met were very variable when it came to raves - they'd either leave you alone or send in 10 riot vans to clear the warehouse..
Wider problem with the protests is Palestine Action should never have been proscribed in the first place, and ordinary people are ambivalent about any form of dissent, as soon as it inconveniences them they say "why can't Police do something about it?"