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Not To Be Sniffed At...

On a morning train commute to Aberdeen the automatic ticket barriers are not in use.  
Normally, the mass of unhappy surly commuters make their way through about half a dozen automatic barriers more or less speedily.  This morning as so often lately, we are forced to queue up and pass through a single barrier where we hand our ticket to a Scotrail employee.
We are then sniffed at in turn by a Police Scotland sniffer dog.  
No-one apologises for this inconvenience, no-one explains for what purpose we are being inconvenienced.
Is it drugs we are being sniffed for?  That is the general consensus. Is it explosives?  Is it any of the other things that Police Scotland can do us for?
This stuff never happened in Aberdeen under the old Grampian Police.  They presumably had local intelligence on the movements of drug dealers.  They didn’t have to sniff every Aberdeen-bound commuter.
So, one is left with the impression (unavoidable in the absence of any explanation) that this is a new policy being enacted by Police Scotland.  
Police Scotland is the new national policing body which replaced eight Scottish Police Services that were previously in place. Police Scotland is managed by Steven House, previously Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police and now Chief Constable for all of Scotland.
It can come as no surprise then that the new national polive have adopted almost all of the policies of the former Strathclyde force.
As well as sniffing out commuters in Aberdeen who enjoy a bit of weed there is another misguided former Strathclyde policy which promises to backfire spectacularly.
Historically Lothian & Borders Police turned a regulatory blind eye to the existence of “Saunas” in the City of Edinburgh.  Much to the amusement of Scandinavian visitors, these establishments are basically a front for the operation of Sex Workers.  This gives a certain protection to (mostly women) who work from there.  
Police Scotland have adopted the Strathclyde “no tolerance” approach and have raided Saunas and objected to license renewals.  What is the likely outcome of this policy? Lets take a wee history lesson.
In the former Strathclyde region, between 1991 and 2006, eight sex workers were murdered.  Only one conviction was obtained.

In Edinburgh and Aberdeen during the same period, one sex worker in each city was murdered.  Both murders resulted in convictions. That seems to be evidence enough that the Strathclyde policy did not result in the protection of vulnerable sex workers.
The former Strathclyde Police policy of widespread “Stop & Search” whcih disproportionately targets young people has spread throughout Scotland. This policy is currently the subject of a review by the Scottish Police Authority.  We shall see how effective this body is in its oversight.
The policy itself is deeply unpopular in young people and simply drives a wedge between them and the Police.
The SNP Government at Holyrood drove the unification of Scottish Police Services on the grounds of cost savings.  There was little or no debate about the civil liberties aspects of all this.  No notice was taken of warnings from the cops themselves or the public.
Allow me to make a declaration of interest.  In years past I had many dealings with the former Strathclyde Police and I can certainly say that none of these encounters left me with a respect for the law, the cops of Strathclyde or their Chief Constable(s).
The fact that the Chief Constable of this unlamented body is now the principal Police Officer in the land fills me with dread.
I am a basically law-abiding citizen.  Nothing I do need alarm my fellow citizens.  I am no threat to their property or their persons.

Why am I worried when I have nothing to hide?

Comments

  1. John Eoin Douglas2 August 2014 at 13:07

    I am always happy to pet and make a fuss of police sniffer dogs.

    However, I'm told that the freshly applied Olbas Oil on my hands, whilst doing the dogs no harm whatsoever, renders then incapable of work for several hours.

    ReplyDelete
  2. GTF Editor3 August 2014 at 02:04

    Thank you for that post John!!

    ReplyDelete

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