We Need More Nuclear Police!

originally posted by: OtherSideOfTheCoin
We do not need more of these officers, currently there are about 800 members of this police force protecting 9 nuclear plants in addition to providing security for the transportation of nuclear material and other support activities.

Hmm, 800 officers protecting 9 establishments and/or transportation/support? Kester says it's 10 and with the transportation/support duties 10 is good for the maths.

800 officers divided over 3 shifts is 266 officers available nationally at any given time.
Divide those 266 officers over 10 sites and we are down to 26 per establishment.
Take 4 weeks holiday for every officer away then that loses another 2 per site, taking us to 24.
Add to that a day or two off each week per officer, plus sickness, training, etc and the figures don't really seem so huge now do they?

Less than 20 armed police officers at every (geographically huge) nuclear establishment and personally I wouldn't say they are really that well protected at all.
There are an estimated couple of thousand UK Jihadi's fighting in Syria, so presumably enemies of our state.
They could easily raise enough to overpower the thin blue line at our nuclear establishments.

I am not as carefree and confident as you appear to be as there is a real vulnerability on our island with current numbers. I do not worry such a thing could happen but only a fool would deny it as a credible possibility.

*Edit*
And in response to a request by the OP in this related thread here is a pic of our poorly defended and decaying spent nuclear fuel rod ponds:

a reply to: grainofsand

Thank you good sir.

I notice Magnox are moving away from agency workers. Did they discover the obvious? Saboteurs have had easy access to our decrepit nuclear facilities, and got paid for working there.

a reply to: Kester

You couldn't make it up really.
Agency workers at nuclear establishments with minimum vetting or background checks.
As I said though, I don't worry that there is a credible threat so much, but I'd rather lose 10% of cops in my area to defend nuclear sites than see them so poorly protected.

I can cope with feral chavs causing problems on my streets much more than I can deal with sabotage at my nearest nuclear establishments. Devonport, Winfrith, and Hinkley Point being the ones closest to me, although Devonport is safer than the other two being MoD, but as a former RN reservist I know it does have it's own flaws in security.