Police In UK City Set Up “Baghdad Style Checkpoints”

I try to read headlines from the UK as often possible, since it seems as though the United States adopts many of their practices/tactics only a few months or years later.

This headline spooked me a bit, despite a similar tactic being attempted once in Washington D.C.

POLICE are to blockade neighbourhoods with Baghdad-style checkpoints in a bid to catch criminals.

A hand-picked team of officers are setting up roadblocks as part of a series of lightning strikes on crime hotspot areas.

Traffic officers will set up checkpoints using number-plate recognition technology.

Officers from the force's Tactical Vehicle Crime Unit will also be deployed with intercept cars and motorbikes.

Neighbourhood officers and a drugs dog will also patrol the checkpoints. Police say the areas to be targeted will be identified by intelligence officers.

A spokeswoman said: “As well as bringing criminals to justice, it is hoped that the new unit will help gather intelligence and raise local confidence in what the police are doing to fight crime.

Det Chief Supt Russ Jackson, who is leading the scheme, said: “With Operation Tornado we will effectively lock down areas suffering outbreaks of crime and quickly bring offenders to justice.
www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk...

Hopefully it is a long, long time before this tactic is again attempted here in the United States. So many people are gradually growing fearful of an ever-evolving "police state" as it is.

I do agree that this isn't necessarily the right way to do things, unfortunately I can think of neighbourhoods in the UK where this might be desirable and help to cut crime.

reply to post by jokei

I can think of neighbourhoods in the UK where

the police are too afraid to go.

Originally posted by jokei
I do agree that this isn't necessarily the right way to do things, unfortunately I can think of neighbourhoods in the UK where this might be desirable and help to cut crime.

I have never been to the UK, so it's tough for me to have any credible opinion on this. I just would assume setting up "Baghdad-like" checkpoints is so intrusive to the ordinary citizen.

I can see this doing nothing but antagonising the innocent people of the UK.

Why not spend that money on hunting the rapists, murderers and paedophiles who have slipped through the net and off the radar, instead of busting kids who smoke a bit of grass now and then.

Disgusting.

All those folk who defended the country from the Nazi's will be rolling in their graves now.



[edit on 8-7-2009 by mr-lizard]

reply to post by mr-lizard

nstead of busting kids who smoke a bit of grass now and then. Disgusting. All those folk who defended the country from the Nazi's will be rolling in their graves now.

Was that intended or did it just come out that way?

On topic.
There are certainly some areas here in the UK that they should do this to.
Having lived in London and Bristol,they both have deserving places for it.

reply to post by mr-lizard


I feel like it's just an initial stage to insert full police checkpoints in various other neighborhoods, until soon, everywhere we go...there is a police officer in our face or cameras recording our every move.

I agree that it's a way of sneaking in some more control methods for us, acclimatising us to further police control etc and it will be tempting, there's at least 2 Estates where I used to live that could do with this and probably several in Manchester where I do live now.

Problem is, if it happens as a trial in some areas, in 5 years it'll be everywhere.

There isn't enough man power for it to be as you envisage.
Never will be either unless the police and military merge and that isn't going to happen.

This has been going on in Liverpool for months now and while I'm not a big supporter of the police I can understand why they do it. All they are doing is using the vehicle number plate recognition computer to check if cars are taxed and insured. Those which aren't or who have a problem with the computer are pulled over and their credentials checked.
If you pay your tax's and your insured they aint going to bother you.

This is nothing new, this has been going on for at least 3 years, I've been through some of them, here's what they do, a car or van will sit at the side of the road, usually they have cameras on the top, the cameras are linked to a national database which includes information on cars, information includes, insurance details for the vehicles, MOT information (road worthiness all cars over 3 yrs old have to be tested for safety a huge list of checks) details of if the vehicles have been involved in crimes, its been a common thing here in the UK for people to drive off after accidents because it was easy to get away with it.

If they stop you for no insurance you have two options, either your car gets towed away and crushed if you don't claim it with insurance details, or the Police will arrange and even call an insurance company to get you insured, if you don't have a License, then your car is either towed or an insured driver has to come with documents to take the vehicle home, driver gets summonsed and reported.

They also look for drunk drivers, speeding drivers, and vehicles known to be owned by criminals, or simply children not belted in properly.

Its easy to see that this could be a problem, but the information they use to do this, is information already held by them anyhow, car crime in the UK used to be unbelievable, people being killed by drivers who just didn't give a crap.

Even now there are still those who just don't care, driving like lunatics, red lights mean nothing, all over the country there are unsolved hit and run deaths, most of them Children, so if this is what it takes to get these fools off the road then I'm all for it to be honest, our Police don't carry guns outside special units, they already know who we are if we have a car, so where is the problem? without law and order we would every single one of us become victims of some of the animals who run around in gangs, deal hard drugs, and carry guns, shootings are an every day thing now, and its our kids who are dying.

So if they want to sit at the side of the road identifying car registration numbers, then thats good.

The way this OP is put Baghdad style road blocks is so far from the truth, cars don't even need to slow down because it is not a road block, just several police cars and bikes set out along the road to go after those who refuse to stop, or try to bypass the check, a sure sign they need to be checked IMO.

Ask any Brit who has passed a road side registration check, they will tell you the same.

Just Police doing what we pay them for, thats all.

They were doing something similar in Coventry. They called it a "census", I wondered what that was in aid of and forgot about it until now.

Just a load of police cars and bikes parked on the verge, stopping what appeared to be random vehicles. They were probably stopping those on the "to stop" list on their computer.

Can somebody explain to me what a Baghdad Style Checkpoint is?

I have been to Iraq and for the most part they aren't that differant then a regular checkpoint.

Just add a few more guns and instead of concrete there are sandbags.