Would Terror Strike 'Be Made Deadlier' By Cuts?

[whole diary]

[Timmer]

There's a lot we don't know and a lot we will never know. MI5/MI6 wouldn't be much of a secret service if they shared all their intelligence with the general public.

[ChrisB]

Agreed - and yes, court cases can be heard in secret - but they still have to announce guilty verdicts.

[Tim]

The amount of protection which can be provided by an unarmed PC against someone wielding an AK47
is somewhat limited, it's rather better to uncover their plans & stop them before they get that far.

I agree that the security services do a pretty good job.  I am very grateful for that.  But what happens when a loony with an AK47 starts shooting in Bath when we will no longer have a police station due to budget cuts.  Armed police will have to come from Bristol or somewhere.  Bath might well be a target (it was of the IRA) but are there any armed police there?  And where would help come from in smaller communities.  They might be in an even worse situation?

I have no argument against money being spent on MI5 or GCHQ, and prevention is better than cure. But all the spies in the world  will not compensate for cuts in front line police who will have to respond when the spies drop the ball (or for that matter cuts to the border force who are supposed to be able to stop the AK47s entering the country in the first place). 

[grahame]

But what happens when a loony with an AK47 starts shooting in Bath when we will no longer have a police station due to budget cuts.

Across Wiltshire, Police stations are open for reduced hours from 30th November - basically 08:30 to 17:30 Monday to Friday for most of them - some even shorter hours.  Makes it darned difficult if members of the working public have to visit ... but then I'm sure that there will be police available outside those hours to avoid anarchy in our towns over the weekend!

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=581653251986194&id=100004245738010

[ChrisB]

We've gone off-topic somewhat - the OP^▸ (Original Poster / topic starter, or Off Peak, depending on context) discussing cuts to *rail* staff.

[Chris from Nailsea]

But we're still on 'The Wider Picture' board - which is defined as, 'Not "Trains in the West", but related subjects'. 

[froggycat]

Rail staff did not intervene on the Thalis attack attempt. It was trained members of the public who managed to control the idiot who was going to start shooting. The staff in the train actually ran to their secure compartment and locked the door.
And having more security personnel is not a guarantee that nothing will happen: France was in a high alert state when the attacks happened in Paris and it did not prevent the number of people being killed.

So cuts in train staff will not mean an increased safety risk. Would they be checking all passengers, all bags? NO.

As for the trials being held in secret: there is currently a trial in Reading about a couple who was plotting to bomb London and is being widely reported on ( http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/terror-suspect-tested-explosives-garden-10487996, http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/reading-couple-were-close-pulling-10462527)