police presence finsbury park underground

kelsie

is it just me but does it seem like there has been way more police and bomb sniffer dogs at the underground station lately. one guy reacted to the dog when it started sniffing him (maybe he is scared of dogs) and the police really were quite rough with him. hmmmmm

David

Yeah saw them out in force last night again. Are they bomb sniffer dogs? I suppose so, my initial feeling was a dope dog but bomb sniffing at the tube stop for the Axis of Evil London HQ makes sense. You still got that mug twinning Finsbury and Evil, Andy?

andy

Indeed. The very first "I heart" piece of merchandise. *"I heart Finsbury Park - twinned with the Axis of Evil"* Which was both satirical and funny at the time of the Bush speech when he first said it.

rainbow_carnage

I stood and watched the dog for a little while. He seemed to take his job very seriously. I think they're drug-sniffing dogs. I saw the police search some guy's cigarette packet and another guy's tobacco packet. It would have to be a very small bomb...

For those who like racial profiling theories, both of the guys were white. One was smartly dressed. This leads me to believe that at least the dogs are not racist.

Billy Bookcase

I'm glad that you were allowed to watch.
When I stood there quietly exercising my citizen's rights from a decent distance I was threatened with arrest if I didn't move on.
I'm black though.

immmy

Ah, nothing like a mutual stereotyping on a Saturday afternoon.

In the past I have just gone up to them and said, as politely as possible, "sorry, I live in the area and I wondered if you'd be able to tell me what's going on here?"

(the "living in the area" bit is key for cooperation, it's evidence for genuine concern rather than just being nosey)

charis

My boyfriend always does the 'genuine concern' inquiry really well. Whereas I tend to do the nosey neighbour, siddling ever closer to the action, kind of affair. Suffice to say he's the one sent out to find out key information.

Peter

I saw the dogs at Finsbury Park a couple of weeks ago. Mercifully, they didn't approach me as I would have been tempted to give a similar reply to that I gave to the cops who stopped me outside Bethnal Green tube the day after the London bombings in July 2005. When they asked what was in my bag I said, a Mars bar, my cycling waterproofs, a bag of sandwiches and three kilos of cocaine. All of it ws true apart from the coke. They batted not one eyelid.

injoke

the dogs are for drugs i'm sure, you wouldn't stop people coming OUT of a north london tube station in the evening if you were looking for bombs. police with dogs are quite common at wood green etc.

i generally assume that if they've got dogs they're looking for drugs and if they're standing behind ticket inspectors they're looking for illegal immigrants.

will_d

I made the mistake of looking one of the dogs (a spaniel named George) in the eye. He responded to this latent threat by jumping on my jeans. I spent the next 25 mins in the cleaners room in the station explaining that I didn't have any cocaine, I hadn't taken any cocaine and that the reason my pupils might look large was because I wear contact lenses. Great times.

Apparently they do it whenever Arsenal are at home, as people like to go and get cained before they see the same thing happen to Arsenal's splintery midfield. Now, everytime I see a sniffer Spaniel, I think it's George. The bastard.

David

They'll turn you over for a fiver those amoral spaniels.