Hundreds of weapons have been taken off the streets of Glasgow six months after police started using the web to crack down on gang violence. Young trainee officers at Strathclyde Police search social networking sites for pictures of people posing with weapons, mainly knives.
Constable Holly McGee and Cadet Fraser Reed, both 18, carry out the work. “We’re looking for anyone who is brandishing offensive weapons or blades,” Holly told Newsbeat. “We take the date, the time, detail of what’s in the photograph, [then] a copy of the photograph is printed out and thereafter it’s all sent to the gangs task force unit.” That’s when more experienced officers in the Violence Reduction Unit at Strathclyde Police get involved.
‘The law’s been broken’
The man in charge of this, Superintendent Bob Hamilton, says there are two ways of dealing with people once they’ve been tracked down. If they were posing in a public place, like on the street or a park, the law has been broken and they’ll be arrested.
Even when pictures are taken in private, though, which isn’t technically breaking the law, he says the weapons are so dangerous his officers pay a visit to the people involved. “We have large kitchen knives, axes, samurai swords, baseball bats, a huge number and different type of weapons – in simple terms weapons that can kill.”
I can kill you with a fucking pencil, Fuck – for goodness sake
Be careful where you post picture of your team playing baseball, or of you preparing your dinner!
Riddick could kill you with a pop can tab.
Tiny country trying to control all of its population’s actions.
Thousands and thousands of cameras all over the place removes my desire to ever visit there.
This is Darwinism pure and simple. These constables are these selection pressure and the species is criminals. The result? The morons are in jail or have their knives taken away and the smart criminals thrive. Evolution works, yo.
Are they going to get that Star Wars kid?
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=mNbLCA4WHCk
I think people are missing the point on this one.
Do you think they create a regular user account and then search the social networking sites with the restrictions of not actually being part of the social netwoks that they are targeting? OR, are they given complete access to all suposedly private or friends only information/media such as in the terms and conditions of Facebook and other sites? Not good, don’t join Facebook unless you fancy a pair like the two in the article pic browsin your personal info all day.
I could kill you by staring at you. See “The Men who stare at Goats”.
http://tinyurl.com/cdkgdq
So those kids in the picture above should be arrested.
Clearly, there must not be a lot of real crime in Scotland. Besides, of course, golf, haggis, bagpipes and of course, that iodine they call whisky.
Ah the joys of the thought police….
George would be so very proud.
The UK is going down the tubes.
More police state BS from the UK.
In other news: club and mace sales on the rise in Scotland.
I think I need to go over to facebook and remove the pictures of me posing with a deadly shiv (a.k.a. a pencil.)
The British empire was amazingly violent. Now they have only themselves. Pity, that.
Wow. If they only knew what I have in my living room right now…
You can have my French chef knife when you pry it from my cold, dead hand!
chris The British empire was amazingly violent. Now they have only themselves. Pity, that.
Pish! Pish! The British empire was only amazingly violent when we absolutely had to be … usually we just played the natives off of each other and let them be violent for us.
As for charging people brandishing weapons in public … what exactly is wrong with that? I know its a foriegn idea in the US, but most countries in the world try to discourage people from being armed in public ….
#4 Mr Idiot
That “tiny country” has more credibility than your entire nation of thieves and con artists.
Assuming you from America,I will tell you that Scotland is about as liberal a country as one could get….
It may be the nature of your country to control the populous, but in Scotland that just isn’t the case.
Their parliament is full of people that want to make the country better, and although that may seem like an alien concept for someone who is used to politicians f*cking the people over for money that isn’t what happens in Scotland.
Different(better) mindset for the population in general, they didn’t start with much and don’t desire much, so your ignorant comment was completely off the mark.
Let’s see how you feel in 20 years time when you try to justify your mongrel lineage by professing Scottish roots.
If you don’t know sh*t, don’t talk sh*t
#18
Typical brit….you were too cowardly to be violent, not too smart….
Get back to camden you mighty boosh emulating student
I just got this Facebook invite:
Sally Medford
Government Agent
wants to be your friend. Click here if you want to accept her invite.
“We have large kitchen knives, axes, samurai swords, baseball bats, a huge number and different type of weapons – in simple terms weapons that can kill.”
large kitchen knives? baseball bats?
#19 jimbo said
And you think the US has problems?
jimbo said That “tiny country” has more credibility than your entire nation of thieves and con artists. Assuming you from America,I will tell you that Scotland is about as liberal a country as one could get….
Actually, Scotland is a nation, not a country. http://geography.about.com/od/politicalgeography/a/scotlandnot.htm