You have touching faith in police intelligence then BK, far more than I have. And the point remains that a simulatenous crackdown on so many premises and a whole stretch of a road can never really be described as 'targeted'
Given many shopkeepers reactions to the raids, complete with banners and reports of severe community unrest, I doubt many share your sunny optimism.
I've never heard of a raid like this that hasn't been divisive and counterproductive. As a willy-waving show of force to show the curtain-twitchers supposedly who's boss it's fine, but if it has any lasting effect other than resentment and ill will I'll be very surprised. Policemen don't do sensitivity and community relations well on massed raids ime.
I
live there, on a side road to Blackstock Rd - the Little Algeria end - and without going into massive detail about my exact address on a public BB, I walk about there every single day at least twice. I talk to the shop keepers every day when I go and buy bread in one shop, meat in one of three halal butchers, fruit and veg in another shop and the paper & cigs in yet another shop. I have spoken to the shop keepers who all know me because I do my shopping there, all of it. I don;t go to supermarkets
They are upset at people thinking they were anything to do with the criminal gangs and anxious that it will affect business, hence the banners. Some of them are moaning about it, but most of them are fine because all the criminality was bad for business. They have been complaining about it for years and it was getting worse. There had been over 70 arrests between July and December 2007, and the big operation was because nicking them in dribs and drabs wasn't working - they needed to nick about 40 people all at once to have any chance of busting three quite sophisticated organised crime gangs, who were dealing in illegal document, stolen goods, heroin, cocaine and knifing each other in turf wars.
Most of the Algerians in the area have lived there for years and are fine, this was an influx of Algerian GIA sympathisers, chucked out of Algeria for being militants/gangsters, plus some Somalis, and it was getting well dodgy - it was like ''their turf'' - like the rules didn't apply.
Despite the 72 arrests it was still bad, antisocial behaviour rose as a sign of how people didn't care any more. The massive, shocking show of force DID work. It's like a different area.
I'm pretty sure business will get back to normal soon. The anger will die down. There was some mouthing off to the local paper - but the repprter was specifically looking for people to be critical. Others told me they were positive about it and it didn't get reported. Only the critical bits were - and even then, people were saying things like
“Everyone was happy the bad people have been taken away yet there have been some concerns from the community that there was a bit of excessive force.”
Meanwhile, several women have testified on this board as to what it was like
and here's someone else on the
ES board
As a resident of the area I'm delighted that the police have taken the level of crime here so seriously at last. Every single female neighbour that I know has been mugged and had her handbag stolen in or around Blackstock Road in recent years. The atmosphere at certain times of day feels very menacing for single females, and many friends avoid walking along this street because they feel so threatened. Altogether the theft and gang violence -stabbings etc -have blighted an otherwise excellent place to live.
- Christine, London, UK
Hardly fabulous for business is it?
On the Algerian forum link, there are Algerian people bemoaning the fact that the cops have not been tough enough and asking them to crack down before the raid.
It'll blow over, it was far more ropey after 7/7 and we all managed to cope in the area.
