Created: 11 May 2004
Two experiences recently have seemed to confirm my view that repeated calls for the public to be vigilant in the face of a possible terrorist threat are largely a waste of time. Firstly, on the train into work, there was a large suitcase standing unclamied in the doorway area of the carriage. As usual there were hardly any seats, so I stood. An australian bloke got on at Kentish Town and I watched him out of the corner of my eye as I pretended to read my book. It was obvious that the suitcase bothered him, since he couldn’t take his eyes off it. Eventually he started asking the passengers if it was theirs and after asking three or four people, someone claimed it. Then he looked embarrassed. It was obvious from the rather terse responses he got that people thought the possibility of being blown into small bits by the suspect suitcase was less interesting than the copy of Metro or whatever they were reading. The suitcase turned out to belong to a rather gentle looking elderly lady. In fact, our public-spirited passenger looked so embarrassed that I doubt he’ll ever bother inquiring about abondoned baggage again.
Waiting for the train last week, I noticed that there was a toolbox on the platform, next to the station sign. It was an ordinary toolbox, but had a caution sign lying on top of it, of the kind that are made up of yellow and black diagonal lines. I toyed with my conscience for a few seconds, knowing that if I reported it as suspicious I could well miss my train. Then I spotted a handful of workmen at the end of the platform, tinkering with the CCTV screens that train drivers use to inspect the platforms. The most likely scenario was that the toolbox belonged to one of them. So I appproached them, slowly, and asked. Yes, the toolbox was theirs. I felt the same embarrassment that the guy on the train must have felt. As I walked away there was a station announcement. The usual reminder not to leave baggage unattended was followed by the instruction that “anyone who notices anything suspicious or sees anyone acting suspiciously, should report it to station staff immediately.” Was this some sort of test, or does the instruction not to leave things unattended only apply to passengers, not staff? Not withstanding the fact that the advice to “look out for something suspicious” is largely useless it doesn’t really help that staff leave stuff lying around.
Someone commented to me, having visited both the US and UK recently, that the Brits seemed much calmer about the “terrorist threat”. This was ascribed to our greater experience of being terrorist targets. Quite possibly it’s just because we are too wrapped up in our own little worlds and too embarrassed to make a fuss. Let’s face it, the overwhelming majority of security alerts are false alarms and if we ignore something that turns out to be a real bomb, we probably won’t live to regret it. Despite that, I will carry on reporting unattended packages. Maybe, I’ll write to Thameslink and complain about the station incident. Yes, I’ll do it tomorrow, probably …