Terrorists in the UK

[s.rwitt]

Looks like you Brits are in even more danger than we are:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe...eat/index.html

He said there had been 200 terrorist convictions in Britain since the September 11 attacks.

And of course there's this, but no surprise here:

According to Evans, there had been "no decrease" in the number of Russian covert intelligence officers operating in Britain since the end of the Cold War.

I really didn't realize that you UK boys had convicted so many terrorists, I mean 200 convictions in six years is quite a lot for a population of 60 million, isn't it? Good job.

[The Super Pope]

Something like 7% of our population are muslim and let's face it the terrorists being arrested aren't likely to be Irish anymore. Given the way some preachers actively try to push young muslims into holy war I'm not surprised the figures so high

[kev-o]

And they say the terrorist threat isn't real.

[hunter260859]

No because if we say anything agaisnt muslims we get called rascist.

[Blau&Gruen]

Terrorism is a criminal activity. It is up to the appropriate services to deal with. You don't change anything in the good, if you stigmatize a very heterogen social "group". I trust into our law enforcing abilities to pick those out who intend to break the laws.

[Rapax]

So we don't have to run off a news report, let's spice it up with some official facts:


Fact & figures

The UK police terrorism arrest statistics (excluding Northern Ireland) from 11 September 2001 – 31 March 2007 show 1228 arrests were made:
1165 arrests under the Terrorism Act 2000
63 arrests under legislation other than the Terrorism Act, where the investigation was conducted as a terrorist investigation

Of the total 1228 arrested:
132 charged with terrorism legislation offences only
109 charged with terrorism legislation offences and other criminal offences
195 charged under other legislation including murder, grievous bodily harm, firearms, explosives offences, fraud, false documents
76 handed over to immigration authorities
15 on police bail awaiting charging decisions
1 warrant issued for arrest
12 cautioned
1 dealt with under youth offending procedures
11 dealt with under mental health legislation
4 transferred to Police Service of Northern Ireland custody
2 remanded in custody awaiting extradition proceedings
669 released without charge
1 awaiting further investigation

Of those charged:
41 Terrorism Act convictions to date
183 convicted under other legislation: murder and explosives offences (including conspiracies), grievous bodily harm, firearms offences, fraud, false documents offences, etc (this includes the 12 cautions detailed above)
114 at or awaiting trial

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/securit...m-and-the-law/

[Blau&Gruen]

If the numbers are correct, then you have among 1228 arrested 195 heavy criminals who will probably end up somewhere for years. It is good for them and good for us.

[Shaun]

Something like 7% of our population are muslim

Bollocks. It's closer to 2.5% ...

And they say the terrorist threat isn't real.

Still more likely to, say, get hit by a bus.

No because if we say anything agaisnt muslims we get called rascist.

No you don't.

[s.rwitt]

If the numbers are correct, then you have among 1228 arrested 195 heavy criminals who will probably end up somewhere for years.

Considering the fact that the US has 5 times the population and every time one person is charged with terrorism it's a huge new story, I would think 195 is a pretty significant number.

[Rapax]

Considering the fact that the US has 5 times the population and every time one person is charged with terrorism it's a huge new story, I would think 195 is a pretty significant number.

Sorry but is that what you think based on your own perception of watching american news or is that actually based on statistics of how many people in the US have been arrested/convicted under charges of terrorism?

[Blau&Gruen]

Considering the fact that the US has 5 times the population and every time one person is charged with terrorism it's a huge new story, I would think 195 is a pretty significant number.

Yes, it is significant. The causes for a higher amount of "heavy criminals", if this is the case, might be due geography and sociology of the immigration communities. I have no idea, though, why it could be as it appears to be. But it is good to lock those who can be convicted off, of course.

[mrmouth]

Convicted is one thing, sometimes people who dabble into these things cant be convicted, for whatever reason. There might not be that one piece of evidence that really proves guilt, even though everyone knows they are guilty to some degree. Or there could be mistakes made by the prosecution.

Even worse, as we saw recently, courts in ultra liberal countries find people involved with the killings of hundreds, innocent, to the bewilderment of the rest of the world.

The UK, as well as all of Europe, has become a safe haven for homegrown and immigrant radicals. Ive said it before, when asked, those radicals in the UK point towards Britain's colonial history, the fact they feel unwanted, and of course the fact the British are in Iraq.

The guys who attacked Spain, while also angered over Spain's involvement in Iraq, also had a list of grievances.

The young man who stabbed to death the writer in Amsterdam did so primarily because the writer insulted the prophet. He also said he never felt at home or accepted in Holland, a place where prostitution, marijuana and pysilocybin mushrooms can be bought. He also said he felt Muslims were segregated and herded into the grey concrete housing in places like North Amsterdam, where he lived. The same housing in which a friend of his lived, a friend that got into a shootout and threw a fragmentation grenade at police before being taken into custody. His apartment being the epicenter for religious extremism outside of the Mosque.

I think that the UK and Europe have a problem on their hands, a problem that some refuse to see. I have all the faith in the world in the intel services of those countries and their ability to cooperate with one another. I do fear the politicians that will be making decisions based on these reports, and the judges that are tasked with putting bad guys in prison.

[s.rwitt]

Sorry but is that what you think based on your own perception of watching american news or is that actually based on statistics of how many people in the US have been arrested/convicted under charges of terrorism?

I think it's pretty clear, considering I said that it is a "HUGE NEWS STORY" every time one person is arrested.

I haven't looked up the numbers but if you want to, go for it.

[Rapax]

It's of no particular importance to me but I feel that in order to pass judgement on what is a significant number when compared to the US, one would actually have to know the number of people charged in the US.

[kev-o]

It's of no particular importance to me but I feel that in order to pass judgement on what is a significant number when compared to the US, one would actually have to know the number of people charged in the US.

Lets not turn into .Czar and declare that the American news media is a bunch of fabricated lies.

You should be happy that they are off the streets.

[Rapax]

Lets not turn in .Czar and declare that the American news media is a bunch of fabricated lies.

You should be happy that they are off the streets.

That's not close to what I said. I merely advised that you can't draw broad comparisons without even knowing the who or why, much less can you compare official statistics with your own personal perception of what the media reports on terrorist charges.

[Panzerbear]

Lets not turn into .Czar and declare that the American news media is a bunch of fabricated lies.

I never declared that American news media is a bunch of fabricated lies.

[Blau&Gruen]

It's of no particular importance to me but I feel that in order to pass judgement on what is a significant number when compared to the US, one would actually have to know the number of people charged in the US.

Well, you would have to compare comparable sets of cases, - to say so. This might be not so easy.

[Spurius]

It's of no particular importance to me but I feel that in order to pass judgement on what is a significant number when compared to the US, one would actually have to know the number of people charged in the US.

U.S Terrorism Arrests/Convictions Significantly Overstated

For example, Operation Tarmac was a worksite enforcement operation launched in November 2001 at the nation’s airports. During this operation, Department and other federal agents went into regional airports and checked the immigration papers of airport workers. The agents then arrested any individuals who used falsified documents, such as social security numbers, drivers’ licenses, and other identification documents, to gain employment. EOUSA officials told us they believe these defendants are properly coded under the anti-terrorism program activity. We do not agree that law enforcement efforts such as these should be counted as "anti-terrorism" unless the subject or target is reasonably linked to terrorist activity.

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archive...rorism_ar.html

(a blog, yes, but the report is DOJ, and Bruce Schneier no jackass).

[s.rwitt]

An analysis of the Justice Department's own list of terrorism prosecutions by The Washington Post shows that 39 people (In the US) were convicted of crimes related to terrorism or national security.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...061100381.html

It's a year and a half old, but still only 39 out of 300 million. Compared to 200 out of 60 million, I would still call the UK numbers significant. IMO they are doing a great job tracking the bastards down and putting them away.