*Yawns*
Sorry, but I've missed the last 9 pages. What are we talking about now...? Still debating "stop and search" methodology or are we now navel-gazing in an attempt to justify why we're still banging on about all this?
Quite honestly, wearing the opposition down to the point where they've given up does not necessarily mean you've won the argument. Nor does demanding that they produce hard facts to disprove what you say mean that you are correct. There will always be at least two sides to every discussion, and most often one side will fail to convince the other.
As for the topic at hand, there will be some people who don't mind the Police going about their legal and legitimate business and some who see it as an imposition on their human rights. I have absolutely no interest in entering this particular debate so I don't want folk barracking me, but I would identify with the former group more than the latter. I have nothing to hide or fear from the Police, and if taking the time to satisfy them that I am going about my business in a law-abiding manner then I am happy to do so. I'm savvy enough to understand that full cooperation will see me out and back on my way more quickly than arguing the toss at every turn. In addition, I am not so dumb as to fail to notice that a lot of what the Police do is an exercise in public reassurance that yields little in the way of actual arrests and prosecutions.
But one thing I'm dying to know. Where did all these criminologists suddenly spring from...?
O L Leigh