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| Europe |
| Dutch conductors lose arrest authority, told to avoid aggressive passengers |
| 2007-12-12 |
| Aggressive train passengers will have free rein from next year, the Telegraaf reports. The NS is urging personnel in a confidential letter to avoid aggressive passengers since conductors will no longer be able to arrest fare dodgers come 1 January. Commuters' organisation Rover is furious. "Cowardice," says the spokesperson for the organisation. "This means that if you are big and muscled, you don't need to buy a train ticket. If you are not, then you're the fall guy. That is unacceptable of course." In the confidential letter the NS management warns on board personnel that they must be careful in using force next year. The conductors will no longer be protected by their position since they will no longer have the authority to use necessary force. After 1 January conductors may only write tickets. They will no longer be permitted to arrest an aggressive passenger, using appropriate force. The NS management points out to the conductors that they will be at risk if they attempt such actions. If a passenger becomes aggressive or a fare dodger refuses to pay a fine, then the conductors must call in the help of mobile teams. These teams may take action, but they are only based at the 20 largest stations. The unions are also very concerned about the safety of the passengers and personnel. "Will this mobile team get there on time when a conductor calls for help? I am concerned about that," says the director of the FNV trade union confederation. Spokesperson for the NS Michiel Jonker says safety will in fact improve because the mobile teams are better trained in dealing with aggressive passengers and will be on site sooner when called. |
| Posted by:lotp |
| #14 Remote switches and "The Cassandra Crossing" come to mind. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2007-12-12 20:55 |
| #13 Let the dhimmis pay for public transport. Next, the Lions of the Umma will demand reserved seating and section for women wearing bin-bags Sounds good to me, Men in the front, women in back, and a remote uncoupler for a final touch halfway (Begone) |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2007-12-12 20:44 |
| #12 Wish I could, wish I could, RJ... my list is getting long and time's short in supply. ;-) |
| Posted by: twobyfour 2007-12-12 18:12 |
| #11 I'll grant you both "Strangle". |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2007-12-12 18:02 |
| #10 Same thing, RJ. common in continental Yurop to use French version, with different spellings. |
| Posted by: twobyfour 2007-12-12 17:58 |
| #9 tourniquets perhaps you mean "Turnstiles?" |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2007-12-12 17:40 |
| #8 Excerpts from the NS letter to all employees: Do not make eye contact. When addressed by any muslim, bow your head, slump your shoulders, then focus your eyes on the floor. If spoken to by your muslim overlord when responding mind your tone of voice. A meek and mild tone is suggested. Do not speak to your mulsim overlord without first obtaining permission. Under no circumstance may you intervene if you witness muslim overlords assaulting a passenger. Contact the authorities to report the unfortunate incident, but only if you can do so without drawing undue attention to yourself. If you contact the authorities it's their problem. If they respond in time to stop the assault, fine. If not, then it's the passenger's bad luck. Not your problem. Under no cuicumstance will you be obliged to be a witneness against our muslim overlords in any trial. You have no moral, ethical, or civic duty to assist in the prosecution of our muslim overlords. Our tesimony is not acceptable under sharia law. You have no right of self-defense. Do not arm yourself with a weapon that can be used in self-defense. If you elect to act in self-defense against a muslim overlord that will be grounds for immediate termination. |
| Posted by: Mark Z 2007-12-12 17:04 |
| #7 3 observations from Holland (and inside law-enforcment here) 1: Conductors here dont realy make that many (make that very few) arrests(one or two of these guys to a train with very little training or equipment cant realy do that much when faced with a violent fairdodger) 2: A similair sceme on metrotrains & trams (rather large quys with handcuffs & specialized training in combination with extensive video-surveilance on platforms & trains) works very well, #5 has a point though, for the trainnetwork is much more extensive. 3: From next year you actually have to pay to get through tourniquets to get on the station-platform. |
| Posted by: Drive by lurker 2007-12-12 11:09 |
| #6 Seriously though, these things are goin to turn into moving gang clubhouses. If you want to ride the metro, you're going to have to buy a ticket, pay off the gang, and hide your wallet in your sock. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2007-12-12 10:40 |
| #5 They will over-rule this when train schedules go to sh*t because trains are waiting at the station for the response team to muster. |
| Posted by: Penguin 2007-12-12 10:39 |
| #4 F*ckin' Aye!!! Who wants to go Happy Slapping on the NS express? |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2007-12-12 10:37 |
| #3 Let the dhimmis pay for public transport. Next, the Lions of the Umma will demand reserved seating and section for women wearing bin-bags. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2007-12-12 08:54 |
| #2 I see this as a natural outgrowth of the bizarre idea that starts with "If there are police, then people should never attempt to defend themselves." This leads to the idea that people should always retreat and run away from the violent and dangerous, leaving them to do whatever they want until the authorities arrive. Even if they are harming or trying to kill someone else. Even if you are being viciously beaten or your life threatened, it is impermissible to fight back or defend yourself. As I said, it is a bizarre idea. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-12-12 08:49 |
| #1 Sounds like I agree with the union for once. Though actually I would recommend arming the conductors with something like a 1911 .45 and giving them plenty of practice and training so they can safely deal with aggressive passengers - especially those named Mohamed or the like. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2007-12-12 07:45 |