This is a picture I snapped with my shitty camera phone while walking to work last week. Needless to say, it was one of the larger pools of blood and human hair I've seen this month.
With the election coming up in the not-too-distant future, this grim scene got me thinking what I, as a Londoner, want to see change about our beloved city. As a long-time resident of the core, the answer was simple: MORE COPS.
I want more cops in the core, doing the things that cops are supposed to do. I want cops splitting the skulls of drug dealers and throwing them in jail. I want cops to harass everyone who wears certain types of clothing. I want cops to shake down the crooked pawnshop owners who sell the stuff that was stolen from your house. I want a cop on every corner, intimidating 3rd generation welfare family scumbags who spend the baby bonus at Friday Night Lights. No more loitering, no more oxycontin, no more gangstarrs pulling knives on each other in broad daylight...
The east end did it, and now its our turn! D+R shall rise again! Our goal is valiant, our solution is clear!
MORE COPS! MORE COPS! MORE COPS!
More cops = more violence. Whatever the issue there is no silver bullet, no single solution, no perfect idea that will cure all our ailments. More people on the street with sticks, guns and short tempers would only increase the amount of blood puddles on the sidewalks.
That's a grim sight for sure. Entrenous is right by Victoria Park, not really Dundas and Richmond. I don't like that Richmond Row turns into a booze-fueled obstacle course on weekends, but it's worth noting that the problems tend to be caused by students who are just passing through, not Londoners. I am more intimidated walking through Richmond Row around 2 a.m. than I am by Dundas and Richmond at any time.
There actually has been an increase in the amount of beat cops in London. They tour around the D&R area. They've made a push to make the lives of dealers, people wearing "certain types of clothing", etc. difficult by handing out all kinds of tickets for the most ridiculous things. IE: Smoking near one of those "don't smoke here signs".
I work right at D&R and have a birds eye view of the corner. When the cops come, the dealers scurry, but not very far. Some have enough gall to stand there and deal infront of them. The cops collect information on whos doing what, etc. Even going as far as setting up surveliance and snapping photos of known douchebags. I pay attention to the guys who are down there. I hear about it when they get picked up and taken to jail for whatever case.The dudes who traffic at D&R do so holding small quantities. So when they are picked up, they are often released after a short stint at exeter, and head right back to doing what they know. Given the welfare office is right inside, why would they go anywhere else? It is the perfect spot.
I was told by some officers that they wouldn't care if all they did was move down a block. it seems as though all they really care about is appearances.
That's from Marble Slab, the ice-creamery down the block. Looks to me like the new 'Cherrie Me Away' flavor - very red. Someone's a messy eater, is all. And that's not hair, but caramel and butterscotch ribbons.
Mystery solved!
i always see cops standing in the entrenous entrance eating ice cream. hmmm...