raverbaby wrote:
I wonder whether people are taking advantage of the police resources diverted to the ipswich area?
nah, East Anglian cops are still determined (if not more so) not to let too many raves happen and the locals are still angry that so many did happen this year in Naarfolk..
Too many unfortunately have been held on active farms or between lets warehouses and there is also a “smashy smashy” culture in EA – there are plenty of locals (particularly those in the rural areas some distance away) who don’t really care about 6 dead people in a town which already has a bad rep but don’t want the cops to be “soft on other crime” because of the investigations.
According to a recent press release, this Xmas Norfolk and Cambs are heading the anti-rave unit rather than Suffolk as obviously that force is stretched by 6 murders (there is also someone dead from the nightclub shootings).
There are also Essex, Norfolk and Met detectives in Ipswich providing assistance and backup.
I can say for a fact that I have never seen a higher police presence in any area I have lived in, even before the murders. The cops here definitely like to keep an eye on everything…
if anything the clampdowns will be harsher…, particularly as both major incidents in Suffolk have links with drugs/party culture
Zest is (or was!) the main dance music club in town, whilst at least one of the murdered girls “got into drugs via hanging around with the “wrong crowd”.
Sadly many people still equate “the wrong crowd” with any sort of drug user or anyone with liberal/permissive views about sex… unfortunately the way some cops think they will now have a mindset that “stopping raves is keeping people away from drugs and prostitution”
Worse, the nature of the current surveillance is a check on all vehicles going in and out of certain areas, particularly at night. These are the same areas a rave convoy or party people would use to get to venue. I expect there will also be a spike in the levels of people busted for drug use and dealing because of the searches, in a similar way to how in the aftermath the 2005 London terrorist attacks the cops didn’t nick that many terrorists but caught loads of drug users.
*and* most potential secluded areas in Suffolk and Norfolk are being watched by detectives in case the killer is trying to hide a body there…
Add to this the culture of a minority fighting the cops at raves here which means that the cops are often always planning for a potential riot…
In 2004 in SE England a similar situation occured where a major incident (train crash caused by suicidal driver deliberately parking on a level crossing) happened at the same time as a big rave. The cops still had enough units to bust the rave with riot squad, confiscated loads of rigs, and just bailed people and adjourned the court cases for two whole years until the case could be dealt with (the rigs were kept in storage for all that time).
The organisers were still fined and given two months to pay (or jail!)
In 2005, cops kept up the pressure on many parties despite the terrorist attacks in London…
Unfortunately unlicensed raves are now seen as serious anti-social behaviour or even organised crime rather than relatively harmless mischief.
There is now a lot of vandalism, environmental damage (even if its accidental) and since 2000 there has been a rise in violent incidents that occur at them – even if these incidents aren’t reported to cops, the NHS emergency staff pass on the numbers (but not the names!) – and its created a big backlash…
