Vandals at it again

[The Evil Bus Driver]

The GCR(N) this time. Smashing windows and breaking into storage rooms. Looks like they were disturbed and made off with the police in tow but unfortunately managed to evade capture. I hope the little scrotes are caught and properly punished.

 

https://www.therailwayhub.co.uk/4272/112-windows-smashed-in-shocking-gcrn-vandal-attack/?fbclid=IwAR3lD7b_CNbSDcDBfeoMkhVTbJZacNH_IaA_Jt12HB4M46SkB_-1h9QeQEs

[royaloak]

Forum friendly words fail me, although many non forum friendly to describe these individuals spring instantly to mind!

Edited May 1, 2019 by royaloak

[Bucoops]

Sadly, going by these tv police programmes, and the punishment given to the NYMR/LNERCA vandals, any court issued comeuppance won't match the crime at all

[EddieB]

So two lads aged 12 and 14 arrested, and an estimated £80k worth of damage.

 

Let’s see their parents settling the account. By the time court fees etc. are included, a nice round £100k would teach them a lesson that they should bring up their children to respect other peoples’ property.  

 

But of course the children will be given a reprimand and the railway forced to make good the damage itself.

[polybear]

Perhaps the railway could sue the parents using no win, no fee......

[darrel]

1 hour ago, God's Wonderful Railway 1835 said:

The WSR also have been hit as well. https://www.west-somerset-railway.co.uk/news/detail/vandals-strike-west-somerset-railway

I was surprised by the comment that the police didnt attend the incident. Why didnt they? 

[polybear]

7 hours ago, darrel said:

I was surprised by the comment that the police didnt attend the incident. Why didnt they? 

 

A serous hit and run video in London has been shown on tv in recent days, with a black BMW on the wrong side of the road taking out a cyclist.  Victim fortunately survived, but had injuries such as a bleed on the brain.  Victim *apparently* had to go searching local businesses for CCTV footage before it was erased; Police sent a letter to the registered keeper's address, asking for driver details....

Let me guess......"my car was stolen.  Did you report it sir?  No, cos' I found it myself so didn't want to waste the Police's time....."

Once upon a time, Police at the scene would've been straight into local businesses, secure the video, get the registration, go find the driver and test them for drugs, drink etc. whilst arresting them.

 

Not the Police's fault.  Just a sign of the effects of all the cuts and bullsh*t they have to endure nowadays.

It seems that you need to be murdered in order to get a fast response lately.  Or be an MP, Royalty etc.

[micklner]

8 hours ago, darrel said:

I was surprised by the comment that the police didnt attend the incident. Why didnt they? 

Very simple lack of staff, no suspects present or seen at time of reporting. No forensic evidence. The Police are under extreme pressure, 24 hours of the day , they simply don't have the time to attend that type of incident anymore ( and it will get worse).

[darrel]

50 minutes ago, micklner said:

Very simple lack of staff, no suspects present or seen at time of reporting. No forensic evidence. The Police are under extreme pressure, 24 hours of the day , they simply don't have the time to attend that type of incident anymore ( and it will get worse).

But if the police dont attend how do they know there was no one seen? They wont have asked for witnesses. And how do they know there are no forensics unless they turn up and look for fingerprints etc? 

I appreciate they are short staffed due to budget cuts but it seems ridiculous that they dont do the basics 

[Dava]

The GCRN vandalism could have been even more expensive & destructive if the preserved HST set had not been away at the time. Ruddington is far from being a deprived rundown area & it would be interesting to know where the perpetrators actually came from. The railway is an increasing target for vandals & the large Clifton estate is a walk across the meadows from it. A DMU set is beyond repair and irreplaceable GCR carriages are also stored there.

 

The GCRN does not have a lot of money for repairs or the CCTV and protection which seems needed. But it is going to be an increasingly important base for the125 Group and for operations on the combined GCR in the future.

 

 

[micklner]

9 hours ago, darrel said:

But if the police dont attend how do they know there was no one seen? They wont have asked for witnesses. And how do they know there are no forensics unless they turn up and look for fingerprints etc? 

I appreciate they are short staffed due to budget cuts but it seems ridiculous that they dont do the basics 

          They will have asked the victim if there are any witnesses, cctv ,etc, in this case I presume  a fairly remote area and not overlooked , broken windows caused by stones there are no forensics as the damage is described. You cannot get fingerprints off a stone. Fingerprints are simply sweat and very fragile at best.

         The Police have to prioritise all calls and have done so for a number of years, and then attend what they can, the same levels are applied to the "basic" level of investigation, that is a crime record is made and that's as far as the police involvement is taken.

         Unless manpower and budgets are increased hugely as I already said it will only get worse.

[RANGERS]

Not the first time it’s been targeted, some years ago a number of buses, some of them unique and irreplaceable, were destroyed in an arson attack.

[Alex TM]

21 hours ago, darrel said:

I was surprised by the comment that the police didnt attend the incident. Why didnt they?

Hi everyone,

 

Sadly, this under-resourcing of the Police seems to be nationwide.  Around here (Edinburgh) they usually only turn out if someone is in immediate danger or injured, or if it's otherwise quiet.  I've met a number of our local officers, and they're all a good bunch, but they've not got the ability to be in three or more places at once.

 

In terms of the specifics of the vandalism, I truly feel for the volunteers, etc, who have put in years of hard work and dedication to recreate something wonderful, only to have it ruined in a few minutes by those ..........

 

Regards,

 

Alex.

[25901]

2 minutes ago, Alex TM said:

In terms of the specifics of the vandalism, I truly feel for the volunteers, etc, who have put in years of hard work and dedication to recreate something wonderful, only to have it ruined in a few minutes by those ..........

 

Have had the sick feeling when turning up one day to find all the windows on one of our passed loco's smashed.

[darrel]

A video has now turned up of one of the idiots smashing the windows on the WSR he was using a wheel scotch. Which will therefore be covered in his fingerprints 

[The Evil Bus Driver]

18 hours ago, RANGERS said:

Not the first time it’s been targeted, some years ago a number of buses, some of them unique and irreplaceable, were destroyed in an arson attack.

Yes I remember that one. Some of the buses not only unique and irreplaceable but also newly restored iirc

[The Evil Bus Driver]

I just don't know what possesses these kids to do this. Ok fine you don't understand something but this smashing up of things, which people have puti n hundreds, thousands of hours of effort, time and money is just needless. When I was that age the thought never crossed my mind, even if I was bored and had nothing to do it was never a case of "Ok I'll go down to the local sidings and smash things" it was "Ok I am bored, lets listen to some music"

CCTV is expensive, as is palisade fencing and carriage window glass. I wouldn't be surprised if Ruddington does a serious and comprehensive security review after this.

 

I just don't understand it.

Edited May 6, 2019 by The Evil Bus Driver

[balders]

On 05/05/2019 at 10:00, darrel said:

But if the police dont attend how do they know there was no one seen? They wont have asked for witnesses. And how do they know there are no forensics unless they turn up and look for fingerprints etc? 

I appreciate they are short staffed due to budget cuts but it seems ridiculous that they dont do the basics 

At the risk of stating the obvious......there ARE no resources to allocate. Take it from someone who has two pay days left and endured all the cuts since 2010. It's never been so embarrassing to try and do this job correctly to the satisfaction of all. 

 

I'll leave it there. I sympathise and apologise for the failings of the Government and the biggest lies the public suck up......back to topic. 

Edited May 6, 2019 by balders
Typo

[laurenceb]

IIRC the people at Ruddington wanted to install security fencing but were not allowed to by the council 

[brianusa]

Sadly, it'll take more than a police presence to combat this sort of thing; its a symbol of the times!  Where are the parents and whatever happened to Borstal?

     Brian.

[Reorte]

21 hours ago, The Evil Bus Driver said:

I just don't know what possesses these kids to do this. Ok fine you don't understand something but this smashing up of things, which people have puti n hundreds, thousands of hours of effort, time and money is just needless. When I was that age the thought never crossed my mind, even if I was bored and had nothing to do it was never a case of "Ok I'll go down to the local sidings and smash things" it was "Ok I am bored, lets listen to some music"

There have always been a few brainless louts, whether or not people are more likely to behave like that or whether it's just because there are more people I don't  know, but that's the root cause of the problem and a society-wide one that desperately needs addressing.

[polybear]

On 06/05/2019 at 20:06, brianusa said:

Sadly, it'll take more than a police presence to combat this sort of thing; its a symbol of the times!  Where are the parents and whatever happened to Borstal?

     Brian.

 

7 hours ago, Reorte said:

There have always been a few brainless louts, whether or not people are more likely to behave like that or whether it's just because there are more people I don't  know, but that's the root cause of the problem and a society-wide one that desperately needs addressing.

 

I've worked a couple of times this year in South Korea.  Imagine absolutely no Graffiti, very little litter (despite an obvious absence of litter bins, even in the Capital), parking your car in a public accessible car park - leaving it unlocked/keys in the ignition/engine running for perhaps 10-15 minutes with no fear of it being stolen.  And the vast majority of people seem to live in tower blocks - with no complaints of slums etc.  I found the whole experience very enlightening, and have come to the conclusion that society in the UK could learn an awful lot from S Korea.  Here's a picture of the trackwork at Changwon station - what's missing? :

Edited May 7, 2019 by polybear

[brianusa]

That's how it used to be!

Brian

[griffgriff]

What’s missing? A drunk in the 6’ ?

 

Griff

[The Evil Bus Driver]

What's missing? The Third Rail