Luas Red Line - bag slashed by pick pocket

superman28

Had my bag (a small schoolbag) slashed along the bottom today at around 1pm on the Red Line Luas line today. From Connolly Station to Hueston Station is a awash with Junkies, beggers and criminals day or night..

Luckily I had my phone and wallet in my front pockets, but it is something to look out for. I reported it to LUAS customer service.

I think the security situation on the Luas Red Line is completely out of control. It is embassing to think of all the tourists that will no doubt be robbed over the Paddys weekend..

corktina

they had a purge I understand in the area recently (boardwalks etc) for that very reason....didn't work did it! How difficult would it be to have more Gards on duty on that line?

coylemj

They could achieve much better coverage on the Dart and Luas if the security guys didn't go around in groups of 2 or 3. Was on the red Luas one day heading to Heuston in the afternoon. There was three security guys dressed in black onboard and when we stopped at Jervis St. you could see junkies hassling tourists and others at the ticket machines, the security guys did nothing.

punisher5112

coylemj wrote: »

They could achieve much better coverage on the Dart and Luas if the security guys didn't go around in groups of 2 or 3. Was on the red Luas one day heading to Heuston in the afternoon. There was three security guys dressed in black onboard and when we stopped at Jervis St. you could see junkies hassling tourists and others at the ticket machines, the security guys did nothing.

The reason for doing nothing sometimes is so they don't leave themselves open for to be sued or attacked themselves.

These guys and pretty much anyone in public transport are paid feck all for the job they have to do and it's not well enough paid to be getting a syringe stuck in you.

AlekSmart

coylemj wrote: »

They could achieve much better coverage on the Dart and Luas if the security guys didn't go around in groups of 2 or 3. Was on the red Luas one day heading to Heuston in the afternoon. There was three security guys dressed in black onboard and when we stopped at Jervis St. you could see junkies hassling tourists and others at the ticket machines, the security guys did nothing.

Ah but what,pray tell,would you have them do coylemj...?

Bear in mind that the Luas "Security" staff have little specific power to be pro-active with these wasters.

Essentially,the Security Staff have to be responsive rather than pre-emptive,which means we wait for the inevitable day when somebody innocent is killed or maimed by the ever increasing "Red-Line Regulars" who are well aware of their dominant position on this service.

The main challenge for Transdev/RPA is to keep things out of the media,which is now the only effective means of prodding whomever is in charge of an Garda Siochana into some reluctant action.

It cannot be stated enough that this is a PUBLIC ORDER issue,and therefore of National Importance...It MUST be addressed as such,rather than in the Public Relations driven manner it has been so far.

In the final analysis it all comes back to the Judiciary and their willingness to start dishing out PUNISHMENT Sentences rather than constantly keeping the Supreme Courts views on "rehabilitative sentencing" in mind when yet another 100+ convictions merchant staggers into their dock again....

Although,reading this account of a deplorable example of Judicial Seperation from Reality,I remain to be convinced we actually have a functioning Judicial process any longer....

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/no-extra-jail-time-for-addict-who-mowed-down-schoolboy-14-30088288.html

Be very certain that should YOU be the victim of an attack on the Red Line or anywhere else,there is every likelyhood of some Judge following Judge Mary Ellen Ring's opinion that she was

"bound by the legislation and said that she must also give credit to Tracey for entering a guilty plea at the earliest opportunity and his genuine remorse."

So here ye have it in a nutshell.....

Tracey has 36 previous convictions and is already serving a 10-year jail term, with two years suspended, for a spate of armed robberies, including one in which he left a shop worker in need of 24-hour care after stabbing him with a syringe.

....and a Judge STILL feels she is COMPELLED to mitigate an already woefully inadequate sentence....What world are their Judgeships living in..?

So next time you see the Security Guy's "Doing Nothing"...ask yourself if,having "done something",these same Security Staff were to find themselves dragged in front of Mary Ellen Ring or her Judicial colleagues what might they expect ???

wandatowell

Its grand saying the security guards should do something about it but for me its going to take political will to make effective change.

whisky_galore

wandatowell wrote: »

Its grand saying the security guards should do something about it but for me its going to take political will to make effective change.

Nothing will happen until a minister is mugged in front of Leinster House.

Sierra Oscar

wandatowell wrote: »

Its grand saying the security guards should do something about it but for me its going to take political will to make effective change.

What is needed is a transport police force with real powers to police our transport infrastructure in the capital. The operators should be forced to pay into a central fund to pay for the service, as is the norm in other countries across the world. They already pay significant amounts of money to ineffective private security companies as it is.

Five Lamps

Watch the Green Line get infected in a couple of years time. A new junkie north-south route.

LXFlyer

Sierra Oscar wrote: »

What is needed is a transport police force with real powers to police our transport infrastructure in the capital. The operators should be forced to pay into a central fund to pay for the service, as is the norm in other countries across the world. They already pay significant amounts of money to ineffective private security companies as it is.

What's needed is a coherent anti-drugs policy by our government to eradicate the problem from society.

Mikros

AlekSmart wrote: »

It cannot be stated enough that this is a PUBLIC ORDER issue,and therefore of National Importance...It MUST be addressed as such,rather than in the Public Relations driven manner it has been so far.

It is a social issue really. All the drug treatment centres / methadone clinics are located in around the city centre so you will get drug users using the red line to get into town to access this. They will then continue to hang around the city as there is nowhere else for them to go. Equally so with the provision for homeless people who are kicked out in the morning to roam the streets until nightfall (assuming they can get emergency accommodation in the first place).

The guards can arrest people but know they will be back on the streets in a day or two because there is no room in prison. Building more spaces and stuffing all our social problems in a prison might seem like a good idea in the short term but long term it just deepens the cycle.

And there are no votes in helping junkies and the homeless, nor would this government be that way inclined anyway. So everyone stops bothering and it just gets moved around the place until something gives. We are not there yet but watch that space.

No Pants

AlekSmart wrote: »

Ah but what,pray tell,would you have them do coylemj...?

Baton rounds.

AlekSmart

No Pants wrote: »

Baton rounds.

Hmmmm...I can't see Mikros givin you a "Thanks" for that particular suggestion....:)

Mikros

AlekSmart wrote: »

Hmmmm...I can't see Mikros givin you a "Thanks" for that particular suggestion....:)

haha!

Seriously though, I walk through the city a lot and the problem in my opinion has been getting worse for a number of years. The number of people sleeping rough has definitely increased. I see the red line issues as just an extension of wider problems. Not saying there are not some proper little scumbags out there as well, and I would be in favour of a properly resourced transport police who could initiate their own prosecutions.

AlekSmart

Mikros wrote: »

haha!

Seriously though, I walk through the city a lot and the problem in my opinion has been getting worse for a number of years. The number of people sleeping rough has definitely increased. I see the red line issues as just an extension of wider problems. Not saying there are not some proper little scumbags out there as well, and I would be in favour of a properly resourced transport police who could initiate their own prosecutions.

We have significant Social "Issues" for sure,however I'm of the opinion that a little too much credence is given to them as a causitive factor.

For the purposes of this thread,we can only focus on the Public Transport experience which I feel has a slightly different skew to it.

My perspective begins with a relatively simple question,WHY ?

WHY should anybody consider that a Public Transport vehicle or location will afford them the ability to behave like a savage and have that tolerated ?

This attitude transcends Social "Classes" ,Genders and Age Groups and shows every sign of worsening rapidly.

From a personal perspective,I tend to see a great commonality of attitude amongst many of the worst offenders and that focuses upon Public Transport being seen as an "Entitlement",as in "It's your job to carry me-no matter what dysfunctional attitude I exhibit".

This week has,yet again,seen a resurgence of the Belfield Ball syndrome,which sees large groups of Drunk or otherwise stimulated individuals,many clutching even more bottles of alcohol, fully expecting to be facilitated at Bus Stops along the Stillorgan Road and reacting with argumentative imbicility when Busdrivers decline to pander to their anti-social needs.

Busdrivers know about it,Management Know about it,College Authorities Know about it,Gardai Know about it,Local Representatives know about it....I suspect that Barrack H.Obama knows about it at this stage....Yet,like rabbits caught in the Headlights glare,we flounder around without any coherent and publicised Policy which these cretins will be aware of BEFORE they embark on a display of Darwinism comes to Dublin 4.

The exact same situation now exists on the Luas Red-Line....EVERYBODY knows about it,but the feigned concern for the rights of the poor misunderstood,underfed,disadvantaged gouger MUST take precedence...over ALL other (Paying) Customers.

Eventually,these (Paying) customers will find themselves no longer willing or able to tolerate these levels of gratuitious physical,emotional & physchological abuse and they WILL abandon Public Transport as a travel option in all but emergency situations.

This then leaves the PT mode fully in the possession of the Savages,and therefore available only to THEM.

It's not a new phenomena,as those familiar with Dublin's Bus services throuhgh they ears will attest to...

Once Daylight faded,the upper saloons of so many routes were effective no-go areas for "Ordinaries",a process which,once begun,led inevitably to those "Ordinaries" eventually deserting the concept of Bus Travel itself.

Dublin's Bus service NEVER recovered from this,even if dressed up in PR Finery such as "Network Direct",we still see area's and "Ordinaries" with a mere shadow of what services could still be in existence,had some resolve been shown against those who seek to impose their savagery on the remainder of us.

No need for "New" Security,armed Police or any other "Continental" stuff...just a requirement to lay down clearly what will be tolerated against what will NOT be tolerated.

Keep It Simple !

No Pants

Mikros wrote: »

I would be in favour of a properly resourced transport police who could initiate their own prosecutions.

And give them baton rounds.

Zoney

All this talk of changes that are needed, transport police, etc.... just why is it not possible to have a couple of guards travel it, at least a couple times a week?

Or if the security guys don't want to intervene in some cases, why can't they call the guards?

You see the guards responding to stuff in shops/shopping centres that have private security etc - why is the Luas different?

No Pants

Zoney wrote: »

All this talk of changes that are needed, transport police, etc.... just why is it not possible to have a couple of guards travel it, at least a couple times a week?

Or if the security guys don't want to intervene in some cases, why can't they call the guards?

You see the guards responding to stuff in shops/shopping centres that have private security etc - why is the Luas different?

Probably a civil matter. :pac: