h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The news is that there will be between 14,000 and 16,000 police from the Met guarding George Bush during his visit to England.


Right, who's up for a bit of burglary on the streets of Enfield. We're going to get away with it you know

I think it might end up in an Enfield Chase instead.

Anyone recall crime stats during the miners strike? I used to have a little furniture workshop at the time and one of my customers was a rozzer. He loved the strike - it netted him something like £400 a week (he reckoned) in overtime each time he went to Yorkshire to knock a miner or two on the bonce. He also reckoned that almost every copper he knew of was doing the same.

My workshop was in Hoxton - not known for being filled with fine upstanding pillars of the community, and he was from a nearby cop shop, so you've gotta wonder if the local villains took advantage of this disappearace of The Filth from the streets

I gather that the police allocated to protecting Bush (mainly from being being upset by seeing people who don't like his politics) represents about 12% of the entire British force.