By Karan Kochhar
Britain was hit with another tragedy when a primitive, yet potent, explosive device detonated on a crowded underground train in the early hours of Friday. The explosion ensued panic as bewildered commuters rushed out of the Parson Green Station in Southwest London where the explosion took place.
Current situation
Early reports suggest that at least 22 people were injured in the incident, though none of the injuries were life-threatening and the victims were termed walking wounded. Mitt Rowley, the Assistant Commissioner of Metropolitan Police, confirmed that the bomb was indeed an improvised explosive device. In the hunt to narrow down suspects, he urged anyone to come forward who had seen the incident happen or had any photograph or videotape of the incident. Rowley also confirmed that no arrests have been made so far. Police recovered a circuit from the scene and said that the device had only partially detonated and was still viable. Scotland Yards counter-terrorism command, SO15, will be leading the investigation with MI5.
Eerie Deja-Vu for Britain
The blasts are the most recent terrorist attack to hit Britain, a country that has recently been in the crosshairs of terrorists. After the vehicular and knife attack in March, a suicide bombing at a concert in May, two vehicular and knife attacks in June, Fridays bombing should be enough to jolt intelligence agencies and the police to take stock of the status quo. The total number of people that were killed in the last four terrorist activities have crossed deaths in July 2015 explosions where 52 people were killed. The previous four attacks were committed by a lone assailant. There is no reason to believe that Fridays blast was orchestrated not at the highest level of the terrorist organisation but at an individual level. Though the security apparatus has foiled six similar instances, the occasional miss proves detrimental to nation’s morale.
Is Theresa May responsible?
The British Prime Minister, Theresa May, condemned the heinous act that was perpetrated by the coward terrorist. However, many critics believe that the terrorist incidents this year could have been avoided if not for police budget cuts Theresa May implemented in her tenure as the Home Secretary. Ever since her appointment as Home Secretary in 2010, police numbers have fallen by 46,700 (or 19.5%). May had repeatedly dodged the question inquiring about the direct relationship between the rise of terrorist incident and fall in police personnel. Later, Theresa May insisted that the number of personnel in MI5, MI6 and GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters) was increased by 1,900. However, the fact remains that the resources for ground-level monitoring were sparse. This fact was corroborated by a former senior Metropolitan who suggested that the existing police are routinely working 12-16-hour shift to compensate for lack of manpower.
A Policy issue?
Neil Basu, a senior police official in counter-terrorism policing emphasised that terrorist incidents in Britain has been on the rise but so has the police activity. The number of arrests for terrorism-related offences in the UK rose by 68% in the last 12 months. The number of terrorist prisoners has risen by 35% in the same period. Though the police are severely understaffed, the rise in the number of arrests and subsequent persecution of the suspects show a determined workforce.
However, the increase in the frequency of terrorist incidents show the lapses in judgement calls by the overstretched police. Theresa May has to realise that greater powers to the police such as the stop and search cannot compensate for human resources.
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