25 August 2005

Police dismiss safety concerns

| johnboy
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ABC Online brings the not entirely re-assuring news that “Police have denied Civic is unsafe at night.”

Federal police spokesman Sandi Logan says Canberra is one of the safest cities in Australia.

“But there is an element of personal safety and personal security that we need to exercise when we are out at night, don’t go down the dark alley ways if it’s not a well lit area, stay away from it,” she said.

“If you’re at an ATM make sure you’re not being watched if you feel uncomfortable don’t got to the ATM at that time I mean there are some simple steps we all need to take.”.

I’ve been out late in manhattan, paris, london, and prague, I’ve seen a knife fight in the muslim quarter of beijing, I’ve seen people glassed, knifed and shot. I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion..

Civic late at night is as scary a place as I’ve ever seen. I don’t care what Sandi says.

UPDATED: The Canberra Times has more on the blame-the-victim-while denying-the-problem approach AFP media is taking.

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You must not eat anything from Chicken Gourmet, or drink at Chicken O’Malleys. The dark side is strong there.

Recently had a taxi driver who said, “I wouldn’t walk around Civic at night. Nope, I wouldn’t do that. Noooo way.”, in a very creepy manner that made me ask him to drop me on the corner of my street so he wouldn’t know where I lived.

Yes, much drunkeness is much scariness. Northbridge in Perth on a Friday night; agro guys and big girls poured into lycra… errgh.

redneck_ninja9:20 am 26 Aug 05

I bet it’s the chicken salt from Chicken Gormet that makes people go mad every now and then…that stuff’s nasty.

Chris, as others have mentioned I was quoting blade-runner and using to strike through to take the piss out of myself.

Wikiquote has a listing of memorable lines from the movie.

Anyway there are many places more dangerous that Civic no question, but if you keep your wits around you and watch which direction the wind is blowing you can normally stay out of strife. In Civic there’s a random dimension to the violence which I find un-nerving.

Phillip K Dick was truly a visionary, though he was also a schizonfrenic and used writing as a mean of managing his illness.
As to the press release, I think given the recent weeks events I dont think the AFP should be doing any chest-beating in public about what a good job they have done.

I don’t think it matters which City you go to there are undesirables under every rock.

Its fairly standard early on Saturday/Sunday morning anywhere. Drunks, junkies etc all looking for someone stumbling into a dark alley who they can have some fun with.

Most of the time they find a victim. They eventually find a bigger fish and get their heads kicked in.

As for Blade Runner, damn fine film.

G

OK, nightowls, you’ve obviously never trod the cracked and bloodstained pavers of Civic by DAY.
Seriously bleak, unfriendly, and a demented civil servant lurking behind every sculpted sheep and shuttered carousel.
That said, I can offer bodyguard protection at reduced rates.

I preferred the version (was it the Director’s Cut?) that didn’t have the Deckard voice-over. I prefer to works things out for myself.

Amazing how many P K Dick pieces have made it into movies. He was a real visionary.

Civic suffers fron concentrating many drunks into a relatively small area. Most other large cities spread them out – although the troubles that can be found in Hindley St in Adelaide are similar. One just has to be aware of where you are and who’s around.

I agree about Bladerunner being a good flick (but a far better short story)

What did you think was better thumper . . . the original version or the directors cut?

As for Civic being safe at night…it’s as safe as you make it. If you wander about New York looking like a tourist then you attract the unwanted element. On a lesser scale, the same goes for Civic. If you look like you are out of place, undesirables will see what they can pick off your bones.

I think Sandi’s nose is growing longer.

I never feel safe after dark in Civic these days. So many boofheads just want to ‘pick’ you. So sick of walking to my car from a venue and getting acosted by some moron who couldn’t pull a root that night, so he decides to take it out on some poor sober mug.

Civic is a very seedy place generally. At night its really all about keeping your wits about you.

I have wandered around there and only been accosted once, several years ago by some idiot who insisted i was a homosexual and he was going to kill me.

I suspect he was under the influence of an entire pharamacy.

A former paramour of mine woudl never walk through the park after a late session at shadows, we had to walk right around the damn thing.

Dodgiest place i have been is Santiago, where i had a knife pulled on me in an attempted mugging.

Good movie, great quotes.

‘I’d rather be a killer than a victim’.

I saw ‘the Island’ on the weekend, i think its this generations ‘Blade Runner’ crossed with a dash of ‘Logans Run’. if they are making any more Scarlett Johannson replicants i’ll forward my mailing address and billing details…

Highly recommended.

Chris, the “attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion” quote was from the movie Blade Runner.

The replicant, Roy, was dying and he followed thoe lines with: “I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.”

I’m not normally such a sci fi geek, but those lines have always made an impression on me.

Phnom Penh or Moscow are cities I haven’t felt safe and secure, but found enjoyable none the less.

Why would there be such a more noticeable bad element in Canberra? Isn’t this a wonderful haven known by some here as the Principality/Socialist Republic of Canberra – high levels of employment, a blissful ignorance of anything going on in the rest of Australia and an obsession with on-road cycle paths, public toilets and an inability to accept that this city is/should be considered a metropolitan area and will naturally have its share of social problems.

Absent Diane9:33 am 25 Aug 05

Example: I was heading to the ATM from toast last friday night there was some poor bloke being attended to by ambo’s on toast side of akuna street. Assuming it was just an OD I didn’t ask any questions. When I got to the ATM there was a shit load of blood….. I decided to question a couple of people and it turns out that was either a random stabbing or a random king hit – going with the amount of blood and the spray – I would suggest a stabbing… but I aint an expert…anyone hear anything else about this?

JB – where did you find the “attacks ships on fire etc” quote – I was sent the same lines in an email from somebody posted to Kuwait, and (since I hadn’t heard them before- thought they was his own poetic genius ! And why did you strike them out – they’re beautiful.

What’s happening to Canberra: Civic AND the ESA HQ at Curtin are unsafe? There’s nowhere to hide anymore……….

JB: are you implying that Canberra has been over run with replicants?

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