Bikers found guilty of being bikers

THE Welsh National Motorcycle Show has been cancelled due to concerns by Dyfed-Powys Police, based apparently on a “significant increase” in violence between rival motorcycle gangs across the UK.

Organisers of another motorcycling event, the Rock and Blues Custom Show in Derbyshire, have already cancelled their festival this year after police “voiced concerns”.

Recently the NEC at Birmingham cancelled a motorcycle show to “protect the safety of everyone involved.”

Meanwhile a licensing committee has been hearing evidence as to whether the four-day, 21st Bulldog Bash, planned for August at Long Marston, Warwickshire, should go ahead.

They have just decided in its favour, and let us hope their decision will be vindicated.

Police had submitted objections after a Hells Angel member was shot dead after leaving that event last year.

Even so, should we not be concerned ourselves, as a society, that a pattern is starting to emerge of public events being cancelled at the request of the police before any trouble has taken place and where there is no history of undue (if any) violence to date.

The police may well want to avoid “trouble”, and their desire will be shared by every peace-loving, law-abiding citizen in the land. Nevertheless you can’t just go around cancelling everything on the off-chance trouble will flare up. You might as well cancel all events where people congregate in large numbers and have access to drink. Which is clearly not going to happen.

So why pick on bikers? Is it the name? Is it the leather gear? This is not, after all, California. And even if it were, one should surely not label all bikers the same?

If there is evidence of gangs planning to cause disturbances, or suspicion of individuals packing weapons, should not the suspects be apprehended or subjected to evidence-gathering surveillance? Are we to allow the fear of criminal elements to dictate what we, as a society, choose to do legitimately in our free time?

The Welsh show regularly attracts up to 10,000 visitors who spend an estimated £750,000 locally.

More and more we are seeing situations in which people are being effectively punished for thought-crimes. In this and the other similar cases it seems the thoughts of “wrong-doing being done” may be more in the minds of the police.





original article
Bikers found guilty of being bikers - Daily Post North Wales