A report from a journalist who spent a day with a thug patrol in London, watching how people are searched.

It appears that some sort of grounds are required to search someone, that searches are not totally arbitrary. That is a step in the right direction; I don't think New York thugs need any grounds to search someone on the street.

I expect the thug department picked a model officer for the journalists to follow, and that he was on his best behavior. Thus, the usual facts are probably worse than the picture this article presents.