Luggage Left in A Restaurant Seen as Dangerous

[surfside6]

My wife kids and I were having dinner in the local restaurant(suburban sydney) and these two guys walk in and leave a piece of luggage and walk off.
I walked after them and explained that I was not comfortable about what they had done.I first removed the family from the restaurant.They laughed and indicated that they were known in the restaurant.I pointed out that the problem was I didnt know them.It all ended amicably after I explained why I was concerned.
The question is: Did I overeact?

[DeathStar-Alpha]

Should've grabbed it, might have been loaded with $$$$ :}

[Bullethead]

I'm with you SS6, good move. You never know what 's going to happen these days. If they were clients in the restaurant and got up after a meal and forgot their luggage them maybe a little leniency but to just walk in and deposit luggage is a little suspicious.

Regars,
BH.

[chimbu warrior]

Did I overeact?

Absolutely not.

Ask some of the survivors from the Bali bombing, or any similar event.

Given the crazy world we now live in, I am surprised that more businesses do not have stricter policies for delivery of packages. Anybody can buy a high-vis shirt and waltz into just about any building containing hundreds of people, on the pretence of "just making a delivery".

It is sadly too loose a system for me.

[Worrals in the wilds]

Good for you.
It's something Aussies are still very blase about, even at airports.

Sounds a bit dodgy even if it didn't go bang! Does the restaurant run a sideline as a freight forwarder?:suspect:

[barrybeebone]

Applaud your bravery for this. I would have done the same thing (even if my wife would have told me I was paranoid).

[Avitor]

The subject could have been bursting for a pee but to get up and leave seems a good option to me. Better to leave in one piece than possibly be blown out in fragments.

I would. of course, asked my wife to remain and keep an eye on things.

[Beer Baron]

I must say I am surprised what a paranoid bunch we are. Doing everything possible to protect ones family is commendable however you are living in Sydney not Tel Aviv.
I do not think there is a basis for living in such fear in suburban Australia. I wonder if being involved in aviation and being constantly reminded about security threats at work leads to an overestimation of the threat level at home?

[ozbiggles]

You saw something unusual that didn't make sense and gave you that uncomfortable feeling and you reacted. I think you acted correctly given that scenario.
If you think it can't happen in OZ wellll...
Maybe if someone had seen someone doing something suspicious in a rubbish bin outside the Hilton Hotel in Sydney people wouldn't have died from the bomb put in it.
Maybe if someone had noticed something unusual about the car parked outside the police station (Russel St?) a young female constable wouldn't have died in the car bomb blast.
Maybe if someone had noticed something unusual about the guy who got on the the flight from Mel to Hobart I think it was it wouldnt have taken a couple of brave cc to fight off a madman with a knife.
Thats 3 I can think of over 30 years....not many but how many times has that funny feeling we have turned out to be good info.

[KittyKatKaper]

The incessant audio announcements on the Sydney railway system about not touching unattended baggage, and the National Security Hotline TV ads, just end up conditioning people to either ignore all 'security' announcements, or to report all perceived (real or not) threats. (wheat & chaff springs to mind here)

It does keep the advertising and security and governmental agencies fed and watered, so maybe that's their motivation.

What really irritates me, is that most people simply won't react to the fact that about 2000 ozzies every year, die from motor-vehicle causes, yet we, and the media go absolutely ap-sh*t over a relatively small number of people who are killed or injured by 'terrorist' activities or aviation incidents.

I acknowledge that me or someone significant to me being killed or injured would be a significant event to me, but I think we all should get a sense of proportion here and not blindly accept scaremongering that plays to someones agenda.

[hoss]

nice work surfside6, i would have done the same thing.

however, i know of a few mates who would of made up an excuse, told the wife to remain seated and taken the kids outside;).

[ReverseFlight]

Don't forget, H*tler nearly lost his life when a piece of unwelcomed luggage was placed in his meeting room.:E

[SGT Schulz]

Beer Baron
Some parts of OZ look more and more like other countries than OZ these days.And some of the locals carry on like in Tel Aviv too.


BUt on a funny note I would have grabed the bags and run. Cash or drugs you could have retired.!:}:}

[VH-XXX]

I'm confused as to why anyone would walk into a restaurant, leave a piece of luggage and walk out again.

Under the new anti-terrorism laws they could potentially be in a lot of trouble for that or at the least a charge of Affray could be appropriate.

In English Law, Affray forms part of the Public Order Act 1986 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Order_Act_1986) under section 3.
The Public Order Act 1986 s.3 states:

A person is guilty of affray if a person uses or threatens unlawful violence towards another and the person's conduct is such as would cause a person of reasonable firmness present at the scene to fear for his personal safety.

[Di_Vosh]

SS6, I think you overreacted, and I would've gone on eating, happy with the concept that there was a perfectly normal reason why they'd have left the luggage there.

I spent about a week in Tel Aviv. And everyone there is paranoid - NOT a great way to live your life. They have good reason to be that way, as there ARE bombs going off in cafe's restaurants, etc, on a regular basis.

When I first arrived in London in late 1992, I was told to always take a book whenever I got onto the tube, as there were so many "security incidents" (i.e. coded messages and actual bombs) I might be on a train stuck between stations for up to two hours. Again, good reasons for this caution, as the IRA were bombing around once per month (Or so. I might be wrong. It seemed that way when I was there).

But we live in AUSTRALIA (Thank God):ok: And while bombings are POSSIBLE, and some have even happened (Russel St, Hilton hotel, etc) they aren't an everyday fact of life here.

MOST of our current "caution" about bombings and "suspicious packages", etc, is a result of Government campaigns "Be Alert, not Alarmed", railway and airport announcements, etc, and not from any actual events.

If we act as though the terrorists have won (by jumping at our own shadows) then the TERRORISTS HAVE WON!

My 2c

DIVOSH!

[Peter Fanelli]

Was it David Hicks?

[Runaway Gun]

Good on ya Surfside - well done !! :ok:

[Murray Cod]

I've "left my luggage" at a chinese restaurant.
Dodgy curried prawns and rice I think.
MC.