Double-edged knives

Alfred Zammit writes:

I would appreciate your advice about a very unpleasant event that happened to me and my wife.

While on holiday in Spain, we passed by a central shop in Granada and were attracted by a large kitchen knife of an unusual shape we had never seen before. We bought it for €30.

After Granada we spent a few days in Tarifa, Cordoba and Seville, from where we then took a plane to Barcelona. At this airport we were given two free tickets with which we boarded a train (always with knife in suitcase) to Barcelona-Sants station. On arrival at that station we wanted to proceed by rail to Valencia, so we bought the necessary tickets and headed for the platform.

However, we were stopped at a security counter, our luggage screened and we were asked to take out the knife. It was useless trying to explain to them that we had been carrying the knife all the while we were travelling. The security guards made us hand it over to them and, despite our protests, refused to give it back saying they could not allow such a "weapon" on the train.

In the meantime, things started hotting up a bit because they took away also our shop receipt and my passport. Then one of them called someone and their boss appeared on the scene. I got my passport back after they took down the details on a numbered form but they refused to give us a copy of this declaration or at least its number.

While all this was going on, an elderly couple was also stopped and the woman was made to open a "suspicious" box which turned out to be a cutlery set that included six knives. Her companion spoke to them briefly in fluent Spanish and they let them pass, knives and all!

In the meantime, we lost our train and had to purchase another ticket, at an additional cost of €14, to take the next train that arrived at Valencia three hours later than the original one.

What made us angry was not only the loss of €44 and the waste of time but also, and even more so, the humiliation we were subjected to as the whole scene took place in an open spacious hall with bystanders present and we were made to look as if we had done something criminal.

Furthermore, we suffered discrimination unnecessarily at the hands of these people. According to their double standards, it is all right for two people from Spain to carry six knives but it is not all right for two holidaymakers from Malta to carry one knife!

We think that, as EU nationals, we are entitled to protection against the kind of discrimination we suffered at the hands of the Spanish officials at the Barcelona-Sants station.

I would appreciate your letting me know what we could do to seek redress. Even if only for the sake of other Maltese travellers to Spain, we would not like to let this incident simply go by as if nothing happened.

There are three points that I would like to make in reaction to this query.

The first relates to security considerations, the second to discrimination and the third on remedy.

Let me start with the first.

The fact that this incident involved a knife - and one with an unusual shape for that matter - puts this issue squarely within the domain of security considerations.

Security being an intrinsic element of public order brings with it a certain degree of discretion on the part of the security officers who are on duty.

And, by definition, discretion implies that the powers of the security officers in charge can be exercised according to their preference and judgement. Depending on how they assess the situation at hand.

Some officers react in a certain manner whereas others react in another, perhaps less reasonable, manner. Attitude often also comes into it. And some security officers, not just in Spain, do have a problem with attitude.

If, for instance, an officer stumbles on a knife with an "unusual shape" and does not understand English sufficiently, well, I would not be surprised if he plays it difficult. Lack of language proficiency on both sides may also complicate the situation.

Although I am not privy to the code of conduct of Spanish security officers - perhaps the Spanish Embassy could enlighten us - my understanding is that it is not beyond a security officer's discretion to request the confiscation of a "weapon" from a passenger who is going to board a transport means, such as a train. So the officers may well have been within their rights to demand confiscation.

Secondly, the element of discrimination.

I do empathise with the reader and his disdain at being treated differently from the Spanish couple carrying the cutlery. The fact that theirs was evidently a cutlery set and that they could speak Spanish may well have done it for them. However, since, once again, the matter falls within the discretion of the security officers, I cannot say that the officers were acting irregularly by letting the Spanish couple go but stopping the reader.

Of course, the reader is right to expect the same treatment as the Spanish couple and this point must be underscored. Even in using discretion, security officers must appear to be reasonable and to be treating everyone in the same way. And not apply double-standards.

As to remedy. The fact that the reader shared his ordeal with others is, in itself, helpful for all of us to understand what one can come up against in these kind of situations and how to react.

Additionally, I would suggest that the reader files a complaint with the Petitions Committee of the European Parliament in order to seek a remedy.

The committee, of which I am a member, receives several complaints of this nature. On such occasions, we normally request the national authorities concerned to investigate the matter and submit an explanation on the behaviour of the security officers concerned and, where necessary, an apology. We also point out to national authorities the need for security personnel to behave in an even-handed manner and to avoid double-standards. Moreover, we stress the need for continued training of security personnel. And, who knows, if the reader is lucky, we might even be able to trace the knife.

I urge all readers who experience these kind of situations to stand up for their rights.

A petition to the Petitions Committee, which is a free-of-charge procedure, may be filed directly online through the following web link: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/parliament/public/staticDisplay.do?id=49&language=EN .

Questions to be answered in this column can be-mailed to contact@simonbusuttil.eu or through www.simonbusuttil.eu.