THE CLAIM
In the 1980s Greater Manchester Police patrolled the city’s canals at night in a motorboat. This was to catch gay men who were meeting each other in and around the canal area.
Bing AI imagines Chief Constable James Anderton heading up the motorboat patrol in person. But the story itself may be as fanciful as this fictitious image
THE REALITY
It’s a great tale which was mentioned in an article in The Guardian in 2004. But, from the start, there’s reason to be cautious…
In the same article, the author claims that the notorious drag ball of 1880 happened at a temperance hall that was “nearby” to Canal Street. But, check the facts (including the newspapers from 1880), and you find the temperance hall was where the A57 motorway crosses Chester Road today. Even as the crow flies it’s 1.8km from Canal Street, so not “nearby” at all.
As for the motorboat, let’s consider how that would work. The practicalities… Are motorboats allowed on the canal? How would a police motorboat get onto the canal in the first place and where would it be stored when not in use? Might it be an inflatable boat?
Anyone who is familiar with Manchester’s city centre canals knows how many locks there are to navigate. They’re everywhere and it probably takes a boat ten minutes to get through a lock. The water level has to be raised or lowered.
In some places high walls and the sides of the canal (depending on the water level) would prevent the police from hopping on and off the motorboat. How would a motorboat chase after gay men who were on foot? Couldn’t they simply walk past a lock or cross the road to get away from the boat?
Bing AI kindly generated this image. It illustrates some of the issues quite neatly.
Then there’s the noise… The canal area is pretty quiet at night. And this is a motorboat… The gay men would hear it coming a mile away.
It’s ludicrous when you start to think about it. In terms of catching “law breakers”, it must surely be one of the least effective methods ever? Far better if the police officers just walked around quietly on foot too and sneaked up on the gay men?
I can’t say for sure that the motorboat never happened. If it did, it must have been an utter flop? I don’t remember any talk or news stories about it in the 1980s. Manchester had its own gay news magazine in those days called “Mancunian Gay.” I’ve never seen any evidence and really no mention of it other than in the aforementioned article in The Guardian.
On balance I believe it’s an urban myth. A handy nugget that was cooked up by someone to demonise the police of the time and the Chief Constable: James Anderton.
But if you know differently and have some evidence or personal experience, do let me know.
The scene as imagined by Bing AI.