Ok, the ACLU is briefly quoted in this article, but let's try to get past that. I'm really curious as to how our resident 'anything goes because of terrorism, the Patriot Act is worth it' types here would(will?) react if and when some transit cop, in a town near you, rifles through you and your wifes and your kids bags, backpacks and briefcases on a random search.
Can there possibly be any sort of utility to this? Seriously, the odds have to be one in 100 trillion that any sort of random search prevents anything, anywhere, ever.
Explosive sniffing dogs roaming around? Sure. If the dogs think they sense something in a particular bag? Sure, whether any explosives are found or not. Just don't bitch when you end up in jail for something *else* they find in there. Whatever that might be.
But random searches? Who here can honestly say that they would be ok with this happening to them every couple of weeks (or even once) in the name of 'fighting terrorism'?
I guess it might be a decent way to keep drugs, kiddie porn etc off the subway. But fighting terrorism? Give me a f*cking break.
Report: Boston transit system to search train riders
Tuesday, June 8, 2004 Posted: 12:16 PM EDT (1616 GMT)
BOSTON (AP) -- Transit police will begin randomly stopping riders on Boston's subways and commuter trains next month to search their bags and packages, a procedure transportation officials say was largely prompted by the March 11 train bombings in Spain.
The new policy is set to be in place for July's Democratic National Convention, MBTA Police Chief Joseph Carter told The Boston Globe for a story in Tuesday editions. It will include explosive-sniffing dogs and all 247 uniformed Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority police officers, he said.
"I have no trepidation about being first (in the nation with the policy)," Carter said. "I don't want to be the first to do an interview about having a serious incident that may have some terrorist indications to it. ... We want to do this to encourage people to feel safe on the MBTA, to utilize public transportation."
Carter said MBTA has not announced the new policy formally because officials still are working out the details on how to balance security and privacy concerns.
Last month, MBTA police announced the entire force has been receiving counterterrorism training that includes spotting suspicious behavior. MBTA police already can request to see the identification of passengers they perceive to be acting suspiciously.
Last month, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration unveiled a pilot program to screen the bags of all passengers at a single Maryland Rail Commuter station in suburban New Carrollton.
MBTA Deputy Police Chief John Martino, who is overseeing the development and implementation of the search policy, said police, sometimes accompanied by explosive-sniffing dogs, will randomly pick out riders for inspection throughout the transit system daily. He said the number of inspections would increase dramatically during the convention July 26-29.
Carol Rose, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, said that while she understands the need for security, the MBTA plan is deeply flawed and may violate the U.S. Constitution's ban on unreasonable search and seizure.
"The Fourth Amendment doesn't stop at your wrist when you carry a briefcase; it includes your bag," Rose said. "It either has to be truly random, or it has to have a root in a reasonable basis of suspicion."
The March terror bombings in Madrid, Spain, killed 191 people and were blamed on Islamic militants with possible links to al-Qaeda.
Can there possibly be any sort of utility to this? Seriously, the odds have to be one in 100 trillion that any sort of random search prevents anything, anywhere, ever.
Explosive sniffing dogs roaming around? Sure. If the dogs think they sense something in a particular bag? Sure, whether any explosives are found or not. Just don't bitch when you end up in jail for something *else* they find in there. Whatever that might be.
But random searches? Who here can honestly say that they would be ok with this happening to them every couple of weeks (or even once) in the name of 'fighting terrorism'?
I guess it might be a decent way to keep drugs, kiddie porn etc off the subway. But fighting terrorism? Give me a f*cking break.
Report: Boston transit system to search train riders
Tuesday, June 8, 2004 Posted: 12:16 PM EDT (1616 GMT)
BOSTON (AP) -- Transit police will begin randomly stopping riders on Boston's subways and commuter trains next month to search their bags and packages, a procedure transportation officials say was largely prompted by the March 11 train bombings in Spain.
The new policy is set to be in place for July's Democratic National Convention, MBTA Police Chief Joseph Carter told The Boston Globe for a story in Tuesday editions. It will include explosive-sniffing dogs and all 247 uniformed Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority police officers, he said.
"I have no trepidation about being first (in the nation with the policy)," Carter said. "I don't want to be the first to do an interview about having a serious incident that may have some terrorist indications to it. ... We want to do this to encourage people to feel safe on the MBTA, to utilize public transportation."
Carter said MBTA has not announced the new policy formally because officials still are working out the details on how to balance security and privacy concerns.
Last month, MBTA police announced the entire force has been receiving counterterrorism training that includes spotting suspicious behavior. MBTA police already can request to see the identification of passengers they perceive to be acting suspiciously.
Last month, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration unveiled a pilot program to screen the bags of all passengers at a single Maryland Rail Commuter station in suburban New Carrollton.
MBTA Deputy Police Chief John Martino, who is overseeing the development and implementation of the search policy, said police, sometimes accompanied by explosive-sniffing dogs, will randomly pick out riders for inspection throughout the transit system daily. He said the number of inspections would increase dramatically during the convention July 26-29.
Carol Rose, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, said that while she understands the need for security, the MBTA plan is deeply flawed and may violate the U.S. Constitution's ban on unreasonable search and seizure.
"The Fourth Amendment doesn't stop at your wrist when you carry a briefcase; it includes your bag," Rose said. "It either has to be truly random, or it has to have a root in a reasonable basis of suspicion."
The March terror bombings in Madrid, Spain, killed 191 people and were blamed on Islamic militants with possible links to al-Qaeda.
