Begin forwarded message:
From: "Steven J. Manning" <sjmanning@fymc.com>
Date: October 29, 2009 11:30:44 AM EDT
To: dave@farber.net
Subject: Re: [IP] Random baggage searches coming to Maryland commuter trains
Reply-To: sjmanning@fymc.com
Good morning, Dave.
For IP if you wish.
Random searches are an archaic idea, conceived and likely somewhat effective sometime ago. Those may in fact still be somewhat effective relative to the least harmful potential threats. It is so more in the same manner as putting those tiny (silly) locks on soft luggage: keeping otherwise mostly/marginally honest people honest. Not effective against those who seek to cause significant catastrophic events and meticulously plan those.
That is even more accurate as related to the "typical" wrongdoers these days who do not value life as the readers of this do.
I recall with some discomfort but not criticism being searched every time I went through various airports in Europe, at least twice monthly, during the '90s. The threats then were nefarious gangs such as the Baader-Meinhof, the Red Brigades, Basque separatists, the ubiquitous Croatian nuts, the occasional middle-easterners, various misanthropes looking for plane rides to nowhere and their brethren. By contrast, those appear to have been the "good old days" of terrorism threats.
Search away. Keep the ordinary "nuts" on edge. And maybe get lucky.
I will gladly invest the extra hour or two or whatever it takes, every time I fly (that is often) if the TSA searches every traveler. Thankfully we can never run out of interesting things to read while in interminable lines.
I did feel somewhat uncomfortable watching an 85-ish, very infirm looking man in a wheel chair being thoroughly "disassembled" in a random search at LAX recently. It was painful to watch the diligent TSA people trying to take some of that essentially immobile man's clothes off. Now, there was a fine piece of profiling. And my limited ambivalence on the subject.
Best.
Steve.
Dave Farber wrote:
Begin forwarded message:
From: Bob Drzyzgula <bob@drzyzgula.org>
Date: October 29, 2009 10:29:56 AM EDT
To: Dave Farber <dave@farber.net>
Cc: ip <ip@v2.listbox.com>
Subject: Random baggage searches coming to Maryland commuter trains
http://www.gazette.net/stories/10282009/montnew182943_32530.shtml
| MARC commuter train passengers soon will need to give
| themselves extra time to board their trains, as random
| security screenings start Friday.
|
| Federal air marshals will be conducting the screenings
| initially to train Maryland Transit Administration police in
| screening techniques and in using the equipment, said MTA
| police Maj. Fred Damron.
|
| [...]
|
| As to the effectiveness of random searches, Gary D. LaFree,
| director of the National Consortium for the Study of
| Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism at the University of
| Maryland, said there is no empirical evidence as to whether
| screenings work as a deterrent.
|
| "Probably the true answer is we don't know if it works,"
| LaFree said.
|
| [...]
Press release:
http://www.mtamaryland.com/news/press/index.cfm?id=553&year=2009&month=10
| 10/26/2009
| source - MTA
|
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
|
| Police Security Checkpoints at MARC Stations
|
| Random Security Checks Planned for MARC Stations:
| Customers Urged To Allow For Extra Time
|
| BALTIMORE, MD (October 26, 2009) – Focused on enhancing
| security at MARC commuter rail stations along the Penn,
| Camden and Brunswick Lines, the Maryland Transit
| Administration (MTA) police in partnership with security and
| canine teams from the Maryland Transportation Authority and
| the Transit Security Administration will begin random
| security screenings at stations beginning October 30, 2009.
| Screenings can potentially involve the check of luggage,
| packages, or other carry-on items customers may have in
| their possession. While every effort will be made to conduct
| the security checks in a timely fashion, customers should be
| prepared that extra time may be required to board their
| train.
|
| “The MTA continually engages in methods of ensuring customer
| safety and system preservation,” said Lt. Colonel John E.
| Gavrilis, Acting Chief of Police. “These exercises
| underscore our commitment to the safety and security of our
| customers and systems. If you hear, see or smell something
| suspicious, call 1-800-492-TIPS (8477). ”
| The MTA police thank customers for their patience and
| cooperation as the agency works to enhance security
| throughout the MARC system.
|
| For general information on MTA service, visit the MTA
| website at www.mtamaryland.com. Customers can also call the
| MTA Transit Information Center Monday through Friday from 6
| A.M. to 7 P.M. at 410-539-5000 (TTY 410-539-3497) or
| 866-RIDE-MTA (866-743-3682). To sign-up to receive email
| announcements about service modifications and delays, go to
| www.mtamaryland.com and click “Email Notification.”
|
| # # #
|
|
| MEDIA CONTACTS:
| Jawauna Greene Cheron Victoria Wicker
| Office: 410- 767-3936 Office: 410-767-3936
| Cellular: 443-392-2983 Cellular: 443-386-8605
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