"Chicago Police To Begin Random Explosives Screenings At CTA Stations."
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Chicago police show one of the explosives testing machines they plan to use to test swabs from the outside of CTA rider bags. (October 24, 2014)
http://www.redeyechicago.com/news/cta/redeye-cta-explosive-police-search-20141024,0,7666679.story
CHICAGO (CBS) – New security measures have been announced to improve safety on CTA trains, under a federal counter-terrorism initiative.
CBS 2’s Susanna Song reports, starting Nov. 3, if you ride the “L,” prepare to be asked to hand your bags, purses, or suitcases to a Chicago police officer to be screened for explosives at some stations.
Passengers will be selected at random before passing through turnstiles at CTA train stations.
Police officers with a mobile explosive screening team will swab bags and place the sample in a machine to check for explosive compounds. Bags will not be opened. The test takes only about 30 seconds.
“We know the fears and the possibilities. It’s going to take 20 to 30 seconds of someone’s time. While we know our commuters’ time is precious, we think their safety is probably priceless,” Chicago Police Public Transportation Cmdr. Nancy Lipman said.
Anyone chosen for a random screening must comply, or they will be denied entry to the platform. If they try to access the platform after refusing a screening, they could be arrested.
“If they refuse to be screened, and still attempt to access to our system, they are subject to arrest. That’s still within our own discretions. We’ll attempt to stop them from making that choice to enter the system, but at the end of the day … they are subject to arrest,” Chicago Police Officer Adam Paulsen said.
Police demonstrated the machines Friday morning at the Clinton station on the Green Line, choosing one out of every ten passengers to enter the station for screening.
The city has invested in three such screening machines. Four to five officers will be designated each day to screen at random stations. Police will select a random number of passengers to screen each day.
The program is being funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, to provide an extra level of protection against possible terrorist attacks. A dollar amount for the program was not available.
A similar initiative has been launched in New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.
Amtrak uses a similar screening process at some stations.
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/10/24/chicago-police-to-begin-random-explosive-screenings-at-cta-stations/
Ready for Cops to Check You for Explosives, Chicago CTA Riders?
Zenon Evans|Oct. 24, 2014 5:40 pm
The Chicago Police Department (CPD) today announced that next month it will start conducting random baggage screenings before passengers are allowed on the city's public rail system, which is operated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA).
First of all, why? "No known terrorist threat" led to the policy, admits the CPD's Nancy Lipman. However, the "procedure is being fully funded with part of a $3.5 million federal grant for anti-terrorism efforts but officials could not give a total dollar amount," reports Redeye.
Says Lipman:
If the customer is willing to take part in the screening, the outside bag he or she is carrying will be swabbed with a small cloth. The cloth is then inserted into a machine that detects the presence of explosive compounds.
Looking inside bags was deemed too intrusive.
"If they refuse to be screened and still attempt access to our systems, they are subject to arrest. It's up to our officer's discretion," Adam Paulsen, another representative of the department, tells the Chicago Tribune.
The surveillance will take place "several times a week" during rush hour, but don't worry, because getting hassled should take "less than a minute," so "we expect it to have no impact on a customer's commute time, says Lipman.
It's obnoxious, it's intrusive, it's paranoia-inducing, and most of all, it's just security theater. Redeye explains:
Chicago police say they will randomly select one rail station each day to set up the screening table outside the rail turnstiles. A team of four to five officers will man the table, which will have two explosives testing machines.
So if some lunatic wants to set off an explosive, he can just walk to the next nearest station, or one of the 139 others in the city.
Here's some predictions: Although hundreds of millions of rides take place annually, no one will get caught trying to sneak a bomb onto a train. There will be false alarms, and a lot of ticked-off, inconvenienced riders. Similar to other CPD policies, minorities will be profiled. Meanwhile, expect the city's out-of-control gun violence problem to persist in spite of strict gun laws.
Chicago's cops have a terrible track record. The city has spent over $500 million in the last decade on lawsuits involving officers. This summer cops were busy citing media-hyped bogus trends to justify using anti-riot tactics against teenagers.
http://reason.com/blog/2014/10/24/ready-for-cops-to-check-you-for-explosiv
Comments
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The surveillance will take place "several times a week" during rush hour, but don't worry, because getting hassled should take "less than a minute," so "we expect it to have no impact on a customer's commute time, says Lipman.
It's obnoxious, it's intrusive, it's paranoia-inducing, and most of all, it's just security theater. Redeye explains:
Chicago police say they will randomly select one rail station each day to set up the screening table outside the rail turnstiles. A team of four to five officers will man the table, which will have two explosives testing machines.
So if some lunatic wants to set off an explosive, he can just walk to the next nearest station, or one of the 139 others in the city.
Sums up why this will be a stupid and ineffective waste of everyone's time and public money -
The surveillance will take place "several times a week" during rush hour, but don't worry, because getting hassled should take "less than a minute," so "we expect it to have no impact on a customer's commute time, says Lipman.
It's obnoxious, it's intrusive, it's paranoia-inducing, and most of all, it's just security theater. Redeye explains:
Chicago police say they will randomly select one rail station each day to set up the screening table outside the rail turnstiles. A team of four to five officers will man the table, which will have two explosives testing machines.
So if some lunatic wants to set off an explosive, he can just walk to the next nearest station, or one of the 139 others in the city.
Sums up why this will be a stupid and ineffective waste of everyone's time and public money
Oh and no white people will be burdened by this at all. -
I saw this on the news man this some ? . A lawsuit is going to happen cuz they're going to discriminate
