Hey you there! Twitchy! . . . You're free to go.
The ACLU is suing Boston's Logan Airport over what it dubs "behavioral profiling." Basically, if the cops at Logan think you look crooked, they get to stop you.
In November 2002, [Logan] began the nation's first ''behavioral recognition program,'' in which police stop and question passengers with odd or suspicious behavior.''This program is another unfortunate example of the extent to which we are being asked to surrender basic freedoms in the name of security,'' said John Reinstein, legal director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. ''This allows the police to stop anyone, any time, for any reason.''
Is the ACLU out of its tree? The suit was brought on behalf of a guy who, though he was treated rudely, was let go without incident. Moreover, do we really want to prohibit our airport screener-people from stopping the sketchy?
... then again...
Let's be honest. Apart from the obvious shortcomings and frivolity of this suit, will searching the nervous gain us much? From what I understand, your average suicidal fanatic exhibits great calm as they commit mass slaughter. Just a thought.
What the hell, ACLU?
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J,
J,
The ACLU never ceases to surprise me. Now seemingly it's a crime in MA for agents of the state to inconvenience someone.
Then again, haven't we lived here long enough to know how much freedom is loathed? That these cops were just representatives of the fascist police state enthroned on Beacon Hill?
Let's get out our giant puppet head and take to the streets!
But GL, I hate our freedom
But GL, I hate our freedom too! You can keeps your nassssssssty puppet head, precious!
So, let me get this straight:
So, let me get this straight: The ACLU thinks only a person acting in a normal or innocuous manner should be accosted?
Particularly at Logan, I fail to see how that would be an improvement. In my many trips there, normality (no, President Harding, you just made up that other word) was the, uh, norm. While the cops there never seem too busy, a change in the rules of engagement would peg the meter on "frenetic".
What the hell, ACLU, indeed.
As I understand it,
As I understand it, "behavioral profiling" is quite possibly the best and most successful way to secure a location. Automated detection technology doesn't work well, nor does checking IDs (many of the 9/11 attackers had legitimate IDs). Both provide a small amount of security (which doesn't mean we should throw them away, but still). If this were racial profiling, I could see the point, but behavioral profiling is what leads us to employ human security guards in the first place. Humans notice things machines cannot, suspicous behavior chief among them. Nerviousness is not the only suspicious behavior either. If someone gets on a plane and attempts to light their shoe, an astute human will rightly recognize that as suspicious activity and investigate.
To repeat the general theme of this thread: What the hell, ACLU?
Mark,
Mark,
Frankfurt has a pretty extensive physical security program for people travelling to the US. Various beam-emitting apparatuses scan, wand and probe; there are plenty of surly cops, and everyone gets the treatment.
Problem is, subsequent "security" beyond the entry to the departure gates is cosmetic. All it really does is establish that the person on the passport is the person who bought the ticket. Well, and that he bought a ticket obviously, and had it together enough to pass through 2 fairly thorough screenings already.
Looks swell, but adds nothing.
Which has nothing to do with the immediate post at hand, but I'll toss this in anyway: what the hell, ACLU?