Random bag searches in New York City

July 22nd, 2005 – 8:22 pm
Tagged as: Rights,Terrorism

Why actually make people safer when you can just indulge in pointless attempts to make it look like you’re doing something?

New York City will begin making random checks of bags and backpacks at subway stations, commuter railways and on buses, officials announced today in the wake of a second wave of bombings on the London transit system.

Anyone who actually thinks this is going to do anything to prevent a bombing in the NYC subway system is just fooling themselves. Security expert Bruce Schneier sums it up:

It’s another “movie plot threat.” It’s another “public relations security system.” It’s a waste of money, it substantially reduces our liberties, and it won’t make us any safer.

To make matters even worse, NYC police officials have said that if they find contraband (such as drugs or guns) during these “random” searches, they’ll make arrests, and that’s an end run around the protections provided by the Fourth Amendment.

In other words, New Yorkers get to give up liberties and aren’t even getting the devils’ bargain of actual security in return

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