Random Searches On Trains

If Boston commuter-train passenger searches are truly random, they will avoid the possibility of racial profiling.

1 minute read

June 17, 2004, 11:00 AM PDT

Beginning in July in Boston, "and just in time for the Democratic convention in that city, police largely will put such techno-wizardry aside, and conduct random searches of train and subway passengers - hand checking bags and IDs... The program, however, will need careful tending. While the idea may scare away would-be terrorists, random searches have a low probability of actually nabbing them. Experts say that a random search of 1 in 10 would not even boost security all that much. And such random searches will need constant monitoring to make sure they are truly random and don't become a mask for racial profiling or other abuses."

Thanks to Chris Steins

FULL STORY: Random Searches on Trains

Thursday, June 17, 2004 in The Christian Science Monitor

Transportation Massachusetts

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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