Bag searches on New York subway to begin
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-07-25-nyc-bag-searches-begin_x.htm
Thousands of New York City's 4.5 million subway commuters
will be asked to open their bags for police today as they begin
the first full work week under unprecedented scrutiny designed
to prevent London-style bombings.
On Sunday, a bomb scare that turned out to be a false alarm
shut down Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan, disrupting
subway and Amtrak trains for an hour. New York police
detective Bernard Gifford said police expect no delays in this
morning's commute. On Friday, when the searches began,
"people seemed to be extremely cooperative," he said.
Police also are telling commuters that they can refuse a request
to have their bag searched and will not be questioned or detained
for doing so. Anyone who refuses a search, however, will not be
allowed into the station. As of Sunday, Gifford said, there had been
"very little refusal" by riders.
Over the weekend, the New York Civil Liberties Union posted a notice
on its Web site inviting passengers to report their encounters with police.
The group opposes the bag checks, calling them a violation of Fourth Amendment
rights against unreasonable searches. It says it will use passengers' reports
to help lawyers decide whether to challenge the searches' legality.
"Empowering police officers to conduct random searches of individuals
without suspicion of criminal wrongdoing constitutes a gross infringement
of the fundamental rights and liberties of persons living in a free society,"
said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the NYCLU. She said the searches
will do little to enhance public safety.
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What ? No boobies pat down or cavity search of pregnant women ?
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