Subway Insecurity

Everyone who uses the New York City subway has no doubt heard the frequent announcements that large packages and other containers are subject to random search by the New York City Police Department. They have also seen the couple of police officers who occasionally stand at a table near the turnstiles, and randomly select people for bag checks.

If the purpose of the turnstile checkpoints is to prevent terrorism, the underlying idea might have a modicum of merit. Its implementation, however, is mind bogglingly stupid.

Suppose a terrorist carries his payload down the subway steps. Suppose there are cops at this particular entrance of the station, conducting random checks. It's hard for the terrorist not to see the cops. To prevent being searched, all the terrorist has to do to carry out his mission is to go back up the steps and either enter the same subway station at a different entrance, or walk to the next stop, which is usually a few blocks away. That's it. Some security system.

Police officers spend countless hours standing at turnstiles, bored out of their minds, checking people's bags. They might catch a few drunks and confiscate a few dime bags and knives, but that's about it. Cops' time, and the city's money would be better spent on patrols elsewhere.

There may be another reason for the random checks, and that is to get the citizenry used to such official interruptions of their lives. While this second possibility shows that whoever thinks up these policies has a brain in his head, it is just as worrisome as the first possibility, if not more so.