Posted on 08/14/2006 6:06:47 PM PDT by Agent Smith
The Times August 15, 2006
Muslims face extra checks in new travel crackdown By Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent
THE Government is discussing with airport operators plans to introduce a screening system that allows security staff to focus on those passengers who pose the greatest risk.
The passenger-profiling technique involves selecting people who are behaving suspiciously, have an unusual travel pattern or, most controversially, have a certain ethnic or religious background.
The system would be much more sophisticated than simply picking out young men of Asian appearance. But it would cause outrage in the Muslim community because its members would be far more likely to be selected for extra checks.
Officials at the Department for Transport (DfT) have discussed the practicalities of introducing such a system with airport operators, including BAA. They believe that it would be more effective at identifying potential terrorists than the existing random searches.
They also say that it would greatly reduce queues at secur-ity gates, which caused lengthy delays at London airports yesterday for the fifth day running. Heathrow and Gatwick were worst affected, cancelling 69 and 27 flights respectively. BAA gave warning yesterday that the disruption would continue for the rest of the week.
Passengers are now allowed to take one small piece of hand luggage on board but security staff are still having to search 50 per cent of travellers. Airports have also been ordered to search twice as many hand luggage items as a week ago.
BAA was criticised yesterday for failing to commit itself to recruiting more security staff and for claiming that its existing 6,000 staff at seven airports would be able to handle the extra searches. Tony Douglas, the chief executive of Heathrow, said that X-ray screening of hand luggage would be much faster under the new rules on size and contents, leaving staff free to carry out more searches.
The new measures, which include a ban on taking any liquids through checkpoints, are expected to remain in place for months. A DfT source said it was difficult to see how the restrictions could be relaxed if terrorists now had the capabil-ity to make liquid bombs.
The DfT has been considering passenger profiling for a year but, until last week, the disadvantages were thought to outweigh the advantages. A senior aviation industry source said: “The DfT is ultra-sensitive about this and won’t say anything publicly because of political concerns about being accused of racial stereotyping.”
Three days before last week’s arrests, the highest-ranking Muslim police officer in Britain gave warning that profiling techniques based on physical appearance were already causing anger and mistrust among young Muslims. Tarique Ghaffur, an assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said: “We must think long and hard about the causal factors of anger and resentment.
“There is a very real danger that the counter-terrorism label is also being used by other law-enforcement agencies to the effect that there is a real risk of criminalising minority communities.”
Sir Rod Eddington, former chief executive of British Airways, criticised the random nature of security searches. He said that it was irrational to subject a 75-year-old grandmother to the same checks as a 25-year-old man who had just paid for his ticket with cash.
Philip Baum, an aviation security consultant, said that profiling should focus on ruling out people who obviously posed no risk rather than picking out Asian or Arabs.
A DfT spokesman refused to make any comment or answer any questions on profiling.
AIRPORT UPDATE
British Airways plans to cancel forty short-haul and four long-haul flights from Heathrow today as well as eleven domestic flights from Gatwick. Other airlines expect to operate near-normal schedules.
All airports will allow passengers to carry one small piece of hand luggage, but no liquids are allowed through the security search point other than prescribed medicines and baby food.
That is what should be done. Not the PC attitude that we have here.
It's not gonna happen. It's still just being discussed and now the self-appointed "moderate muslim" leaders are going to go beserk.
and they should..we all know it's wheelchair bound grammas and grampas along with their amish friends that are causin all the trouble... (sarc/off)
Let's hope this spreads to the US...
Sounds good except that this is a distinction without a difference.
IOW, Big Brit Bump!
Boo Phocking Hoo.
And as we all know, NOTHING - not murder, not rape, not genocide, not torture - NOTHING is worse than to have a racist mindset.
God help us and save us from our sold-out leaders.
AMEN!!
"But it would cause outrage in the Muslim community because its members would be far more likely to be selected for extra checks."
Because your brethren ARE the F%#%$ing problem!!!
THOSE WHO PRAY TO ALLAH and
THOSE WHO DO NOT PRAY TO ALLAH ought to cover it.
Good news, but how are they going to spot the white or black converts, if they shave and/or wear western garb?
"...there is a real risk of criminalising minority communities.”
No need for the police to do that. The Muslim community in England is doing a bang up job of turning itself into a criminal community when the police are looking into SEVENTY terrorist plots now, with hundreds of Muslim suspects.
Bring This Practice to the US! We must not allow Islamic Fascists to continue to kill us!
The Amishadeen will strike you when you are least suspecting it!
If a group to which I belong were blowing up innocents all over the world, I would understand that if I chose to fly, I would have to go through an hour or more of scrutiny. And boy would I turn on my fellow California blondes for putting me up to it, not on the societies that are just trying to stay alive!! Get a clue, good Muslims!
If it doesn't we should at least make sure all flights pass through the UK.
"Good news, but how are they going to spot the white or black converts, if they shave and/or wear western garb?"
Since 99% of world terrorism is done by Muslims, profiling this group and employing sophisticated questioning can eliminate 99% of the terrorism. In addition, everyone else should also go through a good questioningm too.
Why not just make those in line eat pork before they enter the screening area?
The threat of nude searches will keep the Islamoslimes from flying. Kind of like sissies in that regard.
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