An Interesting Week When It Comes to Full-Body Scanners ...

Nov. 17, 2010
... turns out, people – and the general media – don’t like ‘em. To me, a fascinating saga. A year ago, we couldn’t fund them or build them more than one at a time. Then the underwear bomber enters the scene at Christmas and, voila – we can’t fund ‘em fast enough, or install ‘em fast enough. Initially the public, via surveys, said, “Bring it on. We want security.” Apparently now that the scanners are penetrating the marketplace, it has become an issue. DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano defends her agency’s position in USA Today. TSA Secretary John Pistole defends it on a morning TV show. The ACLU, of course, has its questions. Thing is, lots of folks seem to have questions. Asked my 23-year old son, who has traversed some airports, what he thought of the body scanners. His thought, “They’re subjecting their populace to mass humiliation.” In a way, yes. They’ve scanned my body a number of times; don’t care what they do with it. I respect the fact that some people do. Thing I’d like to get back to is the funding, etc. Is there a need to rush to judgment? To wit ... We’re spending a ton of money on a ton of machines which the public, now that they’ve witnessed it, don’t like. This is an issue in which the technology is going to pass it by. Right now, at the Glasgow Airport in Scotland, Morpho/Safran and Cascade Technologies are testing a  “walk-through portal system [which] allows rapid detection of ‘home-made’ explosives and Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) in real-time via analysis of air samples, without using ionizing radiation or capturing passenger images,” according to a press release. Bottom line is, they are working on a solution that will eliminate much of the hassle and personal indiscretions. While it may not prove to be the exact answer, it is the answer. The answer is technology, at least when it comes to airport screening. In the interim, place the emphasis on intelligence and process. Full-body scanners will likely go the way of ‘puffers’. One suspects that right about the time we get the last full-body scanner installed at the last commercial airport in the U.S., technology will have already knocked at the door with a better answer. The public brouhaha of late is an interesting development. A tea party for security? Thanks for reading. jfi