CHICAGO — Metra is testing a new security screening system at several downtown Chicago stations this week, the Chicago Tribune reports.
The heat scanner, on loan from the Transportation Security Adminstration, is being used today (Thursday, Oct. 17) at the Ogilvie Transportation Center after tests Tuesday and Wednesday at two Metra Electric stations, Millennium and Van Buren.
The device is described as a “passive” system that does not record information, emit radition, or show anatomical details of an individual. It may be able to identify concealed weapons or explosive devices.
Metra spokesman Michael Gillis told the newspaper that Metra has no plans to implement screening at its stations but wanted to test the equipment to see if it is “suitable for the mass transportation environment.”
NJ Transit, San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit, and Amtrak have previously tested the technology. Los Angeles County’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority purchased some of the equipment after a test last year.
They still don’t have a solution for biomedical attacks, like the ricinus communis incident in Tokyo.
If they use the new system, does it just tempt the perps, or if it stays “open” there is no challenge, therefore no one tries?
Or this is just a electronic survey just to see how many weapons are being transported but concealed?
Being that most METRA stations are unstaffed at least part of the day – including Van Buren, a major downtown stop – what is the point of This?