~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TSA removes controversial body scanners from LAX, other big airports

by Mark Johanson

The much-maligned X-ray body scanners have quietly disappeared from several major U.S. airports over the last month, but the Transportation Security Administration says they're simply shuffling the machines around.

ProPublica broke the story Friday with a revealing look at how the backscatters, as the X-ray scanners are known, have suddenly vanished over the span of a month.

TSA Director of External Communications David Castelveter confirmed to International Business Times last week that the units have been removed from Los Angeles, Boston Logan, Chicago O'Hare, Charlotte Douglas, Orlando, LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy in New York.

Critics have long complained that the backscatters, which are made by the Torrance company Rapiscan, expose passengers to a small dose of ionizing radiation, which at higher levels has been linked to cancer. But the TSA, which has replaced the machines at these international hubs with millimeter-wave scanners, claims it's not phasing them out altogether, nor does it believe they pose any health threat. The agency says it's simply moving the machines around to speed up checkpoints at busier airports.

"In an effort to ensure the most efficient and effective use of security technology, TSA is strategically reallocating backscatter advance imaging technology units in order to allow for expanded use of advance imaging technology units at other airports," Castelveter said. He had no comment on which airports would receive the reallocated units, claiming the TSA is "still evaluating."

The TSA has installed its millimeter-wave technology machines with a greater frequency over the past year, though various tests (none sponsored by the TSA) show its false alarm rate is between 23 and 54 percent, compared to the backscatter's 5 percent. The millimeter-wave technology, which shows a cartoon-like image of the body and uses low-energy radio waves similar to those in cell phones, has no known health risks.

Last November, the European Commission banned security scanners that use X-ray technology "in order not to risk jeopardizing citizens' health and safety." Some of the last backscatter machines were removed from the UK's Manchester Airport just last month.

The U.S. Supreme Court, meanwhile, declined to hear a case earlier this month brought about by Florida-based blogger Jonathan Corbett, who maintains the website TSA Out of Our Pants!

Corbett contended the TSA's use of advanced imaging technology and "invasive" patdowns violates passengers' protection against illegal searches under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. He argued in court papers that the TSA has no unilateral authority to adopt such procedures.

The TSA rolled out the backscatter machines in October 2010 and subsequently authorized enhanced patdowns, which could include the touching of breasts, buttocks and genitals, for passengers unwilling to submit to those scanners.

Many like Corbett have expressed concerns that the scanners produce revealing images and may emit too much radiation.

TSA blogger Bob Burns, however, challenged Corbett's claims in a post earlier this year, saying that the scanners are "completely safe." Furthermore, he said "the vast majority use a generic image that completely addresses privacy concerns."

"We've never claimed it's the end-all, be-all. However, our nation's aviation system is much safer now with the deployment of 600 imaging technology units at 140 airports."

Burns asserts that the imaging technology has found things as large as a gun and as tiny as a baggie of drugs artfully concealed on passengers' bodies.

Corbett, meanwhile, says he has easily snuck metal through security, which he says shows that the body scanners can't even detect basic weapons.

http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_21838196/tsa-removes-controversial-body-scanners-from-lax-other

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After firing entire police force, NJ city adds new, unarmed officers

Dozens of unarmed, uniformed civilians will be trained to collect evidence, respond to radio calls for nonviolent crimes

by Darran Simon

CAMDEN, N.J. — Next year, when a new county police force starts patrolling Camden, replacing an embattled city department, residents will see many new faces beyond the armed officers.

Dozens of unarmed, uniformed civilians—without arrest powers—will be trained to collect evidence at crime scenes, respond to radio calls for nonviolent crimes, and relieve officers so they can complete reports once a scene is safe. In some cases, a civilian police aide may be the only person in uniform that victims will encounter. A handful of aides will assist in domestic violence investigations.

Some police aides will work out of the public eye and for the first time will monitor the city's matrix of 81 cameras throughout the city. Other civilians will be trained to work as crime analysts and intelligence analysts or to handle support and administrative functions.

The civilians' greater role in the new force will extend the reach of staff and free up officers to police streets, cutting costs, said Joe Cordero, a former East Orange police director and architect of the new force.

The approach, which other departments across the county have adopted, received a sound endorsement from a police expert who called it "forward thinking." Camden residents, though, offered mixed support and wondered about the extent of training.

"This agency is really at the forefront of the changing face of policing," said Cordero, a former director in the state Attorney General's Office specializing in gangs, guns, and violent crime.

Last week, the county began the process to hire 401 sworn officers, including superior officers. In addition, 69 civilian police aides and other civilians will be hired. About four crime-scene technicians and four crime and intelligence analysts will be hired, Cordero said.

Eventually, 100 to 115 civilians will be brought on. Cordero predicted the county would save about $6.4 million annually by hiring aides instead of the higher-compensated sworn officers.

Currently, the force employees about 45 civilians who work in administrative roles and dispatch.

Waterfront South resident Shaneka Boucher, a county force supporter, said she welcomed police aides' taking burglary reports - "as long as the report is going back to the station," she said.

In fact, the presence of unarmed police aides may quell angst some residents feel about the force, she said.

"The community has said time and time again, they are fearful that the county cops would not have experience dealing with minorities and that they would be trigger-happy," said Boucher, an executive assistant for a nonprofit and a graduate student at the University of Phoenix.

Some residents and police unions have opposed the force, saying it amounts to union-busting that won't keep the city safer. So far, suburban towns have balked at joining.

The county has said it will not hire more than 49 percent of the current city force, in order to avoid having to comply with the terms of the union contract, which expired four years ago.

The police union and county continue to negotiate.

John Williamson, president of the Camden Fraternal Order of Police, said he wasn't "necessarily opposed" to using more civilians, but he wanted city residents considered for those jobs.

"You can verbally lay out the perfect scenario of what you would like something to be, but until somebody reviews an action plan, it's only words and theories." he said.

A degree in criminology or experience in law enforcement, forensics, accounting, or analyzing financial crimes could serve as valuable strengths for some of the civilian positions, Cordero said.

County officials are particularly interested in those familiar with the city who are interested in a law enforcement career, he said.

"It's forward thinking, and it's simply good common sense," said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a nonprofit think tank in Washington. "There is something here to be said for putting the right people in the right places."

Camden's move follows a continuing national trend. Cash-strapped governments—many forced to lay off officers and freeze hiring—have turned to civilians, who are paid less.

In Camden, police aides, who will make up the bulk of civilian employees, will make around $39,000, compared with patrol officers, whose pay ranges from $47,177 to $87,409. Further, the civilians will not be eligible for the state's police and fire pension system.

County officials continue to negotiate with Gov. Christie's office to pay the force's projected $5 million to $6.5 million in start-up costs.

"While the governor continues to express his support for the countywide police force, no final determination has been made with respect to a state contribution," a governor's spokesman said Friday in an e-mail.

County officials said the new force would cost about the same as the present Camden department. The city budget for the 272-member force last fiscal year, which ended June 30, was nearly $60 million.

In Nashville, civilians now make up a third of the metropolitan department's 18 crime scene investigators, according to the department.

Some police forces, though, have long used civilians to perform traditional duties.

Philadelphia's roughly 6,500-member department has used civilians as crime scene investigators for at least two decades, spokesman Lt. Raymond Evers said. Civilians also work as crime analysts, but most of the 800 civilians perform administrative functions, he said.

In Camden County, the Gloucester Township police department hired one civilian crime scene investigator about two years ago. The investigator, a former township officer, allowed one of two detectives assigned to the unit to focus on other duties, Chief Harry Earle said.

"Obviously, there is a role for civilians in policing," said Earle, whose agency also hired a civilian crime analyst a few months ago. "But deciding what tasks they perform must be very carefully analyzed to determine if their level of skill, experience, training is appropriate, especially when dealing with citizens."

He added: "There are some aspects of policing where the specific skills and training of an officer plays a role."

Maki Haberfeld, a professor of police science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said using civilians to perform the duties of sworn officers is never a good idea.

For instance, analyzing crime statistics requires an understanding of operational and tactical aspects that civilians may not grasp, she said.

"Someone who is looking at a second or third career is not as invested as someone whose career depends on this," she said.

East Camden resident Constance Williams, 71, said she wanted to learn more about the training for the civilians before pledging support.

But Williams, a former Camden school board clerk and city recreation supervisor, said a police presence is more reassuring on 911 calls.

"They would know what to do, what to look for," she said

http://www.policeone.com/community-policing/articles/6017729-After-firing-entire-police-force-NJ-city-adds-new-unarmed-officers/