Air marshals to patrol land, sea transport

J

jburtonpdx

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Teams of undercover air marshals and uniformed law enforcement officers will fan out to bus and train stations, ferries, and mass transit facilities across the country this week in a new test program to conduct surveillance and "counter potential criminal terrorist activity in all modes of transportation," according to internal federal documents.

According to internal Transportation Security Administration documents, the program calls for newly created "Visible Intermodal Protection and Response" teams -- called "viper" teams -- to take positions in public areas along Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and Los Angeles rail lines; ferries in Washington state; and mass transit systems in Atlanta, Philadelphia and Baltimore. Viper teams will patrol the Washington Metro system, as well.
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Full article - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10456738/

Is this getting to be to much? I understand the point, in theory to provide a faster response if there is a problem, and to act as a deterrent to prevent problems.

My point is though, are more police the answer to the question of security? In my view this just feeds into the Nanny state mentality where we are discouraged from being responsible for our own safety and security.

From a legal standpoint - are they going to be LEO, will they be comisioned officers?

Another issue I see, this looks like somebody growing a fifedom. Trying to grow there department bigger.
 
+1.

While protection is needed on these unsupervised routes, adding staff of this nature almost certainly means that increased "security checkpoints" will also be present.

Having lived in the Washington sound area, I feel that if I want to go from Bremerton to Seattle on the ferry and I have a permit to go armed (because Seattle has some crawly-dirty areas to it), I shouldn't have to dis-arm myself to take the ferry.

You put the TSA on the ferry, and you will have metal detectors in less than 6 months. Then you will slow down the routes too.

It will kill an effective mass transit system.
 
Air Marshalls on a ferry? How the H&^^ did they get to that point? They think they are going to crash one into a sky scraper? Ok maybe the dock or something but this seems a little over the hill for me. Hire off duty cops (:D ) if you want but the airlines style security at the ferry terminal? No way.
 
"Air Marshalls on a ferry? How the H&^^ did they get to that point?"

Better sit down, because it's even worse than you think. On a recent trip to Hawaii we went out on one of those sunset dinner cruises where they drive you around while you drink overpriced Mai Tai's and watch the hula dancers. To get on the boat, everyone had to go through a metal detector, and some were searched at random.

Tim
 
Who did the searching? Cops or employees of the boat? I just got back from H and didn't see that on the cruises we took, admittely it was not a dinner cruise it was a sail and dive boat. Hard to search all those divers with steel and ti knives strapped to their legs....:D
 
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