London Underground getting bomb detectors?

[Stuart]

You may remember that soon after 7/7, the government decided that the Tube would get Bomb detectors?

Well, after testing, it seems they have concluded that it would be impractical.

This is for three reasons:

1. It would slow the service in the rush hour too much. At the moment, using an oyster card (which TFL is encouraging everyone to do), it takes 2 or 3 seconds to get through the ticket barrier (assuming no queue). Assuming a bomb scanner takes 10 seconds (which, if I understand the technology, is rather optimistic), this multiplies the delay by at least 3 times. Not a problem if you scan one or two people. If you have to scan 1,500 in a hour, it becomes an issue.
2. Any queues caused would be easy targets for terrorists. The terrorist may well be stuck in the Ticket Office. Along with the poor sods stuck waiting to be scanned.
3. Space.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/03...tors_rejected/

Funnily enough, I remember thinking of those problems at the time.

[BBKing]

There's also the slight problem (certainly with the ones at Paddington for the HEx) that using them on under-18s counts as making indecent images of children, punishable by being bunged in jail and on the VISOR* and vilified by the News of the World. So you have to sort the kids out first and send them through unchecked, then reunite them with their parents on the other side in a crowd of people. Fun for two year olds, of course.

As usual, it's best to remove the reasons *why* people become terrorists rather than dismantle civilised society in a vain attempt to stop them once they have.

* VIolent/Sex Offenders Register

[Shaun]

I believe Red Ken also poo pooed the idea due to the fact that some stations don't even have the room for a metro stand.

Still nothing like wasting a few quid on a feasibility study when we all could have told them it'd not work!

[BBKing]

'We Have To Be Seen To Be Doing Something'

(see Dangerous Dogs Act, Terrorism Bill 2005, Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, Twelve Point Plans announced but never implemented, setting up commissions into radical Islamic influence among young British males and giving them three weeks to report, etc.). Pungent smell of BS?