Radiation Sensors, Surveillance Cameras Used To Screen & Follow Every Vehicle Entering Lower Manhattan

Plan Aims To Provide Security Blanket Against Terrorist Attack

NEW YORK (CBS) ― The NYPD is working on a high-tech, anti-terror plan to track every vehicle that enters Manhattan. It's called "Operation Sentinel," and it's already sparking a debate about the right to privacy.

Every time a car, bus or truck drives into Manhattan on either a bridge or thru a tunnel its license plate would be screened and photographed. All part of the new multi-million dollar security plan proposed by the NYPD. Its aim? Prevent another terrorist attack.

"Good idea I think. Anything that makes the city safer is a very good idea," said NYC resident Sam Mauer.

"With terrorism today, I have no problem with them doing whatever they need to do," said Paul Salk of Long Branch, N.J.

Most commuters that spoke to CBS 2 had no problem being photographed or screened for radioactive materials, as the plan calls for, but some felt their privacy would be invaded.

"Come on. That's them getting into our business. That's what it is. Tell them to stay out of our business," said an anonymous NYC resident.

"Operation Sentinel" also includes heavy security implementation at the new World Trade Center site. Only specially screened cars and delivery trucks would be allowed past police manned barriers at the 5 entrances. There would also be numerous guards in booths keeping an eye on people and traffic.

The checkpoints where pedestrian and visitors would have to go thru would reportedly not involve the inspection of their bags. Instead, it's aimed to prevent a car or truck bomb attack.

"We are really getting to the point where NYPD is going to be tracking our movements all over the city everyday," said Chris Dunn of NY Civil Liberties Union.

Dunn also says the security plan is too invasive.

"If police were going to focus on terrorism suspects everyone would support that, but this is a program where every person driving in a car, no matter what they have done, are going to end up in a police file."

Wait until the NYPD shoots someone undergoing radiation treatment for hyperthyroidism or prostate cancer.

Sam Mauer is a feckless nincompoop.

So a rental car with conventional explosives wouldn't be checked/set any bells off thus making this useless? And what about poor Staten island...
I feel safer already.
What about diplo plates. Does NYPD have immediate access to the state dept's plate registry? (I don't know the answer there?)

Ciao,
FH

Sheeple.


"You cannot fool all the people all the time"

Anybody that utters the words �Anything to make me safer� or similar should have all their adult privileges revoked, and issued a pair of plastic scissors from kindergarten class.

The technology to scan for radiation sources is not exactly up to the challenge, either. A bit of shielding and the whole thing is useless. Of course, that's not going to stop DHS from spending billions in taxpayer funds on this sort of stupidity.

Insanity. No matter how much the DHS spends on countermeasures, a determined terrorist can always beat them. It would be much more fruitful to focus on intelligence. A few well-placed informants would cost far less than the James Bond ideas that the mad scientists keep dreaming up.

How on earth does this prevent anything? A vehicle laden with explosives could still drive through and blow up somewhere in Manhattan. With this system we'd likely be able to tell when and where the vehicle entered the area, but only after it went boom. How does that prevent anything? Our tax dollars at waste...

My guess is this has more to do with revenue generation than terrorism.

I'm sure this system will catch plenty of traffic scofflaws w/ outstanding tickets, deadbeat parents behind on their child support and other assorted people who owe the government money.

Of course this will be touted as just a side benefit of this important "tool" in the war on terror.

But the real tools are the Orwell fans that dreamed this scheme up.

I've often wondered the same thing. Although the cameras in London captured pics of the '05 bombers, they couldn't stop them.

They would need to install some security barricades (see: http://www.deltascientific.com/hs_highsecbarricades.htm ) if they wanted to stop a suspicious vehicle. There are similar devices on I-93 on the approach to the Hoover Dam. However, the tunnels and bridges the NYPD are considering the sensors and cameras are much wider than the one I mentioned. Who knows if these barricades would be considered in their plans.

But the police have nice, pretty pictures! So the terrorists' families and fans can have pictures of their new martyrs. Has CCTV made London/the UK safer? No. It's just moved crime to different areas.

They already have barriers in place at the tunnels. They look sort of like the things used at railroad crossings but much more reinforced.

Is this the one where Steven Segal subdues a room full of bad guys who conveniently enough only attack him one at a time, which allows him to perform all sorts of slick "arms only" fighting techniques that consist of but are not limited to sliding the bad guy down a bar causing drinks to crash and spill onto the floor?

Stupid, utterly pointless, and a complete waste of time/resources/dough.

That said, I'm surprised they haven't implemented this in DC. Hope they won't.