mhdishere
Member
OK folks, here's a first-hand account, I live in NJ, work in NYC and ride the subways five days a week. I've seen the bag searches although never been searched myself.
These searches accomplish nothing, nada, zip, zero.
You can refuse and exit the station. They won't force you to be searched.
If someone with intent to commit mayhem is tagged for a search, he can refuse and enter the subway system some other way. If you've never been on the subways you have no idea how porous the system is. From where I'm sitting right now I can list at least a half-dozen completely separate entrances to the subway within a five-minute walk, if a checkpoint is set up at one place I can easily get in thru another, and there's not likely to be checkpoints at both AND I'm not likely to get picked for a search at both anyway.
I have seen people go up to the cops and OFFER their bags for searching (which the cops will then do).
As far as how successful they've been, there have been a few drug arrests (idiots who forgot they had dope in their bag and let it be searched), a few disorderly conduct arrests (people who objected loudly to being searched). That's it, no bombs, no poison gas.
The program is a feel-good measure to show the sheep that the city is "doing something", it doesn't accomplish a thing.
These searches accomplish nothing, nada, zip, zero.
You can refuse and exit the station. They won't force you to be searched.
If someone with intent to commit mayhem is tagged for a search, he can refuse and enter the subway system some other way. If you've never been on the subways you have no idea how porous the system is. From where I'm sitting right now I can list at least a half-dozen completely separate entrances to the subway within a five-minute walk, if a checkpoint is set up at one place I can easily get in thru another, and there's not likely to be checkpoints at both AND I'm not likely to get picked for a search at both anyway.
I have seen people go up to the cops and OFFER their bags for searching (which the cops will then do).
As far as how successful they've been, there have been a few drug arrests (idiots who forgot they had dope in their bag and let it be searched), a few disorderly conduct arrests (people who objected loudly to being searched). That's it, no bombs, no poison gas.
The program is a feel-good measure to show the sheep that the city is "doing something", it doesn't accomplish a thing.