New technology lets police "frisk" from a distance (for guns)

[boilingleadbath]

I'm not terribly familiar with radar systems, but wouldn't a bag made of conductive material, ie. aluminumized mylar/aluminum foil, be opaque to this frequency of radiation?

That makes bypassing this system so easy that it's ridiculous, unless they decide to physically check everyone carrying a mylar bag.

 

[Browning]

I'm guessing that this technology is going to be expensive as hell.

Expensive as hell ='s into this kind of thing not being in widespread use since most Law Enforcement agencies are on a budget where the actual necessities (vehicles, the gas to run them, insurance costs and maintenance fees for all the vehicles, the building and jail, food and medical care for all the prisoners, medical insurance for all LE personel, pistols, shotguns, rifles and tear gas guns, ammo for all those weapons, money for training, ASP's/uniforms/belts/holsters/pouches/handcuffs/pepper spray, K-9 dogs and training and all the other things like computers, telephones, paper, pens, filing cabinets, video cameras, digital cameras, forms, office chairs, cleaning products, air conditioning/electricity/ water and sewage, coffee and coffee pot etc etc) that let a police department run on a daily basis come before everything else.

If they're ever able to make it affordable and portable, then police departments will probably get technology like this and like everything else it has the potential for misuse. Even when the engineers and programmers solve the size and expense issue some method of defeating it will come up and they'll be back to the drawing boards for round two.

 

[GuyWithQuestions]

Maybe they could have a small arms race in technology, between gun owners and frisker

Maybe just like like they sell radar/laser detectors and laser jammers (which sends out a small infared beam that makes it so the LIDAR laser guns don't get a reading similar to how some military aircraft jam up radar that's after them), they could make special holsters that evade detection from gun detectors! Just a thought for entertainment. Radar detectors are legal in every state except Virginia, D.C., and military bases. Laser jammers are legal in almost every state except for a few, including mine Radar jammers are basically illegal for trying to evade traffic enforcement. But what if they found a way to design a holster that would be protected by some random law that was passed from a while back? Radar detectors are legal in most places because there was some Communications law passed back in the 1930's (I think that was the decade the random law was passed). Laser jammers are legal in most states because lasers are regulated by the FDA while radar in regulated by the FCC, so usually laser jammers are legal while radar jammers for cars are not. That would be fun if they designed holsters that could evade detection by these "frisking devices" and by almost random chance are protected by some law that was passed long ago. Then it could be a small arms race (in techology) between the friskers and gun owners Just like law enforcement is always designing better radar guns, LIDAR laser guns, and VASCAR speed enforcement devices, while the radar detector and laser jamming businesses are doing their part.

 

[grimjaw]

Wait a minute, did I hear a claim earlier in this thread that indoor plumbing caused the downfall of the Roman empire?

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So, "they" wand you with this detector and SUSPECT (b/c I can't imagine the thing is foolproof) you have a concealed firearm, thus they have just cause to search you.

Hrm. I'll think on that one.

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If the DetectoMagic doesn't go off, does that mean they *can't* search me, even if it looks like I've got an AK under my poncho?

jm

 

[thorn726]

try READING the whole article

wow guys. OK YES it starts out with what they wanted, a handheld, transportable device. then they tell you what they actually got.

all this thing really is
a high speed screener for places you would already get screened at.
afraid of radiation? ask for private screening which will take longer.

here are some of the more useful parts of the article

Applications

While the CTD can process a large amount of people sequentially, it is likely of best value in low volume situations. Such high value screening points would include:

* Embassies

* Government Buildings-mints, legislative offices, court houses, administrative offices, etc.

* Public buildings-schools, libraries, museums

* Transportation hubs-bus terminals, train stations

* Sporting events

* Border crossing points

* National monuments

* Research facilities and laboratories

The screening process is simply to have a person being checked walk into a marked test box, face the prompter monitor and put their arms out. The reason for arms out is to reveal the area under the armpit, where a weapon like a gun in a shoulder holster could be hidden from the radar by the flesh of the upper arm. The instrument detects the presence of the individual and begins the measurement process. During the process, three sets of readings are taken and the final decision is made by polling the readings and then looking at the total score. In the vast majority of cases, when a weapon or threat is present, the first two readings are conclusive. In those cases, the third reading is not taken and the results are immediately presented. This situation requires only about three seconds to complete the screening process.


Conclusion

A standoff concealed threat detection system has been developed and produced that is capable of detecting objects concealed under a person's clothing that can be considered dangerous. This system operates at a low power level in X-band. The typical range of operation is on the order of 15 feet and can be extended to 100 feet or more by the use of a higher gain antenna. Accuracy and performance depend on many factors, but under normal circumstances the detection rate is in the very high 90s percentile with an associated false alarm rate of only a few percent.

 

[fred in nc]

Make radar frisking easier!

I can see it now: the Department of Homeland Security issues new rules that make it a federal violation to carry anything that could be considered pocket clutter in any pocket on one's person so that it can't interfere with radar frisking. It would go right along with those of us who already feel like they are flying rude, crude, and in the nude!

 

[DMK]

This thing will never work for schools.

1) Public schools can't even afford proper educational supplies. They won't be able to afford putting one of these at every school, much less every entrance.

2) I can't imagine getting every kid and teacher to stand in a box and raise his/her arms every time they enter the buildings. That would happen for maybe a week, if at all.

3) How good would this thing be at detecting a gun tucked between the laptop, the ipod and the cell phone?

In fact, whereever you put these things, they will greatly restrict traffic flow.