Full body scanners

[Felicity]

BBC News - Gordon Brown promises full body scanners at UK airports
Gordon Brown promises full body scanners at UK airports

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has given the go-ahead for full body scanners to be introduced at Britain's airports.
Airports operator BAA said it would now install the machines "as soon as is practical" at Heathrow.
Experts have questioned the scanners' effectiveness at detecting the type of bomb allegedly used on Christmas Day in an attempted plane attack over Detroit.
But Mr Brown said it was essential to "go further" than the current technology allowed.
Speaking on BBC One's Andrew Marr show, the prime minister said the government would do everything in its power to tighten security and prevent a repeat of the US attack.
A spokesman for BAA said: "It is our view that a combination of technology, intelligences and passenger profiling will help build a more robust defence against the unpredictable and changing nature of the terrorist threat to aviation."
He declined to give specific details about timing or comment on extending the use of scanners to other airports, costs or the potential for passenger delays.
On Friday, Gordon Brown announced he had ordered a review of existing security measures, and advisers are expected to report within days.
Full body scanners, which produce "naked" images of passengers, remove the need for "pat down" searches.
However they have raised concerns about privacy, with campaigners saying they are tantamount to a "strip search".
The machines are currently being trialled at Manchester airport following tests at Heathrow airport from 2004 to 2008.
They are also being rolled out across the US, with 40 machines used at 19 airports.

I know this is just about the UK but I'm sure its possible that these scanners could be used in other countries... I suppose it brings the question, as a woman, if it is deemed necessary, would you prefer a pat down or a scan (not like anybody actually gets a choice)? At least with a scan no one would feel picked on in particular...

[Tipaza]

I prefer a pat down ...

What are they going to use next ? Imagine they refuse to let you in because the machine has detected an illness. No thank you.

[noor_zadi]

Not sure if I would like it myself, but if its going to be a big part of stopping these people from trying to smuggle stuff onto planes (drugs bombs etc) then is it not in the best interest of everyone?

[Jazaireya4ever]

It's gonna be in use in Holland, and NO this is not to the best of the people, this story with that Nigerian guy was used to introduce a new thing, makes me wonder if all of this affair is even true. It's not the first time things like this have been used and abused at the benefit of politicians. And it is again NOT at the benefit of people because politicians themselves aren't honest, Politics is a loads of lies from A to Z designed to fool people. The Biggest Lie ever built up by mankind.

[Al-khiyal]

New scanners break child porn laws

January 4, 2010 -- The rapid introduction of full body scanners at British airports threatens to breach child protection laws which ban the creation of indecent images of children, the Guardian has learned. Privacy campaigners claim the images created by the machines are so graphic they amount to "virtual strip-searching" and have called for safeguards to protect the privacy of passengers involved. Ministers now face having to exempt under 18s from the scans or face the delays of introducing new legislation to ensure airport security staff do not commit offences under child pornography laws. They also face demands from civil liberties groups for safeguards to ensure that images from the £80,000 scanners, including those of celebrities, do not end up on the internet. The Department for Transport confirmed that the "child porn" problem was among the "legal and operational issues" now under discussion in Whitehall after Gordon Brown's announcement on Sunday that he wanted to see their "gradual" introduction at British airports.

A 12-month trial at Manchester airport of scanners which reveal naked images of passengers including their genitalia and breast enlargements, only went ahead last month after under-18s were exempted. The decision followed a warning from Terri Dowty, of Action for Rights of Children, that the scanners could breach the Protection of Children Act 1978, under which it is illegal to create an indecent image or a "pseudo-image" of a child. Dowty told the Guardian she raised concerns with the Metropolitan police five years ago over plans to use similar scanners in an anti-knife campaign, and when the Department for Transport began a similar trial in 2006 on the Heathrow Express rail service from Paddington station. "They do not have the legal power to use full body scanners in this way," said Dowty, adding there was an exemption in the 1978 law to cover the "prevention and detection of crime" but the purpose had to be more specific than the "trawling exercise" now being considered.

A Manchester airport spokesman said their trial had started in December, but only with passengers over 18 until the legal situation with children was clarified. So far 500 people have taken part on a voluntary basis with positive feedback from nearly all those involved. Passengers also pass through a metal detector before they can board their plane. Airport officials say the scanner image is only seen by a single security officer in a remote location before it is deleted. A Department for Transport spokesman said: "We understand the concerns expressed about privacy in relation to the deployment of body scanners. It is vital staff are properly trained and we are developing a code of practice to ensure these concerns are properly taken into account. Existing safeguards also mean those operating scanners are separated from the device, so unable to see the person to whom the image relates, and these anonymous images are deleted immediately."

But Shami Chakrabarti, of Liberty, had concerns over the "instant" introduction of scanners: "Where are the government assurances that electronic strip-searching is to be used in a lawful and proportionate and sensitive manner based on rational criteria rather than racial or religious bias?" she said. Her concerns were echoed by Simon Davies of Privacy International who said he was sceptical of the privacy safeguards being used in the United States. Although the American system insists on the deletion of the images, he believed scans of celebrities or of people with unusual or freakish body profiles would prove an "irresistible pull" for some employees.

The disclosures came as Downing Street insisted British intelligence information that the Detroit plane suspect tried to contact radical Islamists while a student in London was passed on to the U.S. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's name was included in a dossier of people believed to have made attempts to deal with extremists, but he was not singled out as a particular risk, Brown's spokesman said. President Barack Obama has criticised U.S. intelligence agencies for failing to piece together information about the 23-year-old that should have stopped him boarding the flight. Brown's spokesman said "There was security information about this individual's activities and that was shared with the U.S. authorities."

[Desert winds]

Hello,

what does everyone tink about these full body scanners now being used at british airports?

the scanners produce a full naked bodies image once scanned which includes visible images of ones private parts, it has been argued that the images are not stored but deleted straight after,

Personally this would affect me greatly, i dont want anybody seeing me and i think this is a matter of one's privacy rather than a tactic to cut down on terror.

what can we expect next?

Airport admits 'strip search' body scanners WILL show people naked | Mail Online

[Ruks]

well i think its wrong. but the issue is what can be done about it now. is there any way that a person at the airport can refuse to go through the scanner and choose a 'pat down' instead?

well i heard that some images are already on the internet.