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01/10/2005:

"DC Police Profiling Metro Riders With New Methods"

The police in Washington, D.C. are using new behavioral profiling methods to profile people riding the metro there. Officers are now targeting people who seem to be looking around the station more than other passengers, avoid eye contact or seem to be loitering in stations. If riders meet these criteria, the police are stopping them for questioning. This is all part of security preparations for the upcoming second Bush inauguration.

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed lawsuits to challenge a similar series of actions by police in Boston police at Logan Airport. Past cases have indicated that race is not an acceptable factor in determining whether or not a suspect should be questioned.

Massachusetts officials defended their program. 'Logan's Behavior Pattern Recognition program is specifically designed to ensure the protection of everyone's constitutional and civil rights,' the agency said in a statement. 'Racial profiling is not an effective law enforcement tool and plays no role in behavior pattern recognition.'

The program has helped catch some pickpockets in the D.C. area since its implimentation in the last six months. Officers involved in the program are both plain clothes and uniformed.

With the inauguration approaching, additional security measures will be taken including the use of bomb sniffing dogs and machines that may help screen packages carried by passengers. Two Metro stops will be closed during the inauguration itself.

A spokesperson for the D.C. police indicated that 'A handful [of screeners] will be placed in strategic locations throughout the area' without being more specific. Officials are concerned that terrorists may try to disrupt the inaugural in an attack similar to the one carried out in Madrid's subway last year.
Full Article: elitestv.com