A Short Note On Body Scanner And Its Effects On The Dynamic, Security, And Privacy

Moving beyond the modern day technology that aides the common citizens, there is also an abundant amount of technology that aides in police work such as facial recognition, iris scans and mobile data terminals. Many people don’t understand how simple, yet beneficial facial recognition is in the police work. When first hearing facial recognition many minds may jump to some complex idea but the process is quite easy in fact even simple social networking

Much interest in the technology of the body cameras comes from a growing problem that the United States has been having a major problem with police violence. Though some might argue that the wearing of body cameras violate privacy, in fact the use of the cameras will minimize violence, show accountability, and a human side of policing. These body cameras would help serve by providing video evidence that can be referenced and use anytime allegations are made against police officers and criminals alike. The use of these body cameras are somewhat in the evaluation and study stages, but they are quickly becoming the standard in some police departments across the United States. These cameras would not only serve to provide video evidence, but it provide accountability. The ideal policy for the cams is that they stay on and continue recording throughout police officers shifts, which would help eliminate any possibility of doing something that would not be used as evidence later on and help them evade the recording of abuse committed while on duty.

Another measure TSA took was to add body scanners to security. These scanners can see what a person is carrying underneath their clothes. There have been a few different designs to this machine due to some lawsuits in the past brought up because the TSA agents were making fun of a man’s gentile size or certain passengers would feel embarrassed because someone can see their bodies. Now what the TSA agent sees is an outline of the passenger’s body and whatever is on the body. The body scanner does not show a naked person anymore.

The federal government assured the public that pictures would not be recorded and saved from these machines.  That is not the case.  The scanner that was uses in a Florid courthouse showed the actual “people side-by-side with their X-rayed selves” (Allahpundit).  Why did the government outright lie to the public?  To save their own asses, of course.  This is in direct violation of the Fourth Amendment.  The amendment gives people the right to be secure in their persons against unreasonable searches.  I believe the scanning of humans and taking pictures of their faces violates this.   Shockingly, former TSA security director, Mo McGowan, openly stated on fox news that “Nobody likes to have their 4th Amendment violated going through a security line, but the truth of the matter is, we’re going to have to do it” (Left Coast Rebel).  Excuse me? Did this man actually say this in public?  It’s not shocking that he’s no longer the security director.

The current screening method is the body scanner which has been reported on multiple times by the news as it is consider invasive in nature. The screener is able to see the passenger’s nude image, but software updates have eliminated this providing only detection of metallic and nonmetallic threats. The prior method of a metal detector which did not alarm staff if nonmetallic threats existed allowed C-4 explosive (a clay type of explosive) to board the plan. The body scanners are quicker than the former methods of a “pat down”, which every passenger had to endure and were less invasive. This system will be used by the TSA until a better method is discovered, which will provide faster screening, more privacy to passengers and better detection of threats. The cost of this has rising over the years but it was the initial setup of the TSA in 2002 which cost the most since there was not an agency within this realm that completed these duties.

After the devastating terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11th, TSA (Transportation Security Administration) was created and have since then beefed up their security. Because of all the new security devices and rules taking place now, the wait time at in the security line is longer, but for a good reason. On an average day, TSA screens 1.1 million bags. Of those 1.1 million bags, around 50,000 of them have to be checked thoroughly due to suspicious items inside the bags. The wait time at airport security lines has increased because of new threats. Because of an increase in the wait time at the security line, some people find it very frustrating and think that all the precautions are unnecessary. Those people are wrong though. In the past years since TSA was created, multiple bomber attacks have been attempted but have yet to succeed due to TSA keeping up with its safety requirements. In 2010, TSA started to use full body scanners. Some people are uncomfortable with the idea that when going through the body scanners, they are almost viewed completely naked and worry that those photos will be leaked. In Emily Holbrook’s article, Airport Security: privacy vs. safety, she makes an interesting pint when it comes to body scanners by quoting Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who said, ‘” you don’t need to look at my wife and 8-year-old daughter naked in order to secure that airplane”’ (quoted in QTD. Holbrook 14). This is an issue that has been brought to many people when going

Airports have recently utilized Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT), which has since raised concerns for privacy and whether or not it breaches the Fourth Amendment. AIT or full body scanners, use electromagnetic wavelengths to see beneath your clothes, producing an image of your naked body for the TSA (Taylor, 2013, p.513). From there, they can see anything you may be carrying (Taylor, 2013, p.513). Jeffrey Rosen states, “The designers of the body scanners at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory offered US Officials a choice between these naked machines or blob machines” (Rosen, 2010, p.9). The blob machines are less invasive, portraying your body as a “non-humiliating blob” in the words of Rosen. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security eventually deployed the naked body scanners without public opinion (Rosen, 2010, p.9). Although the intention of these machines seems to be good when it concerns the safety of travelers, these invasive procedures have led to incidents of misuse and can be humiliating for many. An incident in a Nigerian Airport occurred where airport officers used full-body scans as a form of pornography (Taylor, 2013, p.514). In another, US Marshalls in Florida illegally saved 35,000 images of full-body scans on one scanner (Taylor, 2013, p.514 ). To make matters worse, these images were plastered on the internet (Taylor, 2013,

Sadly, despite the obvious fact that police body cameras have a number of benefits, there are definite concerns regarding the possibility that these same cameras pose a risk to the privacy of both the police officers and members of the general public. The general feeling is that these concerns need to be addressed as the use of body

Recently some American police departments, large and small, have started employing the use of small body cameras on officers. These cameras are often hidden or otherwise difficult to see and discern. These cameras are costly, often an invasion of privacy, and easily manipulated. There are currently no laws or regulations regarding the use of these cameras, and no real consequences for misuse of them. As such, body cameras on police officers in the US should not be employed.

Technology has benefited developed countries in numerous amounts of ways. Most recently, body cameras has seen use in a few U.S. law enforcement agencies across the United States and has improved public relations for those police departments. However, many police officers and lawmakers question the cost and efficiency of such devices and whether the citizens should be placed under constant surveillance when near a law enforcement officer. Whether or not body-worn cameras should be required to be implemented into law enforcement agencies across America is debatable and the decision is dependent on the factors of public safety, cost efficiency, and whether body cameras will serve a practical use or not.

At many airports around the country, TSA is now using full body scanner machines and also much more invasive

He told me it was called a full body scanner once he told me. It made me start doing a lot of research about it because why would do body scanners it’s a different and super great thing

While implementing body-worn cameras, it is important to create clear, black and white guidelines. These guidelines should provide room for changes as the program evolves over time. It is important to consult with supervisors, officers, legal advisors, the police unions, prosecutors, and the public while implementing such a project (Miller). It is important to take your time with implementing body cameras, as there is a large amount of information available. This makes the deployment of this program difficult to uniformly disperse. There are many possible and unforeseen hurdles that may come up during implementation and early stages of the use of body-worn cameras. Agencies which have successfully implemented body-worn cameras, have stressed the importance of proceeding slowly and with caution. By doing this, we can reduce high risk high impact problems while catching most large problems early on.

We live in a world today, in which technology moves at a very rapid pace. Many of these technological advances can be used to make our everyday lives easier and safer. One of these new technologies is Biometrics. Biometrics is the process of measuring a person’s physical properties. This would include measuring things like fingerprints, retinas, odor, vein structure on the back of the hand and many other things. Biometrics is a very important topic because it would create better security precautions for certain places that need to be secure. Biometrics will make our society safer by only allowing authorized people out of secure facilities and by keeping the unauthorized people out. Throughout the rest of this

The two types of scanners currently being used by the TSA are backscatter imaging technology and millimeter wave imaging. The backscatter imaging is an X-ray beam bounced off the skin. Millimeter wave imaging bounces of electromagnetic waves off the skin as well. Being that both technologies do not penetrate the body, explosives hidden in body cavities or surgically implanted, go completely undetected (Heasley 1).