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Kenya Police: Our Fake Bomb Detectors Are Real
First time accepted submitter NF6X writes "Following the conviction of British conman James McCormick for selling fake bomb detectors which were in fact rebadged novelty golf ball divining rods, Nairobi police chief Benson Githinji stated to reporters that his department's fake bomb detectors are serviceable, and contributed towards a recent elimination of successful grenade attacks."
Problem is confirmation bais is really easy to sell on people, so they honestly believe they did test it out and it worked.
Police work in any country is more about the appearance of security than actual security. It doesn't matter if it works. It only matters if it keeps people calm.
I'm not advocating this as the way it should be, just the way it is. We'd all actually be safer if we switched to evidence based policing. But then the government couldn't get away with shit like the War on Drug Users.
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
Yeah, if there was such thing as a *reliable* portable bomb detector, you'd think US law enforcement would stop detonating people's "suspicious" laptops and grocery bags left on the street.
I think we can figure out from the summary alone who took kickback money to buy these things.
If Slashdot were chemistry it would look like this:Cadaverine
They would be useful, even if fake, if terrorists thought them real and skipped attempts.
FBI and friends use lie detectors even though they are hogwash. I assume it's for the same reason: to scare people rather than use as a physical filter. Only the high-level strategists need know it doesn't work -- the plebe agents don't.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
STOP REPLYING TO THESE. The only reason I can see them is because you reply and then get modded up which brings the entire post into my view.
It's not just a river with sources in Kenya.
I am officially gone from