The NYPD's X-Ray Vans (theatlantic.com)

An anonymous reader writes: A few years ago, we heard tales of vans outfitted by the U.S. government to hold giant X-ray scanners, which they'd use to drive around and inspect vehicles. Now, it turns out similar vans have made their way to police departments, including the NYPD. The police are unwilling to explain (PDF) how they're used, or how often. "A state court has already ruled that the NYPD has to turn over policies, procedures, and training manuals that shape uses of X-rays; reports on past deployments; information on the costs of the X-ray devices and the number of vans purchased; and information on the health and safety effects of the technology. But New York City is fighting on appeal to suppress that information and more, as if it is some kind of spy agency rather than a municipal police department operating on domestic soil, ostensibly at the pleasure of city residents."

Comments

Slashdot moderators owned by NYPD

[gavron]

Every story is modded down.
- NYPD violates constitutional tenets (0)
- NYPD violates FOIA rules (0)
- NYPD thinks they are a terrorist fighting organization (0)

Dear /. editors: whomever moderated this thread shouldn't get mod points for another 30 years. I know you think you have checks and balances. So does the NYPD.

E

This is also a social justice issue

[Anonymous Coward]

There are ppl. with previous occupational exposures to what is considered to be high-level exposures of radiation today, that have to carefully monitor and restrict such things as dental or medial X-rays (ie. exposure to 60Co due to working around a leaking medical source).

What provisions exist to alert the "police" to these people, and what steps do they take to mitigate aiming their X-ray at these persons?

I would suspect none, so the ethics of this "operation" need to be called into serious question.

Re:America the Police State

[Anonymous Coward]

The police state isn't coming, the police state is here. Anyone who thinks otherwise is delusional.

And yet we need to ban guns and confiscate all guns in private hands, or so the Liberals who run New York would have you believe. I submit that this is precisely why private gun ownership is needed. These people need to be afraid of us, not the other way around.