As you may or may not know, about a week ago the NYPD has begun random searches of of bags in the subways in light of the recent attacks in London. These are meant to secure our safety against potential subway bombings in NY. Naturally, this a sparked a massive debate in NY about the legality and effectiveness of this tactic. Here are a few things people are saying:

1. The searches make citizens feel safer and encourage them to continue riding the subways.

2. The searches are an invasion of privacy, which makes them illegal.

3. Almost 2 dozen individuals have already filed complaints of racial and religious profiling in relation to the searches.

4. One woman being searched turned to the officer and asked, "If I refused to be searched and was told to leave the subway, couldn't I simply walk down to the next station and get in there?" The officer replied, "You could just walk over to another entrance to this station and enter from there."

5. In the first week of searches, it was estimated that the NYPD spent 1.2 million dollars to conduct them while most experts argree that they do little to nothing to protect against an attack.

I'm curious about people's opinions are on this subject, especially those who don't live in or near NYC. Personally, I think this all stems from the fact that the NYPD is faced with a no win situation when it comes to fighting terrorism. If they take action to prevent it, such as random searches, they are criticized for infringing on our civil liberties, yet if they don't do any visible actions against terrorism and there is another attack (knock on wood), they are accused of doing nothing to protect the people. Therefore, I think the NYPD is using these searches, a ineffective precaution by most expert opinions, simply to cover its own a--. In case there is another attack, the NYPD can use these searches as an example of the work they did to try to prevent it. In a word, its about politics, not prevention. Let me know how you feel on this issue.

Yeah this type of searching is not very effective at all. It's really just a show like you said Joker. There's a very small chance that they could catch someone but the odds are against them. The way it is now, a terrorist could just turn around and walk away to enter somewhere else to do his damage.

__________________
Society is produced by our wants and government by our wickedness ~Thomas Paine

What these searches do is get us used to infringements of our basic rights. It's the camel's nose in the tent idea. Try out a change, see how it flies. If it works, that is, if the people don't scream, then it becomes the norm. If the people do scream and bithe and moan, then they wait and try it again in another time and place.

That's why Jefferson said the price of liberty is eternal vigilance.

__________________
Never moon a werewolf.

Lyghtingrod, if what you say is true then this is really scary especially since most New Yorkers are simply shrugging the searches off as a necessary evil. I think there might be a measure of truth to this notion, which begs the question, "What's next?" Are they going to start randomly searching pedestrians on the street/ Will they start knocking on people's doors to randomly search people's homes.

__________________
LET ME SEE YOUR WAR FACE!!!

I understand the whole "camel-nose" theory and I also am vigilant against such an occurence...

That being said, I think these searches are a "band-aid" for the masses.. NYC put something over the boo-boo... so the rest of us wouldn't get worried about the seeping blood and gathering pus.

__________________
I was banned from godlike productions... and loved it.

There are measures we could take that would actually do more to stop terrorism. Protect our borders. Enforce immigration laws. Makes more sense to do those than to wait and try to stop an attack while it is being carried out.

__________________
Society is produced by our wants and government by our wickedness ~Thomas Paine

Yep. Not only does it violate our liberties, it doesn't work, and there's no reason to think it would work. It is all smoke and mirrors. SO the politicians get to be seen as doing something, and we lose a little liberty. Can someone come up with a third item, for the hat trick?

A few weeks ago, a city inspector came by my apartment, with the landlady. The inspector said she wanted to come in to inspect. Eleven out of 12 let her enter their apartments without a warrant. Guess who refused?

__________________
Never moon a werewolf.

The person with something to hide.

Memo: You don't own an apartment. It is the property owned by someone other than you, and they have the perfect right to enter their own property any time they wish. You rent only at their privilege.

__________________
"Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival."
Winston Churchill

it's all part of their game. to show that terror threat is real. (i believe terrorists are zionists is what im saying) how many people do they search and how does that protect us against someone? they could detonate their bombs in busses, in packed parking lots after the ballgame, jump in bars too many places to name.

First of all, they're not going against our liberties in any way. The government has the right to do so.

Second, the reason they're ineffective is because they don't use racial profiling. The Israelsve told the US countless times that checking every 5th person is completely ineffective. Checking moms with strollers and catholic nuns does nothing. Cops need to focus on suspicious looking people............ them being arabs. Then it would work.