I still get a slight shiver when I remember what happened at JFK Airport.
A year after 9-11 I travelled to New York with three friends. We arrived at JFK tired from the six hour flight, and then stood in queues, for what seemed like ages, while some very severe looking men with guns surveyed the lines and our documentation in great detail. Their faces were hard and threatening. My friend in front of me tried to crack the atmosphere with a joke as they examined his passport and asked for his reason for entering the country. It was a mistake. He was hit with a granite stare and further heavy scrutiny of his documentation.
We recovered from the experience and enjoyed the holiday. We bought the cheap electrical goods and clothes. We went into bars and were dumbfounded everytime immediately people recognised us as being British without us having to open our mouths. We felt the threat of straying down a sidestreet into a neighbourhood that was clearly not on the usual tourist route. We were overwhelmed everytime we tried to order breakfast and were faced with far too many choices far too early in the morning. We enjoyed the luxury of riding in taxis for a few dollars. And we were silent and emotional at Ground Zero as the scale of the buildings that were still standing, and the scale of the ones that had been destroyed with all their human occupants, really stuck home.
We assumed that our exit from the country would be more relaxed than our entry, but we were mistaken. There wasn’t the silence of long, tired queues, but the armed police were still everywhere. As we went through security, Richard, one of our party was pulled aside. The rest of us were highly amused as he was one of the ‘goodie goodies’ on the trip - the church-going conformist member of the British establishment. If they had wanted to pick up someone, we could easily have provided a socialist rebel with a minor criminal record and a tendency for aggression.
Then the atmosphere changed. Richard was clearly starting to look worried. Something sinister had been detected on the X-ray machine. A policeman started to open his bag and unpack it. In his honest innocence Richard moved towards the officer and offered to help him unpack.
“STAND BACK SIR!!!” The tone was loud, very forceful, and very threatening. Silence momentarily filled the atmosphere. Two policemen had moved forward, were pointing their weapons at him. Fingers were on triggers.
Eventually ‘the weapon’ was found. It was a cheap, souvenir replica of the Empire State Building, about six inches long, and made of metal. It was confiscated, and we proceeded on our journey, embarrassed by the mistake, shocked by the potential disaster, and very relieved.
The whole incident made me realize how things could so easily have gone so very badly wrong, especially when human beings feel threatened and under pressure to check every detail. I read this week how big mistakes can also be made simply by not adhering to detail. The particular incident shows how technology has the power to amplify the simplest error out of all proportion.
The US Department of Homeland Security misconfigured its electronic mailing list so that thousands of government employees received a deluge of unwanted emails. The list, that was set up to broadcast security news, was configured so that any reply to any email on the list was automatically sent to all the members of the list. Consequently all list members suddenly started to receive a lot of unwanted email. Many security experts on the list are apparently wondering what that says about Homeland Security’s ability to deal with cybersecurity issues.
Human beings can, and will, make mistakes. When seeking to defend precious values and save human life from terrorism, the use of the latest technology and weapons may be justified. However, if and when mistakes happen, the use of weapons and other technology can create dreadful and unwished for consequences. The family of Jean Charles de Menezes are only too painfully aware of this. I feel so glad that Richard was not shot at JFK.
When we came back from Canada via Chicago, US immigration checks were carried out at the Canadian airport and were less fraught than when we came in through Chicago. The officer looking at our passports wore full uniform, including the wide-brimmed hat.
“I like your hat,” said Tigger brightly.
I quailed inwardly in the silence that followed. At last the officer spoke:
“Thank you, ma’am.”
I’ll never know what was going through his mind during the silence and don’t think I want to know.
As I went though the detector gate, the alarm rang. Even after I had emptied my pockets it still rang. It later turned out that it was triggered by the foil wrapping of a packet of cough sweets forgotten in a back pocket.
The lady officer enquired if I would mind her searching me.
“By all means,” said I.
The problem resolved we prepared to move on.
“Nice shirt, by the way,” said the lady officer, referring to my rather splendid garment with the tiger down the front that Tigger bought me.
“Thank you, ma’am,” I replied.
When in Rome…
I’ve been wondering if iris scans (ala Minority Report) won’t be part of future screening procedures.
It would remove some of the human error factor (and unless you replaced your eyeballs with someone else’s it’d be pretty hard to be mistaken for someone else).
I remember the scene in Minority Report. I suppose if iris scans became the norm then some criminals would develop very brutual eye swapping procedures!