sabourinj wrote:jck wrote:"Let's do something" is not a good reason to be doing these types of searches. I simply cannot see how they can be effective.
Should we stop random cars on the Mass Pike coming into Boston as well?
Why not just have more officers patrolling the system, rather than randomly (or not-so randomly) harrassing riders? At least the additional officers could do something useful, like stopping on fare evaders.
Are you willing to pay more taxes or even higher fares to get the funds to hire extra officers? Keep in mind the MBTA is already trying to merge their police with the State Police to become more effective at patrolling.
How are the bag searches being paid for? I'm arguing if the governor is going to order security personal into the MBTA system anyway, I would favor having them do something useful, e.g., patrol the stations, stop fare evaders, prevent crime or mischief, rather than perform random bags search on unsuspecting commuters.
Is there any evidence at all that stopping commuters at random on the train is at all useful in preventing terrorist attacks as compared to simply having an increased police presence?