Subway Shakedowns: Necessary Security or Unconstitutional Violation?

Will random bag searches on public transportation make Americans safer? Following the July 7 bombings in London, New York increased police presence on the city"s vast subway system at a cost of 1.9 million dollars per week. And starting Friday, police began random searches of passenger bags at selected subway stations throughout the city. New Jersey transit police began searches on Monday. Police officials say that passengers going into the subway who wish not to be searched can choose not to ride the subway.

An editorial in Tuesday"s New York Times urged the city to continue the searches for an extended period. The editorial reads "Travelers have long since gotten used to extensive searches before they board airplanes, and they should be relieved to see security measures on the subways and commuter trains as well."

But questions remain about the effectiveness of searches that cover only a small fraction of subway ridership. And civil liberties groups say the searches are unconstitutional under the 4th Amendment, which guards against unreasonable search and seizure. City officials say the mandate to deter terrorism represents a special need and justifies the practice.

Police authorities say they will not engage in racial profiling targeting Muslim, Arab and South Asian passengers because the searches are random. Yet that policy may be hard to enforce in practice. Eric Adams of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care told the New York Times "You can say 'no profiling,' but when you have a police department that has a history of profiling, it is going to practice what it knows."

In addition to the searches, frequent announcements in the subway and on buses urge riders to look out for suspicious behavior among other passengers, such as clenched fists, excessive sweating, or strong cologne -- all considered indicators of a suicide bomber. One such tip off on a double-decker tourist bus led to the unwarranted arrest last weekend of several Sikh passengers visiting New York from England.

We're joined by several people with differing perspectives on the legality and effectiveness of the new searches, which could extend to other major U.S. cities in the coming weeks.

* Paul Brown, spokesperson for the New York Police Department
* Fernando Ferrer, New York City mayoral candidate. He issued a statement in support of the subway searches.
* Bill Goodman, attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights.
* Charles Peña, director of defense policy studies at the Cato Institute. He co-authored an editorial opposing the searches.

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