Airport Scanner Staff object to vetting

John Ozimek
The Register
Friday, January 22nd, 2010

Security staff at Heathrow airport are reportedly furious at the suggestion that any of them would ever use pics taken from the new body scanners for lewd or lascivious purposes.

Their reaction was reported last week in Skyport, a newspaper that carries news and features for those working at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports.

Following the failure of the Christmas Day “pants bomber” plot, the government announced plans to introduce full body scanners in airports across the UK. Critics hit back by warning that staff could use the scanners to collect images of children – or naked adults.

One security guard interviewed by Skyport told the paper: “The idea that we are going to get kicks out of seeing a blurry grey image of people’s bodies is frankly offensive.

“Its about as sensible as saying the act of patting down a passenger is perverted. We are here to do a job. We have bombs and knives on our minds and that’s it.”

El Reg did try to obtain a slightly more official response on this thorny issue, as it does appear that neither staff nor unions involved in this affair appear quite to “get it”.

Full article here

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