BDOs coming to Amtrak

gprimr1 wrote:BDO=Behavior Detection Officer.

These are usually plain clothed, non= nondescript people who patrol looking for people behaving suspiciously.

These actually can be a very effective form of security.

Can be? Maybe, though there's no evidence. May Ne'er do wells are cool as a cucumber as they blow themselves up.

More likely, THIS is what you get - a massive waste of money.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/0 ... eener.html

An unfortunate abuse of power indeed. I suppose that is the danger with any security, or anything really, easily abuse-able.

The problem with this lies in the fact that it makes no sense at all to secure "above the rails" from whatever it is these guys are supposed to be looking for, when there's umpteen-thousand miles of track where all they'd have to do is park a cement truck on the ROW and get the same effect.

So what you get are people and procedures that add little, if ANYTHING, to genuine security, and yet are rife for abuse as cited above.

Money should be spent finding, and stopping these guys, BEFORE they get to that point. And the money well isn't bottomless.