Spotters To Report On Terrorism
Monday 26th March, 2007 17:36 Comments: 0
Police have enlisted the help of plane spotters to safeguard Bristol Airport from criminal and terrorist activity. Mr Ware, who is in charge of the airport's police team, said enthusiasts have been told what action they should take in response should they spot suspicious activity.
Is it just me, or does that sound stupid and a complete waste of time? If I were a terrorist (and I'm obviously not), I'm pretty sure that I'm not going to do anything dodgy while I'm at an airport. It's not like I can reasonably jump over a fence and/or steal a plane. It's not like I'm going to start mixing all my liquids in a cup as I board the plane. It's not like I'm going look shifty and carry a big bag with the word BOMB on the side. If I were a terrorist that intended on hijacking a plane, I would do my best to act naturally until the plane had taken off and was well away from the airport. And then I'd mix my explosives/break into the cockpit/whatever other cunning plan a terrorist might think of. The last thing I'm going to do is give the game away while I'm still in the vicinity of the airport and all those police officers with their guns.
Of course, detecting other criminal activities might be more reasonable, but you'd think there were enough safeguards and security in place that there wouldn't be any benefit from using volunteers.
Is it just me, or does that sound stupid and a complete waste of time? If I were a terrorist (and I'm obviously not), I'm pretty sure that I'm not going to do anything dodgy while I'm at an airport. It's not like I can reasonably jump over a fence and/or steal a plane. It's not like I'm going to start mixing all my liquids in a cup as I board the plane. It's not like I'm going look shifty and carry a big bag with the word BOMB on the side. If I were a terrorist that intended on hijacking a plane, I would do my best to act naturally until the plane had taken off and was well away from the airport. And then I'd mix my explosives/break into the cockpit/whatever other cunning plan a terrorist might think of. The last thing I'm going to do is give the game away while I'm still in the vicinity of the airport and all those police officers with their guns.
Of course, detecting other criminal activities might be more reasonable, but you'd think there were enough safeguards and security in place that there wouldn't be any benefit from using volunteers.