Anti-drug measure could make airport scans even more 'intimate'

Those of you who are still steaming over the introduction of remote body scan security at airports should be forewarned; this story may send you into a full boil.

Authorities in Australia are considering the use of a new body scan technology that would allow officers to see into the body cavities of those they suspect of smuggling drugs.

The machines would allow an officer to see directly into the body cavity of a suspect, rather than wait for a doctor's x-ray.

According to the Herald Sun in Australia, the machines would be part of an effort to recoup the 4600 hours police lose each year during the process of transporting suspects and waiting for results.

There would be some limits on the proposal, such as data destruction rules and consent from the individual before a search can take place. The searches would also potentially save lives. Every year so-called 'drug mules' die when containers burst and the drugs get absorbed into the victim's body.

However, the report also notes that of the 200 people Australian police took in for the searches last year, 50 were found to actually be smuggling drugs. That seems to be a lot of innocent people who would be forced to undergo a rather personal form of body scanning.

Perhaps this sort of situation became inevitable once we started running heavy security screening programs, and in reality it's not much worse than the current body scan systems, but there just seems to be something extra creepy about a machine that can peer into your nooks and crannies.

On the other hand, there are far less comfortable ways of searching that one can think of. Certainly the mechanical hum of a scanning machine is more soothing than the snap of a latex glove.

24 Feb 2011