TSA to begin using “covert surveillance” vans in three cities
Image source Shook built surveillance van:
http://www.shook-usa.com/Products_and_Services/Military_GSA/Aberdeen_Van.html
The TSA is about to roll out high-tech vehicles that will utilize secret technology to conduct “covert surveillance operations” in cities around the country.
According to a synopsis posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website (PDF), the TSA is set to purchase technology to retrofit three vans in Arlington, VA, Chicago, IL, and San Francisco, CA in order to convert them into surveillance vehicles that will “conduct covert surveillance operations in the course of investigations.”
Precisely where such covert surveillance will take place is not mentioned, although in 2010 it was revealed that US government agencies were already using roving street surveillance vans that deployed backscatter x-ray vision technology to inspect other vehicles.
The total cost of outfitting three vans with the covert surveillance technology is $160,000 dollars.
Despite their tax dollars paying for such equipment, American citizens are not privy to any detailed information on what this surveillance system will actually entail.
The TSA vehicles will be fitted with Crime Point IP Network Surveillance technology. When attempting to access details of the technology via the Crime Point website, the user is met with the message, “Due to its sensitive nature, the product content on this website is restricted to law enforcement professionals and government agencies only,” and a password is required to go any further.
Although the general public is barred from scrutinizing specific details, the company says that it provides “covert outdoor video systems” that “incorporate the latest emerging technologies.”Crime Point provides surveillance vans of its own but, like details of the surveillance systems, that information is also restricted.
The legality of the TSA conducting “covert surveillance” of Americans, whether it be at transport hubs or on highways, conflicts with the Fourth Amendment, which protects the “right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.”
Mistral is one company provides "Mobile C4ISR Platforms" or surveillance vans to police agencies and DHS http://www.infowars.com/tsa-to-roll-out-covert-surveillance-vans/
Documents reveal TSA research proposal to body-scan pedestrians, train passengers:
EPIC calls these vans "mobile strip search devices" because they give the federal government technology to look under your clothes without your permission or consent.
It's also being done without probable cause, so it's a violation of the Fourth Amendment protections that are guaranteed to Americans under the Bill of Rights.
"It's a clear violation of the fourth amendment that's very invasive, not necessarily effective, and poses all the same radiation risks as the airport scans," said EPIC attorney Ginger McCall.http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2011/03/02/docs-reveal-tsa-plan-to-body-scan-pedestrians-train-passengers/
Privacy impact assessment for the rail security pilot study phase II at PATH:http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/archivos_pdf/bodyscan_foiadocs_feb2011.pdf