Boston Police did a good job.

Thermal-imaging devices have been used to watch the second suspect in this week’s Boston Marathon bombings as he was holed up in his last hiding place, the boat.

Authorities said a helicopter equipped with a thermal imager (FLIR — a forward-looking infrared device —) spotted the heat signature of a person inside a tarp-covered boat, sitting in a backyard in Watertown, Mass.

After an area resident reported seeing a trail of blood leading to the boat, Boston Police gave instructions to the helicopter who used the sensor.

The thermal readings confirmed that there was indeed someone under the tarp, and that the person was still alive.  After that the helicopter´s termal equippment followed up the heat signature of the individual, even though he was underneath of what appeared to be the ‘shrink wrap’ or cover on the boat itself.

From that point on, the helicopter was able to direct the tactical teams over to that area.

After monitoring the body in the boat for more than an hour, police moved in and took the wounded bombing suspect, 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, into custody.

The FLIR (Forward-Looking Infra-Red) system detects the Infra-red signatures of high heat sources, associated with the metal-hydride lights used in large grow operations.

A similar helicopter to this monitored the suspect by using thermal equipment , during the standoff in Boston

The technology is not new. The military has used it for years on the battlefield. Law enforcement has adopted the device only recently, using it in search and rescue operations, fugitive apprehensions, and along the border to detect drug smugglers and illegal border crossings. Moreover, thermal imagers have been particularly helpful, albeit controversial, in the detection of indoor marijuana-growing operations.

Police will fly at an altitude between 1,200 and 1,500 feet in a helicopter fitted with FLIR. The thermal image of a structure will show the walls and other areas as bright white, indicating significant heat was escaping. This is than determined by the FLIR operator as being consistent with that of a structure being used for an indoor marijuana-growing operation.

The Americas Post - Software from Hitachi Hokusai can scan 36 million biometric faces per second and find target almost instantly.

New Big Brother story. A new CCTV camera technology from Hitachi Hokusai Electric can scan days of archived camera footage instantly, and find any face which has ever walked past it. The camera ‘processes’ faces as it records, so that all faces which pass in front of it are recorded and stored instantly as a searchable biometric record. The software can scan through days of CCTV footage almost instantly.

Hitachi boast that it can scan 35 million faces per second.  Having this technology, if a government has your passport photo or your Facebook photo, they can find you instantly.

When the police – or anyone else – want to search for a particular individual, they’re searching through a gallery of pre-indexed faces, rather than a old fashioned library of photos.

This system is suitable not only for security organizations,  airports , railways, power companies, law enforcement, large stores, etc.., but also for individuals who want to find somebody in the crowd, to find wanted criminals, kidnappers, .  The company aims to make the system available within the next tax year, according to a report in DigInfo.

The system does have some  limitations – it scan faces that are in front of the CCTV camera, and faces have to be at least 40×40 pixels in size to be indexed by the system.

Welcome to San Pedro Sula international airport

Honduran authorities believe that Friday’s massacre of six people at San Pedro Sula’s international airport was the result of a turf war between organized criminal gangs.

“This was a battle between two delinquent factions”, said Security Secretary Pompeyo Bonilla.  He denied that it had anything to do with the recent deaths of nine prisoners in San Pedro Sula’s central prison, but said that investigations are ongoing.

After the ambush a pickup truck, apparently stolen in the coastal town of La Ceiba at the beginning of the month and used as a getaway car, was found burned nearby.  Family members claiming the bodies indicated that they are all from La Ceiba.

Authorities said they are analyzing video from airport security cameras and will conduct a “thoroughly professional” investigation.

New business alternatives within Airport Security

The U.S. Government agency that manages airport security shifts its strategic emphasis from stopping weapons to finding people.

It’s a potential $4 billion market for private industry, based on what the Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, currently spends on aviation security.

“Businesses that are good at data analysis, behavior-pattern recognition, big data handling, data-visualization — all ought to come out ahead,” said Stewart Baker, who headed the Department of Homeland Security from 2005 through 2009.

“We could also see an increase in demand for identification tools, such as biometric and facial-recognition scanners,” he said in an interview.

Stepping up to the plate are well known publicly-traded companies such as…READ MORE HERE

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers (Photo credit to PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)

Boston’s Logan International Airport will be the testing ground of a  new technology of airport security, aimed at screening passenger behavior. The test will start next Tuesdat.

During the new development, officers of the TSA Transportation Security Administration working at the Logan Airport will train screeners on having more conversations with passengers at the security checkpoint.  The system is based after Israel’s enhanced airport screening methods.

Under the new program officers will be trained in human behaviour. They will will ask passengers non-intrusive questions and they will be trained to see how passengers respond. Those travelers who exhibit suspicious behavior will be pulled aside for more screening. Examples of suspicious behaviour could be struggling with answers and avoiding eye contact.

The offciers of the Logan Airport will receive advanced training, in theory and practice, in both classrooms and on-the-job experience , designed to improve their communication skilss and engage in conversations with passengers having as objective to identify suspicious behavior and anomalies.

The traveler will not feel the conversation like it was a sort of interrogation, but more of a  ‘casual greeting’ conversation with a behavior detection officer after they provide their ID and boarding pass.  If his/her act is suspicious, the passenger may get selected for an extended, but still limited conversation.

In the first phase, around 60 TSA officers are scheduled to take part in the training.

Logan will be the first airport in the U.S. to roll out the pilot program, which is targeted to officially begin in mid-August. After a certain period, TSA will evaluate how this pilot program impacts security, screening operations and passenger flow.

The results will determine how the TSA will proceed with the program.

Homeland Security developing cyber system to identify terrorists intentions. In Minority Report, Chief John Anderton (Tom Cruise) prevented crimes by seeing into the future - with a little help from precog Agatha (Samantha Morton). Photo Credit 20TH CENTURY FOX / DREAMWORKS / THE KOBAL COLLECTION

Future Attribute Screening Technology (FAST), a US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) programme designed to spot people who are intending to commit a terrorist act, has in the past few months completed its first round of field tests at an undisclosed location in the northeast, the online magazine Nature has learned.

Like a lie detector, FAST measures a variety of physiological indicators, ranging from heart rate to the steadiness of a person’s gaze, to judge a subject’s state of mind. But there are major differences from the polygraph. FAST relies on non-contact sensors, so it can measure..READ MORE HERE

This file combination of images taken on October 13, 2009 shows an airport staff member (L) demonstrating a full body scan at Manchester Airport in Manchester, north-west England, and a computer screen showing the results of a full body scan (R). New York full body scanners will start in the next month. AFP PHOTO / FILES / PAUL ELLIS (Photo credit should read PAUL ELLIS/AFP/Getty Images)

Full-body scanners will land at New York-area airports as soon as next month.

The high-powered machines – which produce virtually naked images of airline passengers going through security – are the latest pricey tools brought in to detect explosives or non-metal weapon under layers of clothing.

The advanced-imaging technology scanners transmit low-level X-ray beams to produce an anatomically correct image of the body that’s viewed by a security officer in a private room.

“As soon as they evaluate the image, they hit delete,” said Ann Davis, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration. “Facial features are completely blurred so the person cannot be identified.”

Carrying individual price tags of up to $170,000, the machines will eventually be rolled out at 450 airports. There are now 165 units in use at 44 airports, with the machines set to appear at Newark Liberty Airport in September and at LaGuardia and JFK airports before the end of the year.

Critics say that the scanners go too far, and the Electronic Privacy Information Center last month sued the Department of Homeland Security in federal court, charging that the units amount to a “physically invasive strip-search.”

And some travellers agreed yesterday. “It’s too intrusive,” said Heather Clark, 24, of Fort Lauderdale, who was traveling at LaGuardia. “We have a right to privacy – that’s intrusive.”

Passengers can also choose to go through metal detectors or get pat-downs if they pass on the full-body scanners, which are not supposed to store any images.

“It’s personal,” said Lisa Weir, 42, a traveler from Georgia who said she would prefer a pat-down from a female officer. “It feels like they’re looking at you naked, which is totally inappropriate.”

But the new machines also found plenty of support among travelers at LaGuardia.

“As long as it’s safe and they erase it, I’m for it,” said Edwin Velez, 48, of the upper East Side. “The security’s gotta be most important. Without that security – forget it.”

The new scanners already caused a stir in May during testing at Miami International Airport when a security screener was arrested for allegedly beating…READ MORE HERE.

Business people with luggage waiting in line at airport terminal. Juice images.

A company vying to sell airport shoe scanners has finished its “trial” at Indianapolis International, collecting results from 3,000 travelers who volunteered to try its machine in the lobby.

Morpho Detection says its data-collection experiment, which ended in late July, showed its scanner can process more than 300 customers an hour. Travelers still had to remove their shoes at the airport’s security checkpoints.

Morpho says it’ll use the data to fine-tune machines and submit it to the Transportation Security Administration.

TSA wants to revive the idea of allowing travelers to keep their shoes on at checkpoints and has announced its plans to buy 100 shoe scanners by next year. About a dozen companies hope to bid for the business.

• In the event of a disturbance of any kind, go in the opposite direction.  DO NOT GET INVOLVED!
• Plan to check in early for your flight to avoid long lines at the ticket counter.
• Go directly to the gate or secure area after checking your luggage.  (Secure Zone – Area between security/immigration and the departure gate.)  Avoid waiting rooms and shopping areas outside the secure areas.
• Stay away from glass wall areas and airport coffee shops which are open to the concourse or public waiting areas.
• From the time you pack your luggage until you check it with the carrier at the airport maintain positive control of all items, both hand carried and checked.
• At many airports security personnel, following FAA protocol, will ask you questions about control of your luggage.  Know what items you are carrying and be able to describe any/all electrical items.
• When going through the pre-board screening process cooperate with security personnel and remember that they are there to help ensure that your travel is safe.
• When arriving at or departing from an airport it is a good idea not to be exchanging items between bags while waiting in line for security screening or immigration/customs processing.  Complete all packing before entering such areas.
• If a conflict should arise while undergoing the screening process, cooperate.  Obtain the names of the screeners involved, and then discuss the matter with a supervisor from the appropriate air carrier.
• Remember that x-ray will not damage film, videos or computer equipment.  Many times such items can be cleared using x-ray which means that they will not have to be handled by the screener.
• Consider being transported to/from the airport by a hotel vehicle.  Generally the cost is not prohibitive, and arrangements can be made in advance by your travel agent.
• Declare all currency and negotiable instruments as required by law.
• NEVER leave your luggage or briefcase unattended, even while checking in or once in the secure zone.  In some countries, the police or security forces assume that an unattended bag is a bomb, and your luggage could be forcefully opened or even destroyed.
• Always be aware of where you are in conjunction with where you are going.  If an incident occurs, you need to know how to avoid it and either get out of the area or to your boarding area.
• Dress casually when traveling, as this will keep any undue attention from you.  Once aboard the flight, remove your shoes for better circulation.   Walk around the flight cabin to keep your blood circulating and swelling down.
• Avoid last minute dashes to the airport.
• Eat moderately, avoid alcoholic beverages and drink plenty of water as this will help to avoid dehydration.
• If possible, before you leave make an effort to adjust your sleep patterns.
• Sleep as much as possible during the flight.
• Carry airsickness medication with you.  Even the best traveler sometimes experiences airsickness.
• Avoid a demanding schedule upon arrival.  Give yourself a chance to adjust to your surroundings.