Bomb scare
Every time we enter an establishment or a parking lot of a mall or a building, we are frisked or requested by the security personnel to open the trunk of our car for inspection, but do they really know what they are looking for? Were they really trained to identify what a bomb looks like or is it just an act routinely done to make it seem that they have followed an order? In malls, why don’t they just use metal detectors instead of frisking everyone who enters? What’s worse is they still frisk you even if they have those damn contraptions with them. I feel violated every time I enter a mall.
What happened the other day is a result of the inefficiency of those so called security personnel and the management of these establishments. The technology is there at their disposal. Why don’t they use it instead of frisking which all it really does is violate and humiliate the legitimate visitor? They invest in expensive bomb sniffing dogs, why don’t they use them to inspect the trunks instead of literally just looking inside. If you ask me, I would feel safer if a 500-thousand-peso well-trained bomb sniffing dog inspects the trunk of my car rather than a clueless security guard.
I hear you. One of my friends trains those dogs for a living. According to him one dog can smell c4 (supposedly the base material of the bomb in glorietta) from 50 yards away. What more if it was right next to the car. Those dogs aren’t being used properly, and it strikes me as mainly a “for show” kind of thing. Then again, who’s to say those are truly bomb detection dogs?
You are absolutely right Speedy and the same issues can be raised in the security check going to the airport — NAIA and Centennial Terminal. The security guards always go through the motions of taking a peep inside the car and the boot and I always say to myself that someone carrying a bomb or ammunition would know better than to put these inside the car. They would stash them elsewhere in the car. Sometimes the guards are just busy texting which tells us that the security check is just a sham, to show compliance to some superior but not really meant to ensure our safety.
I so agree with you, Speedy. SM Baguio, which has many entrances, with restaurants on the outer rim, subjects a person to frisking and bag search (as if!) everytime.
In fact, for a time, they went one step further: cigarettes were to be left with the guard when watching a movie because, as they so idiotically explained. ’smoking was not allowed inside!’ Can you imagine then the argument that ensued! Not only do they violate you by frisking you at every turn, they insult your intelligence, too!
And guess, what, with such pithy and ineffective security measures, I actually feel unsafe when I am in the mall!
Amazing article.
I know you’ll link to our diary..
Bye