Return to Article: Detectors at sea, new monitor technology eyed in bid to foil nuclear smuggling
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Instead of listening only to the so-called private sector "experts" and "think tankers", Congress should talk to the people who have made the safety and security of our borders their career, namely, Customs inspectors and special agents (now in CBP and ICE). They know what is needed to do the job right. Otherwise, this amounts to little more than a spending frenzy, in which vast numbers of contractors fight over billions of Homeland Security dollars.
I'm not against technology per se, but it should be remembered that it represents only one of the many tools that are used to search for contraband. There is NO substitute for human brains and experience. In over 25 years of service, I have yet to see a machine (computer, X-ray or image scanner, radiation detector, etc.) make a seizure or an arrest by itself. They can help to narrow the scope of the search, but in the end, there is no substitute for "boots on the ground", to use a military analogy. In addition, technology is far from foolproof, and is prone to mechanical failure and errors. The same can also be said for other tools, such as narcotics and explosive detector dogs.
Somebody still has to go in and search the containers, regardless of what technology is available. There has never been, and never will be, a substitute for well-trained, experienced, and motivated PROFESSONAL personnel!
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