The so-called ‘BusSafe’ program, a joint initiative by the TSA Visual Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR ) and three different local and county-level police departments, was launched on Friday in Houston and is expected to be implemented in other metropolitan cities, the Guardian reported.
Following the implementation of the plan, which is not in response to any specific threat, bus passengers in the city reportedly faced random bag checks and sweeps by drug-sniffing and bomb-sniffing dogs.
It is not the first time the TSA is involved in what is widely considered as a violation of US citizens’ rights.
Ever since 2010, the TSA has instituted body-revealing scanners and enhanced pat-down techniques at airports across the country.
About 1,000 full body scanners were expected to be in place in the US airports by the end of 2011.
The new airport security measures include the use of X-ray scanners that take a graphic image of a person’s naked body. Those passengers who refuse to pass through the scanner must undergo a full-body search.
Some travelers argue that the scanners are too revealing while those who have been frisked by the TSA agents say they feel violated after the search.
However, the US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has repeatedly announced that full-body scanning and invasive pat-downs at airports will stay in force despite mounting criticism over the measures.
TNP/HJL/IS
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