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NYPD Secret X-Ray Vans Scan New Yorkers’ Cars and Homes

© AP Photo / MARY GODLESKIThe NYPD will soon be forced to reveal information regarding its use of X-ray vans like the "Z Backscatter."
The NYPD will soon be forced to reveal information regarding its use of X-ray vans like the Z Backscatter. - Sputnik International
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An unmarked white van parked along the street is a sight rarely associated with trust. But the NYPD has been using them for years to transport X-ray bomb sniffing machines. And they’ve refused to talk about it until now.

After a nearly three-year battle with online news site ProPublica, a state judge has ordered the NYPD to release police reports and any training materials regarding its enigmatic X-ray program.

The NYPD also has to release the results of any health and safety tests done on the vans, which ProPublica requested under the Freedom of Information Law as part of an investigation into the increase of radiation-emitting security systems.

© Flickr / Sean MacEnteeThe NYPD will release records of their X-ray van program.
The NYPD will release records of their X-ray van program. - Sputnik International
The NYPD will release records of their X-ray van program.

While the NYPD argued that disclosure of the information would “permit those seeking to evade detection to conform their conduct to the times,” Supreme Court Judge Doris Ling-Cohan said that “the hallmark of our great nation is that it is a democracy, with transparent government.”

Invasive Security

Two years ago, the Transportation Security Administration announced that it would stop using the controversial “nude” airport scanners, which produced a revealing image of travelers in order to scan for contraband.

Many found this not only embarrassing, but a violation of privacy. Few people are willing to post nude photos for a weekend flight to Topeka.

But many experts also thought the machines posed safety concerns, emitting low levels of radiation, which at higher doses can lead to cancer.

© AP Photo / BRIAN BRANCH-PRICEThese X-ray body scanners, used by the TSA, were replaced with a safe, less invasive machine.
These X-ray body scanners, used by the TSA, were replaced with a safe, less invasive machine. - Sputnik International
These X-ray body scanners, used by the TSA, were replaced with a safe, less invasive machine.

Known as “backscatters,” these X-ray body scanners were replaced with a safer, less invasive machine.

Far from gone, backscatter technology essentially moved out of the airport and into a van parked outside.

Originally used by the military to sweep for roadside bombs, X-ray vans were nicknamed “white devils” by U.S. soldiers. The vans found their way stateside and have been used by law enforcement and border patrol agencies.

Ranging somewhere between $729,000 and $825,000 apiece,  the X-ray vans scan through cars and buildings to find traces of organic material inside. Explosives are given away by their organic materials, as are drugs. The X-rays can run while the van is parked, or while cruising at slow speeds.

The “White Devil” is in the Details

While the vans may have their benefits as counterterror tools, the idea of secret radiation machines trolling the streets of major cities worries some.

“It’s not that the radiation from these machines is very high,” says Peter Rez, an Arizona State University physicist. “It’s ‘does the benefit outweigh the risk?’”

The National Academy of Sciences has stated that even small amounts of radiation exposure can increase the risk of cancer after cumulative exposure.

If the van’s use in the past is any indication, public exposure could be frequent, indeed.

The FBI is defending its use of controversial “stingrays” surveillance technology. - Sputnik International
FBI Claims No Warrants Needed for Stingray Surveillance

A book written by two ABC News reporters detailed the security apparatus surrounding the 2004 Republican convention. According to the book, “Bomb Squad,” every car traveling down the street in front of the convention center was forced to drive between two X-ray vans, giving drivers a double-dose of the radiation.

The X-ray vans are also exempt from any regulation by the Food and Drug Administration, leaving public health decisions concerning the equipment up to police departments.

“The information contained in the records requested from the NYPD will allow the public to assess the potential health, cost, and privacy concerns raised by the NYPD’s use of this vehicle,” ProPublica told the court.

While the NYPD plans to appeal the judge’s order to release the documents, for now, at least, the court has ruled in favor of transparency.

Though not the kind that looks at your underwear.

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