- Nightclubbers could be subjected to mobile X-ray scanners
that see through their clothes in police raids on drug-dealer havens.
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- The X-ray machine shows the body with blurry detail of
the anatomy and anything concealed beneath clothing.
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- Police in Britain said the images were "very graphic"
but hailed their use as a fantastic success.
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- Victoria Police are monitoring the device, which has
been used to arrest dealers and armed thugs at London clubs.
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- Low radiation X-rays penetrate a quarter of a centimetre
into the suspect's skin. It can reveal drugs, knives, guns and explosives
under clothing.
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- In about six seconds the scanner produces a 360 degree
image of the body without clothing.
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- Suspects' bodies show up as a light colour on a monitor
while foreign objects are dark.
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- A raid in London this week lead to more than 30 arrests
for cannabis possession, carrying a knife and handling of stolen goods.
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- Suspects were reportedly given the option of a strip
search or using the X-ray, with most choosing the machine.
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- The scanner is believed to be in use around the world
in airports, court buildings, prisons and government buildings.
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- British police claim the radiation from the machine is
1500 times weaker than a medical X-ray.
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- The machine, which is transported on a large truck, is
worth more than $300,000 and weighs about half a tonne.
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- A Victoria Police spokeswoman said police were monitoring
use of the new device.
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- "We will be watching and seeing how other agencies
use it," she said.
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- But the president of Liberty Victoria, Greg Connellan,
said the group would strongly oppose the machine's use.
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- "This is very much similar to a strip search,"
he said. "This is intrusive and strips away someone's dignity . .
. it is a shift towards searching people at will."
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- Mr Connellan said he was also concerned about the potential
health implications of exposing people to radiation.
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- "We have seen in Victoria the widespread searching
of people," he said.
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- "This is not appropriate -- no more appropriate
than what they did at Tasty nightclub -- just because you are going to
use a machine."
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- Patrons were strip searched in a raid on Tasty Nightclub,
in Flinders Lane, almost a decade ago.
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- The raid cost the police more than $6 million in payouts
and led to disciplinary action.
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- © Herald and Weekly Times http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,9272692%255E11869,00.html
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