I saw something and I said something
How many times have we seen and heard the writing “If you see something, say something”. Well, I recently saw something and said something, but nothing has been done. Here is the story. I went to the Metropolitan Opera last Saturday evening to see one of my favorite operas, “Don Giovanni”. When I arrived at my seat, I saw a very large backpack on the seat next to me. No one was in the seat. Only the backpack was there. I waited for a few minutes but no one showed up.
Imagine if it happened at an airport: unattended luggage would immediately suspect suspicion. Experience has shown that more human electronic perception is the best protection. This is why we are told to say something if our eyes see something suspect. The hypothesis is that the vast majority of suspect articles will prove harmless, but why take risks with our security.
So I said something. I politely asked a bailiff to alert security. For 15 minutes, no one showed up. The seat remained empty because the time of performance got closer and I became more nervous about the without monitoring backpack. Of course, the owner probably left him on the seat and went to the toilet or for a drink. But over time, I was worried about the improbable possibility that a terrorist could have placed the luggage, then left. Probably not, but it has happened in the past.
A few minutes later, the Met sent a young man who apparently looked at the article from a distance and said nothing. He did not even identify. There was still no one in the seat.
The Usher then asked me if I was convinced that there was no problem because a security person had observed the backpack. I told him that no one even told me even if I was sitting right next to the article. She told me that she would contact a safety supervisor.
Finally, a superior security person has arrived and told me that the MET policy was to allow all packages to stay on seats even in the absence of anyone in the seat. He told me that the backpack, like all the items, had been subject to a routine control when the seat support entered the corridor.
I replied that this was not enough: all airport plans and luggage are also verified, much more in -depth than the jet and the surface promenade at the MET. But even in an airport, if the luggage that has undergone security are seen without a person who accompanies it, suspicion is raised. This is when we are supposed to say something. Just to be absolutely sure.
The security money has reiterated who encountered politics as allowing unattended packages to stay on seats, even if the program begins! I told him that if the seat holder did not show up at the time of the curtain, I will leave. But that would not eliminate the potential dangers for others.
The security manager then asked me for my name, which he duly noted with an aggravated look.
Fortunately, the seat support finally arrived a few minutes before the start of the opera. His presence assured me that we were safe.
My wife thinks I reacted excessively and she is probably right. The probability of danger was extremely low. But we have been informed several times by government agencies to say something even when we see something suspect but almost certainly innocent.
Better to cure is a cliché, but it represents a priority which prefers many false positives (inspecting plots that are revealed do not contain anything dangerous) on the risk of the same a false negative (not looking for a package which turns out to contain explosives).
I have just published a book entitled “The preventive state: the challenge of preventing serious damage while preserving essential freedoms”. His thesis is that preventive actions, such as the inspection of suspicious packages must be balanced against intrusive violations of privacy.
It is never an easy -to -find balance, but each company must decide to strike it in favor of security or privacy. My MET experience was a small example of this challenge. I decided to find the balance in favor of alerting it the security of a possible and improbable danger. The MET decided to hit him in favor of doing nothing. It turned out that there was no danger – in this case.
But I will continue to say something whenever I see something suspect, even if I now have a “record” for being too acquired pain!
Dershowitz is professor emeritus at the Harvard Law School and author of many books.
