D.C. Metro To Start Random Bag Searches

The program is based on similar efforts in Boston and New York, where there have been viewed favorably by the public, according to Metro Transit Police Department Chief Michael Taborn.

"It is the unpredictability, the randomness of this activity at a variety of different stations and the whole purpose is to throw off the bad guy if he or she has any intent of doing anything to harm the employees or the patrons of that particular transit system," he said.

The inspections have been in the works for years, and are not a response to any particular threat, Taborn said. However, in recent months various threats to the system have come to light. One man was accused of casing stations in what he thought was an al-Qaida plot to bomb and kill commuters and another man is charged with threatening on Facebook to detonate pipe bombs in the subway system.

Metro and Transportation Security Administration officers will swab randomly selected bags or packages and test for hazardous materials, Taborn said. Items generally won't have to be opened for inspection unless the equipment suggests a need for a closer look. If hazardous materials are detected, explosives detection dogs will be brought in, he said.

Riders who refuse to submit their carry-on items for inspection will be prohibited from bringing those items into the station. Checkpoints will be located before turnstiles so riders who don't want their property to be searched can choose not to enter.

The inspections will not cost Metro anything since the transit agency already owns the machines used to test for hazardous materials and a 20-member anti-terror team that will lead the inspections, Taborn said. However, others have been trained to use the equipment if there is a need for checkpoints at multiple locations.

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