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Amber Alerts and 'Security Theater'

Security theorist Bruce Schneier talks a lot about "security theater," or security measures aimed more at convincing the public they're safe than actually protecting them. He frequently cautions that it's important not to overlook the "for show" aspect of security because security is both a reality and a feeling, and the public seeks both.However some security theater doesn't respond to public fears but inflames them and ignores more pressing safety concerns to direct security resources toward rare and unlikely events. A prime example is the so-called "Amber Alert" system aimed at finding abducted kids. According to a story in Sunday's Boston Globe ("Abducted!," July 20):In the first independent study of whether Amber Alerts work, a team led by University of Nevada criminologist Timothy Griffin looked at hundreds of abduction cases between 2003 and 2006 and found that Amber Alerts - for all their urgency and drama - actually accomplish little...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on July 21, 2008 (boomark / email).