Bostonist is no security expert and we don’t really know any either. We are a bit suspicious of a couple of new initiatives that we think may either jeopardize our civil rights or safety. As we reported earlier this week the legislature was considering a bill (it has since passed the House) that may open the door to some fourth amendment concerns. Today we get word that Massport will be expanding their “register traveler” program. They have been running some trials of the program for several months in the American Airlines terminal. Trials subjecting about 1,800 frequent fliers to the same metal detector checks and carry-on x-ray scans but with decidedly shorter security lines. With the flash of a boarding pass, fingerprint or iris scan, and swipe of the registered traveler card people can proceed to their gate without the random pat downs and secondary checks that often delay the rest of us. Coming advances in the registered traveler program may mean that passengers won’t have to take their shoes off. The benifits of the program aren't immediately apparent, though we can imagine some problems coming from the change. Problems in addition to the case of the missing ring.

Paying a yearly fee of $80 to go through a shorter line seems like pretty small price to pay. Perhaps too small. With the additional cost of an iris scanner, fingerprint scanner, and all the regular Transportation Security Administration carry-on x-rays and metal detector attendants Bostonist would imagine (with no economic analysis) that $80 isn’t covering that cost. The TSA will continue to determine who can and can not sign up for the service, in an effort to keep those pesky terrorists from taking to the skies. With their guidelines it seems that 5-year-old suspects still won’t be able to dodge the hassle. The express security lines will only be available for those who pay the fee. With no real time savings in the actual process of security screening the TSA may have to impose limits to the number of registered travelers to keep lines short, and thus “express”. The Boston Globe reports that companies will most likely pick up the fee for their busy executives jet-setting from Boston to DC. And everyone knows that lobbyists are never doing anything illegal.

Photo from Flickr user: Wayfaring Stranger