New York police get hi-tech dirty bomb detectors

Thousands of additional law enforcement officers within 50 miles of New York City will have access to radiation detectors for dirty bombs and nuclear devices.
The detectors, used by New York officers for several years, are cell phone-sized devices that officers wear on their belts and are aimed at detecting a dirty bomb assembled outside New York and smuggled in.
A dirty bomb, which combines conventional explosives, such as dynamite, with radioactive material, could have a devastating impact, especially in metropolitan areas.
Nearly eight years after the September 11 attacks in 2001, New York remains the top target for groups like al-Qaeda planning attacks on the US, police and lawmakers said, and the possibility of a radiological attack on a public transport system remained high.
Police spokesman Paul Browne said thousands of law enforcement officers would be using the devices in areas surrounding New York City, including state police and sheriff`s departments in neighbouring states New Jersey and Connecticut.
“The increase in officers and equipment was being funded by a federal programme called ‘Securing the Cities’ that had been allocated $54 million in the past three years,” said Mr Browne.
“Small-scale nuclear devices are harder to make so a dirty bomb would more likely be the weapon of choice for militant groups.”
“We know that terrorists come here and we know that they are surveying here,” said Captain Michael Riggio of the New York Police Department (NYPD) counter-terrorism division.
“The belt devices, which buzz when they detect radiation, are the first line of defence against a possible dirty bomb or a small-scale nuclear device.”
Police hope the small detectors will soon be equipped with Bluetooth technology and synchronised with a police command centre that will instantaneously trace on a map the exact location of radiological material and snap a picture of the offending vehicle or person.
The use of larger radiation detection devices present in NYPD cars, boats and helicopters, and at subway, bridge and car tunnel entrances, is also being expanded.
“We still don`t have an adequate strategy of detecting nuclear material,” said New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.
“Inadequate security at the country’s ports, where radioactive materials could be smuggled in through large cargo containers, must be addressed.”