Edmonton public transit riders first to test counterterrorism technology

Edmonton public transit riders will be the first in North America to test out a new counterterrorism technology that uses a ticket-validation machine to scan passengers for explosives.

As chronicled in the Edmonton Journal, Churchill light rail station will be outfitted this spring with radiological and explosives detection sensors designed to "sniff out" potential terrorist threats.

The technology works by reading colour changes on each ticket's molecularly-imprinted polymer coatings whenever the sensors pick up the presence of a "dangerous substance."

"Basically a passenger puts a ticket in a validator, the technology quickly scans the ticket for explosive materials, then returns the ticket to the passenger," said Walt Bonneau Jr., president and general manager of Cubic Security Systems, the San Diego-based company involved in creating the technology.

"At the same time another detector in the vendor is on the lookout for radioactive materials being carried on the passenger's person. These two technologies will work in unison to provide threat detection and response," he added.

Cubic Security Systems will work with Ontario-based Mobile Detect to install the sensors.

Once a flagged substance is detected, the system sets off a silent alarm that triggers video surveillance of the suspect.

Officers, receiving an immediate alert on smart phones and computers, can then follow any suspicious passengers on camera and stop any trains from pulling into the station.

Sensors set up at entrances and exits will also scan for radiation on everyone passing through the station's doors.

While the detection technology is advanced, it ultimately depends on the honour system, as the scanners will not be able to screen the tickets of fare jumpers.

But Edmonton Transit Service's head of security, Ron Gabruck, is counting on would-be terrorists to follow the rules — at least initially.

"Let's just say people intent on committing an act will follow all rules and regulations so they're not detected," he told the Globe and Mail, adding that filters will be able to distinguish between passengers who have undergone cancer treatment and those carrying illegal radioactive material.

The federal government has ponied up $1.78 million toward the $2.54-million project, which it paid for through the Canadian Chemical, Biological Radiological-Nuclear and Explosives Research and Technology Initiative — a program of Defence Research and Development Canada.

"We all hope that Canada will never have to face a terrorist threat," Danya Vidosa, a spokeswoman with Defence Research and Development Canada, told the paper.

"But in the unlikely event that it does, projects like this contribute to developing the tools and knowledge that we need to be better prepared to respond quickly and effectively."

Although Edmonton has never suggested itself as a hotbed of terrorist activity, Clarke said they chose to run their three-week pilot project in Edmonton because it leads the country in public safety projects.