E-mail pagers used at Logan Airport to check criminal records

Computerworld - The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) has equipped state police troopers at Boston's Logan International Airport with 10 BlackBerry wireless e-mail pagers that allow them to easily check passengers randomly selected for interviews against criminal records in the FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database.

Thomas J. Kinton Jr., acting executive director for Massport, said in a statement that the BlackBerry devices, manufactured by Research In Motion Ltd. in Waterloo, Ontario, allow troopers to "check immediately if an individual is wanted by law enforcement. This gives our agents an added tool as they conduct one-on-one interviews and strengthens our multilayered security system at Logan."

The state troopers using the BlackBerriy devices in the two-month test have concentrated their patrols in the airport terminals, parking facilities and the taxi pool, Kinton said. Individuals and cars are selected randomly as troopers patrol the airport.

A trooper can use the handheld device, which includes a standard QWERTY keyboard, to type in an individual's name and address. He then uses the pager to check the individual against the NCIC database, which contains information on outstanding warrants, previous felonies or stolen vehicles. The device eliminates the need for the trooper to call a dispatcher over a voice radio and then have the dispatcher type the information into a terminal that can access the NCIC database.

If the pilot program, which will conclude at the end of this month, proves successful, Massport said it will consider expanding the system to tap into other databases, including state records and federal watch lists.

Aether Systems Inc. in Owings Mill, Md., loaned the 10 e-mail pagers used in the Logan pilot program. David Grip, marketing director for Aether's mobile government group, said the pagers at Logan run the company's PocketBlue software, which is designed for public safety use.

Aether charges $89 per month for the PocketBlue software, which includes built-in encryption algorithms for security as well as airtime over a dedicated wireless data network operated by Cingular Wireless Inc. in Atlanta. Public safety agencies usually need to buy the BlackBerry hardware, which starts at $350, but Aether is running a promotion through March that includes free hardware, much like cellular carriers give away phones to customers who sign up for a specified period of time, Grip said.

Grip said Aether expects the PocketBlue pilot at Logan will lead to a follow-on contract but added that nothing has been signed yet.

Two of the aircraft involved in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks were hijacked from Logan. Since then, Massport has workedto beef up its security with tests of a number of high-tech systems, including facial recognition technology and automated document-matching systems (see story).



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