The
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
is reported to have a number of military-grade
X-ray vans that contain
X-ray
An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...
equipment for inspecting vehicles.
Technology and functionality
They are described as being able to see into walls
and other vehicles using
Z backscatter
Backscatter X-ray is an advanced X-ray imaging technology. Traditional X-ray machines detect hard and soft materials by the variation in x-ray intensity transmitted through the target. In contrast, backscatter X-ray detects the radiation that re ...
technology.
They are estimated to cost between $729,000 and $825,000.
The NYPD has not disclosed how this technology is used as it would reveal investigation techniques, however Police Commissioner
William Bratton
William Joseph Bratton CBE (born October 6, 1947) is an American law enforcement officer and businessman who served two terms as the New York City Police Commissioner (1994–1996 and 2014–2016). He previously served as the Commissioner of th ...
states that they are not used to scan people for weapons.
According to the
New York University School of Law
New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in N ...
Policing Project, the manufacturer of the vans is
American Science and Engineering
American Science and Engineering Inc, (AS&E) is an American manufacturer of advanced X-ray equipment and related technologies, founded in 1958 by Martin Annis, PHd. Annis asked George W. Clark to join him in starting his company. Their primary wor ...
.
The product website for the van depicts a video where the van slowly drives past empty passenger cars, and in real time generates an x-ray image.
The x-ray van manufacturer found that the vans expose bystanders to a 40% larger dose of ionizing radiation than the radiation delivered by airport scanners utilizing similar technology. In airports, The European Union and United States Transportation Security Administration banned the use of this type of radiation technology citing privacy and health concerns such as cancer.
Legislative controversy
On December 18, 2019, the
NYCLU
The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) is a civil rights organization in the United States. Founded in November 1951 as the New York affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, it is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan organization with nearly ...
submitted testimony in support of Intro. 487, the
Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology (“POST”) Act. In it, the NYCLU cited the example of X-ray vans as a violation of privacy, and stated in general that, "Left unchecked, police surveillance has the potential to chill the exercise of First Amendment-protected speech and religious worship, intrude on Fourth Amendment-protected privacy rights, and cast entire communities under a cloak of suspicion in contravention of the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection."
Media coverage
In 2015
ProPublica
ProPublica (), legally Pro Publica, Inc., is a nonprofit organization based in New York City. In 2010, it became the first online news source to win a Pulitzer Prize, for a piece written by one of its journalists''The Guardian'', April 13, 2010P ...
issued an Article 78 proceeding in order to have the NYPD respond to
FOIL request
Freedom of information in the United States results from freedom of information legislation at the federal level and in the fifty states.
Federal level
The federal government is bound by several laws intended to promote openness in government. ...
s
to give further information about the usage and health risks of the x-ray technology. Although initially the lower court granted the request, the NYPD issued an appeal and the lower court ruling was overturned.
The NYPD has refused to release details of the uses and operation of these vans.
The
New York Civil Liberties Union
The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) is a civil rights organization in the United States. Founded in November 1951 as the New York affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, it is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan organization with nea ...
have filed an ''amici curiae'' brief in support of a legal action by the journalist Michael Grabell, who is attempting to obtain more information about these vehicles.
[
The NYU Policing project asserts that exposure to the levels of Ionizing radiation that are used in these vans is linked to increased rates of cancer.]
See also
* Backscatter X-ray
Backscatter X-ray is an advanced X-ray imaging technology. Traditional X-ray machines detect hard and soft materials by the variation in x-ray intensity transmitted through the target. In contrast, backscatter X-ray detects the radiation that ...
* Police surveillance in New York City
References
External links
American Science and Engineering product website for X-Ray Van
Police vehicles
Surveillance
Radiography
New York City Police Department
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