Product:STAR Date:01-27-2010Desk: NEW-0003-CMYK/26-01-10/22:39:43

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ON WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2010 H TORONTO STAR H GT3

GREATER TORONTO

Airport security, Israeli-style

RAFI SELA says
our approach to
airport security isn’t
what it could be.
He proposes this
model, in use at
Israel’s airports,
as a more effective
alternative.
VINCENT TALOTTA/TORONTO STAR

How the zones of security could work

ZONE 1 ZONE 2 ZONE 3 ZONE 4
Zone 1
Contains electronic “gateways” or automatic checkpoints that cars must ELECTRONIC GATEWAY
pass through before entering the airport area.“The first thing you need to Cameras observe every
do is you have to create a controlled entrance to the airport,” says vehicle approaching the terminal
security expert Rafi Sela. Similar to the technology behind Highway 407's and check against databases
electronic toll system, passengers would pass through an electronic
gateway that would include cameras and licence plate recognition, which TERMINAL ENTRANCE
would automatically single out stolen cars and anyone with an outstand- Personnel and cameras
ing warrant. As vehicles get closer to the parking lot, sniffer dogs and observe every person
other “sniffing technology” would search for drugs and explosives. Sela entering the terminal
says vehicles would have to slow down, but not enough to create a
bottleneck. 1
Zone 2
At all airport entrances, uniformed and undercover analysts and video
cameras assess the behaviour of everyone entering the airport. “People
who come to inflict harm act differently than a benign traveller,” Sela says, 2
noting some simple clues, such as looking nervous or sweating. There are
other clues, he said, but refused to divulge them. The essence of Ben 3
Gurion’s approach to airport security is to shift the focus from luggage to
the passengers. “The people are the dangerous part of the business, not CHECK-IN KIOSK
their luggage,” he says. Some 90 per cent of all threats to the airport will Travellers’ behaviour is
have been identified by this point, Sela says. observed by automated
systems, which tip off
Zone 3 security
As passengers check in at automatic kiosks, their behaviour is further
analyzed by undercover personnel and an automated behaviour analysis 4
system built into the check-in kiosk. The kiosk will be outfitted to
automatically assess physiological and behavioural characteristics ELECTRONIC CROSS-CHECK
through biometric technology. Fingerprinting, face and iris recognition, Identity, boarding and baggage
typing rhythm and voice intonation will be analyzed. Passengers can be information cross-checked
pulled aside for secondary screening if they show signs of distress or digitally before plane boarded
other suspicious behaviour. “After that, I can tell you that 99.99 per cent
of the bad people have already been caught,” Sela says.
Zone 4 PEARSON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Includes real-time tracking of every passenger's “digital envelope” —

their identity, as well as boarding and luggage information. Currently, Sela
says, there’s nothing to stop a passenger from obtaining multiple
boarding passes and then deciding at the last minute which flight to
board.

SOURCE: Rafi Sela, AR Challenges MICHAEL HERMAN/TORONTO STAR GRAPHIC

THE FIXER CONSTABLE SAYS HE MAY HAVE BROKEN PRISONER’S ARM

Obsolete level crossing driving

A police constable testifying at the trial of a found not guilty in 2005 but the acquittal was
detective accused of breaking a prisoner’s arm overturned on appeal.
says he himself could “absolutely” have caused Shuparski has since died of unrelated causes.
the fracture during a violent arrest. Under cross-examination by prosecutor John

frustrated motorists off the rails
Unused CN train tracks create
rough ride, poor traffic flow
JACK LAKEY
STAFF REPORTER
A railway line to nowhere is a boxcar of aggra-
vation for drivers who approach it at a level
crossing.
One of the lesser legacies of a time when
trains transported most people and goods is
the level crossing, the intersection point for
tracks and roads.
Many level crossings are part of spur lines
decommissioned long ago.
A lot of them are no longer maintained by
railways and are a car-rattling annoyance to
drive over.
Gord Tewnion, who we mentioned in our
Monday column as the guy who set us
straight about the purpose of yield signs,
emailed again about a level crossing on Dow-
ty Rd., in an industrial area near Westney Rd.
and Highway 401 in Ajax.
Tewnion said buses and some trucks are re-
quired by law to come to a complete stop at
the tracks over Dowty, a spot still marked
with railway crossing signage.
But any fool can see it hasn’t been used in
many years and couldn’t possibly serve any
purpose now.
To the west of the crossing, the tracks are
covered with gravel and dirt, while there’s a
fence across the tracks just east of it, he said.
“There is no way a moving train could cross
here and strike a bus or truck because the
track is blocked by debris and a fence,” he
said, adding he called the Town of Ajax about
it last summer and was told it couldn’t do
anything because the CN Rail spur line is still
used.
We were there Tuesday and walked for sev-
“I took him down as hard as I could,” Const.
Joe Pedneault testified regarding the arrest of
50-year-old heroin addict Gary Shuparski.
McInnes, Pedneault agreed that, as far as he
can recall, Shuparski didn’t complain about his
arm during the 20-minute car ride to the sta-
“He was struggling violently.”
Det. Christopher Higgins has pleaded not
tion. Pedneault agreed that, once in the station,
Shuparski was able to take off his own clothes
guilty to assault causing bodily harm for alleg- for a strip search.
edly breaking Shuparski’s arm in a downtown The Crown alleges that Higgins broke Shu-
Toronto police station interview room in the parski’s arm later that morning.
early hours of April 1, 2004. Final arguments in the trial begin Wednesday.
It is his second trial on the charge. He was Peter Small
A level railway crossing in an industrial area
near Westney Rd. and Highway 401 in Ajax.
eral hundred metres west of the crossing,
where we saw many loads of crushed asphalt
dumped across the tracks, as well as boulders
and other junk that would make it impossible
for a choo-choo to get through.
We also noticed that the pavement sur-
rounding the tracks is badly crumbled, creat-
ing a jarring jolt for passing motorists.
STATUS: Frank Binder, who deals with media
for CN, said he’d talk to maintenance and en-
gineering staff to find out why the level cross-
ing is still there and see if there’s a way to make
traffic flow more smoothly across it. We’ll let
you know as soon as he gets back to us.
What’s broken in your neighbourhood? Wherever
you are in Greater Toronto, we want to know. To
email us, go to thestar.com/thefixer and click on
the submit a problem link. Or call us at 416-869-
4823.