Arizona, The Enforcement State

Police Forces Gird For Opening of Light Rail System
The Arizona Republic
by Lisa Halverstadt - Dec. 24, 2008
Anyone who plans to ride the light rail for the first time Saturday will be hard-pressed to avoid police officers, security guards and volunteers, no matter which stops they visit.

For months, the Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa police departments have been working with Metro Light Rail to plan for at least 150,000 people and the security concerns that inevitably follow.

Police say they expect the light-rail kickoff to be a fun day with few problems but just in case something does happen, they must expect the worst. They've spent months planning for it.

So before the event ever begins, bomb dogs will sniff around the light-rail cars and planned party locations. Teams from the Transportation Security Administration, some of them armed, will arrive to assist officials in Phoenix. Arizona's Department of Liquor License and Control will prepare to be on the prowl. Police in Mesa, Phoenix and Tempe will be prepared to communicate with one another throughout the entire event. An estimated 700 to 800 volunteers will ready themselves to spend hours answering questions about the light-rail system.

Meanwhile, a large number of officers across the Valley will suit up for a long day on the job at a time when city budget crunches are leading to overtime cuts at police departments.

Still, the department will assess staffing needs hourly to determine if those working overtime can be relieved by those who would normally be on duty or by TSA teams provided free to the city, said Phoenix police Lt. Adrian Ruiz of that department's Transit Bureau.

My Comments:
Cops everywhere? Bomb-sniffing dogs? Armed TSA (U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security) teams? Arizona's Department of Liquor License and Control? Will you have to take off your shoes? Strip searches? Racial profiling?

Should be a fun time, if there is any room for the public.