Smiths Detection takes a ride on the Staten Island ferry

Frankly, we prefer the dogs. Commuters on the Staten Island ferry in New York have been confused as of late, what with security officials mingling about with large hand-held boxes — “like hand-held vacuum cleaners,” AM New York reported — and asking them to submit to explosives screening. On Monday, NYPD explained the procedure, but longtime readers of HSDW probably already have an idea: we reported last year that the city had decided to purchase, as part of a $400,000 port security package, four of Smith Detection’s Sabre 4000 explosive trace detection systems. (A number were also purchased for use in the subway system as well.) In addition to being able to detect a wide range of explosives within fifteen seconds, the Sabre — which relies on ion mobility spectrometry — can also identify narcotics and chemical weapons agents.