New security body scanners installed at airports

| 21/06/2024 | 48 Comments
Body Scan Machine at CKIA on Cayman Brac (photo credit: CBC)

(CNS): Customs and Border Control has installed new “state-of-the-art non-intrusive body scanners” to look for drugs and contraband at both Owen Roberts and Charles Kirkconnell airports to bolster national security and ensure the safety of residents and visitors. The scanners are designed to detect individuals attempting to smuggle illicit drugs and other illegal goods into Cayman. According to a press release, this will close “critical gaps in border security”.

Body Scan Machine at ORIA on Grand Cayman (photo credit: CBC)

Not every passenger will be scanned, but as part of the overall border management process, CBC officers will conduct an initial screening of passengers supported by intelligence and behaviour indicators, which will inform the degree of risk that a person is concealing restricted goods. Those passengers deemed to pose a high risk will be scanned.

The machines use advanced imaging technology to provide what CBC said is a detailed, non-intrusive scan providing a visual indication of concealed substances and objects “with unprecedented accuracy” that will significantly improving the capability of CBC personnel at the controls.

CBC Director Charles Clifford said the advanced scanners show that CBC is committed to using innovative solutions to tackle emerging security challenges.

“By adopting this technology, we reaffirm our dedication to protecting its borders and safeguarding the well-being of its citizens. Thanks to our business partners, AVCOM, including Installation Technologies International (ITI) in the USA for their exceptional distribution services and OD Security in the Netherlands for supplying the cutting-edge body scanners, ensuring a seamless installation process,” he said.

The non-invasive scanners address and rectify existing vulnerabilities in the current security framework, ensuring a more comprehensive approach to passenger screening. CBC officers will undergo training to operate the new equipment efficiently and effectively, ensuring that the technology is used to its full potential.

Border Control Minister Dwayne Seymour described the scanner as a “monumental leap forward” in the effort to maintain high standards of border security. This technology enhances our ability to detect and prevent drug smuggling and ensures a safe and secure environment for all travellers,” he added.


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Category: Border Control, Crime, Crime Prevention

Comments (48)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    If recent trial history is a guide, our border protection blindspots remain intact from years of entrenched corruption within the senior gatekeepers of this trust….at CBC, CIAA, CAL, and Port Authority. No amount of passenger Xrays are going to find and close those open channels of distribution.

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  2. Anonymous says:

    Hope they hot the heavy duty model.
    i can see some people overloading it.

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  3. Anonymous says:

    This is an x-ray device used mainly in prisons. I know people don’t care about radiation nowadays but the risk is there and this is definitely x-ray radiation.

    You can simply google “soter RS images” to see how it images your entire body (it sees your bones, organs, etc).

    Big NO for me.

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    • Anonymous says:

      “…people don’t care about radiation nowadays…” It’s not that they don’t care, they are ignorant and prefer to stay this way, even after a big C. diagnosis.

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  4. Cheese Face says:

    Yawn, keep letting the “fishing boats” come in and out ya dumb F*****

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  5. anonymous says:

    I’m thinking more delays getting out of the Airport with this new toy to experiment on people, The vast majority of the law abiding travelers going suffer for the handful of criminals, i guess that is how it goes, Sorry for certain flights coming from the east.

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  6. Anonymous says:

    i prefer the invasive method.
    Free prosrate check.

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  7. Dee says:

    Need to get the new baggage scanners re liquids and electronics in bags and also stop the nonsense of making everyone take their shoes off. Only certain types of footwear should be subject to this rule not flip flops and those type of shoes without heels. Most airports do this now. Why not Cayman ????

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  8. Anonymous says:

    A machine that costs $100k+ bring operated by someone on $6p/h.

    The technology isn’t the weakest part to get around.

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  9. anon says:

    What exactly will the operator see on his monitor with a scanner that can see with “unprecedented accuracy”.

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  10. anon says:

    “Will give a visual indication of concealed objects with unprecedented accuracy”. So it will show a handkerchief full of cocaine, but not underwear containing body parts?.

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  11. Anonymous says:

    Curiously, Cayman Airways Cargo has offices in La Ceiba, Montego Bay, Kingston, and Havana(?!), but not Panama, a robust duty free supply chain market. What goods are CAL Cargo shipping to and fro that is so lucrative that it justifies a staffed airline rep office to be maintained in these places?

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  12. Anonymous says:

    The reason that there are free-flowing drugs, guns, ammo, assassins, sanctioned gold, fuel and other undesirables and contraband making landfall in Cayman is because smuggling is a lucrative Caymanian-controlled racket and CBC are in on it. Like state-of-the-art police helicopters, and fully-equipped Coast Guard, these million dollar toys are all misdirections to make it appear that diligence is being applied, even while we read the headlines that scream the opposite. Entrenched corruption within the senior positions of trust.

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  13. Major Misunderstanding says:

    Why not just lock up the suspect until they poo in a bucket? $5 maximum cost.
    Alternatively escort them to GT or Faith Hospital for an X-ray like other countries do?
    This seems like a monumental waste of money 💰

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  14. Anonymous says:

    Six months max and they are broken and unfixable.

    Parking machines, breast feeding stations, fingerprint readers and radars come to mind.

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  15. Anonymous says:

    Wow…. Island sure has changed!

  16. Anonymous says:

    Are we screening arrival baggage and carry-ons, cargo port containers, fishing boat coolers, the CBC and airport ground staff? Maybe we do the easy stuff first, and then scale up diligence to passenger keister X-rays.

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  17. Anonymous says:

    Expensive new equipment. Hmm?

    CNS, perhaps HM Customs/CBC can answer what is their disposal policy on old equipment?

    Sitting in the bushes off Agricola Drive in Lower Valley is the very expensive mobile container x-ray truck which HM Customs/CBC bought years ago. To public knowledge it never worked well and was promptly sidelined. Likewise, were the x-ray machines HM Customs/CBC had inside the cargo warehouse at the Port Distribution Centre – sitting in the open, dusty environment (as opposed to a sterile room). They too failed prematurely.

    It would be good for the public to know how much public funds have been “written off” due to HM Custom/CBC casual disposal of expensive x-ray equipment.

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  18. Anonymous says:

    #1
    The article is missing information about amount of ionizing radiation ☢️exposure.

    It is 2.0 microSieverts.

    To put these radiation dose into perspective, the average annual background radiation dose from natural sources in the United States is estimated to be around 3 mSv per year.

    CT scans radiation exposure can range from 2 to 10 millisieverts (mSv) per dose.

    The radiation dose from a mammogram is generally low, averaging around 0.4 mSv for a standard mammogram.

    The radiation dose from an x-ray varies based on the body part. A hand or foot x-ray exposes you to less than 0.001 mSv per dose, an x-ray of your large intestine exposes you to 6 mSv per scan.

    Radiation exposure limits from medical scans:
    In Europe, the limit is 20 mSv per year, and in the United States the limit is 50 mSv per year.

    Other source: a yearly dose of 620 millirem from all radiation sources has not been shown to cause humans any harm.

    One sievert equals 100 rem. (1 Sv = 100 rem). One milliSievert equals one hundred millrems (1 mSv = 100 millrems).

    https://www.odsecurity.com/media/article-reasons-to-choose-soter-body-scanner/#:~:text=Using%20the%20ALARA%20(As%20Low,levels%20of%20just%20%3C%202.0%20microSieverts.

    #2
    Can a person refuse this scan in order not to add 2mSv to his annual radiation exposure amount? What rules and regulations say about this?

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    • Anonymous says:

      Well you’re getting onto a plane, which means your getting alot of radiation, so does it really matter? Take a boat next time or swim if that too un-environmentally friendly.

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      • xray says:

        It’s always “in addition” to what you are already exposed to…

      • Anonymous says:

        That argument is like saying “Well, you’re gaining weight anyways so just eat popeyes everyday, no point trying to be healthy right?”.

        Radiation is serious and adds up. if you just took a place, that a GOOD reason not to expose yourself further.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Well researched and presented.
      We need more people like you who can think critically, objectively and outside the box of cognitive dissonance.
      Whoever you are, I salute you.

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      • anon says:

        3.01pm Well then, it can’t be a civil servant or a Member of Parliament.

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      • Chamberlain says:

        3:01, Don’t salute a fool. This equipment has been in place in the airports of many countries in the European Union for the past 10 years.

        You really think some Bobo in the Caymans is that smart?

        Our cancer rates in the Cayman Islands per capita are much higher than all the countries in the EU. Perhaps he should put his research skills into determining the reason for this.

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        • Anonymous says:

          #1️⃣you missed the point
          #2️⃣any new hi/tech equipment, especially emitting ionizing radiation must be approved by Department of Health as safe for human bodies. But I suspect that DoH in Cayman won’t even understand what it is all about.

          RADIATION SAFETY ACT doesn’t exist in Cayman. In Bermuda it was enacted in 1972.

          #3️⃣they might say it is safe, without mentioning cumulative radiation exposure risk
          #4️⃣not a Caymanian. Used to live and work in Cayman.

          You can learn about cumulative radiation exposure here. Keep in mind it’s 11 years old, so things have gone worse since.
          https://intermountainhealthcare.org/ckr-ext/Dcmnt?ncid=521548897&tfrm=default

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        • Anonymous says:

          Not the same type of equipment that is in use in the EU or US. This is transmission x ray – with a radiation dose like any x ray – the units in the EU and US are millimetric radar; pick up objects hidden around your person but not swallowed or inserted. The OP has a perfectly valid point – why do you think the radiographer leaves the room when you get an x ray?

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          • Johnny Canuck says:

            The same exact type of equipment was implemented in the Canadian Prison System in 2018. Problem is not the X-rays but giving extensive training to the people who use the equipment as there are challenges seeing the differences between anatomy and drugs with this system.

            Hope the people who are using this system get extensive training on identifying counterband.

            There was never a problem in Canada with the technology and radiation levels. Fully certified in Canada by Health Canada.

    • Anonymous says:

      #2 – sure, bend over (snap).

    • Hubert says:

      5:54, Stop scaremongering smart ass.

      These exact same machines are used at every major airport in the European Union.

      You think you know something that nobody knows in the European Union? 🤡

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    • Anonymous says:

      dont get your conversions mixed up. The machine exposes you to 2 MICROsieverts(μSv) not 2 MILLIsieverts (mSv).

      Its easy to get the math wrong, but 1 millisievert is equal to 1,000 microsieverts

      This means if you are correct that the average annual background radiation dose from natural sources in the USA is 3mSV that equates to 3,000 microsieverts (3000μSv). This new machine is only exposing you to 2μSv or 0.002mSv

  19. Anonymous says:

    Fine with me. I’m elderly, and have almost no modesty. Look at whatever you want. I hope the CBC are able to find the nasty stuff they are looking for.

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  20. Anonymous says:

    sush john john.

  21. Anonymous says:

    Watch these machines never work now…

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