Air Marshals Keep Close Eye on Travelers [View All]

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Air Marshals Keep Close Eye on Travelers



Apr 17, 12:14 AM (ET)

By LESLIE MILLER



WASHINGTON (AP) - When someone at an airport is sweating, is it because he's running late or trying to hide something? Could hand signals between people in a terminal be part of an inside joke or a terror plot?

A pilot program using "behavior pattern recognition" is under way at Boston's Logan International Airport, where two of the planes used by the Sept. 11 hijackers took off. Air marshals, passenger screeners and state police stationed there have undergone special training in things to look for that could indicate a terrorist plot.

Israeli officials have employed a version of the technique for years to protect air travelers against terrorists.

At Logan, uniformed and undercover security officials watch people as they move through terminals. They look for odd or suspicious behavior: heavy clothes on a hot day, loiterers without luggage, anyone observing security methods.

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20040417/D820AUD00.html