World View

Sometimes, Security Theater Really Works

Israeli security researchers Gadi Evron and Imri Goldberg find that security theater can be about more than window dressing

By Gadi Evron and Imri Goldberg

Their training varies from absolutely non-existent to three days of learning how to shoot a gun. In some rare cases they are soldiers on active duty, guarding a problematic location.

The guard stands (or sits) on a chair at the entrance to the venue, he (or she) range in observed activity from staring at people as they walk in, to using metal detectors and looking inside their bags. In between you can find ineffective guards who feel a bag's bottom (let's don't and say we did, eh?) and those who stare into it and let you in.

While these guards' screening abilities are far from being adequate, many of the terror suicide bombings in the past few years failed because of them. Sometimes it's because the guard actually recognized that the person was a terrorist and acted with varying levels of success. In other occasions, the terrorist panics.

When he (or she) approaches the guard they either panic immediately and blow themselves up, or wait until the guard goes on with his cursory checking. They take the guard and possibly others to their deaths along with them, but the people inside are safe, and a much bigger disaster is averted.

It is important to note that suicide bombers and their operators aim to "increase their ROI" (a macabre way of saying, aiming for maximum casualties). This means that a suicide bomber will go to a place with a large crowd. When that bomber sees a guard at the door, he (or she) might choose a different place, not wanting to risk the guard being effective. The suicide bomber has just one shot at it, and he'd rather go to a place with fewer people, but less guarded.

Naturally, security theater is not always a strategic choice, a part of the larger security plan. But despite the bad name it now has, it can be.

Security theater is not always laughable.

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