Addressing Public Safety through the Security Industry
Several public events recently resulted in catastrophic tragedy. Each event holds a common denominator: disruption and danger caused by the misuse of flares. These incidents have heightened concerns regarding public safety across the globe and stress the need to supplement current screening technologies.
The Department of Homeland Security has provided tools to prevent attacks and detect military-grade explosives such as nitroglycerin, pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), trinitrotoline (TNT), or triacetone triperoxide (TATP), but the demand for inorganic trace detectors is becoming crucial to extend detection to flares. GreyScan is taking the lead in delivering innovative technology to help.
Public Safety Statistics Reported
The number of domestic terrorist attacks located simply in the United States has shown an increase of 357% since 2013 where 145 casualties and 370 injuries have resulted (U.S. GAO, 2023). Additionally, there has been a trend of attacks in New York, California, Washington D.C., Texas, and Florida resulting in 428 bomb incidents just last year.
As recently as last month, use of an illegal flare ended a young person’s life in Crete, Greece. In this instance, an expired fishing boat flare was used as a direct departure from following Directives (EU) 2019/69 and 2021/555 concerning “signal weapons” (Arvanitis, 2024). This followed another incident, in December 2023, where a similar flare claimed the life of a Greek police officer. In that case, fans of a sporting event attacked riot police with flares and gas bombs leading to over 60 arrests and a two-month ban on spectators at sporting events.
GreyScan’s ETD-100 Portable Explosive Detector could have stopped both these occurrences. The ETD 100 is the world’s first mobile platform that detects inorganic explosive substances with rapid results within 1 minute, a more reliable and accurate detection process, and simple operation with intuitive touch screen and audible alarms requiring minimal training so safety can be improved immediately.
Delivering Reliable Detection to America
Countries are beginning to invest in efforts to further protect their citizens against domestic terrorist attacks from alternative weapons, such as flares. By screening for inorganic materials at the same capacity as organic materials, national security can be improved. Like current organic trace detection checkpoints at airports and stadiums, with the ETD-100, trace levels of inorganic substances in devices such as pyrotechnics and flares can be readily detected and identified, in a portable and field deployable unit.
Conclusion
The recent surge in security threats underlines the critical need for advancements in surveillance, protection, and detection within the public safety and security industry. With the rise in the use of homemade explosives, flares, and the evolving tactics of perpetrators, there is a growing urgency to enhance screening technologies.
GreyScan’s ETD-100 Portable Explosive Detector emerges as a pioneering solution, offering rapid, reliable, and intuitive detection of inorganic explosive substances and flares. As the threat from inorganic explosives increases, it is imperative to safeguard against such attacks, especially during high profile events.
By implementing cutting-edge technology like the ETD-100, we can improve security efforts and mitigate risks effectively on a global scale.
Works Cited
ARVANITIS, K. (n.d.). Parliamentary question: Deadly accident caused by circulation of illegal flares in Greece: E-000837/2024: European Parliament. E. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-9-2024-000837_EN.html
U. S. Government Accountability Office (2023, March 9). The rising threat of domestic terrorism in the U.S. and federal efforts to combat it. U.S. GAO. https://www.gao.gov/blog/rising-threat-domestic-terrorism-u.s.-and-federal-efforts-combat-it