AST April 2018 Magazine AST April Magazine (3.30.18) | Page 65

Volume 22 April 2018 Edition Casting a Wider Net: More Effective Mass Weapons Screenings at Events The expanding threat of mass casualty events is top priority for security and counterterrorism leaders. Soft targets ranging from stadiums to theme parks, concert venues to casi nos, and transportation centers to government facilities have an im- mediate need for a new security solution. Featuring highly effective ferromagnetic detection (FMDS) technology, Proscreen 900 has been designed to explicitly focus on screening for large, mass casualty threats in perimeter locations. Proscreen 900 screens head-to-toe with high throughput efficiency. By Jim Viscardi, Metrasens Vice President of Global Se- But they also are vulnerable to threats. curity, a Platinum Award Winner in the 2017 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program Terrorists and other malefactors have known for cen- Live events at large venues like arenas, stadiums or con- vention halls – whether they involve wrestlers breaking chairs over each other’s heads, Axl and Slash letting by- gones be bygones and reuniting Guns ‘n’ Roses, your favorite NFL team annihilating the opposition 62-3, or a convention involving anything from politics to food to Star Trek – are exciting affairs that channel the camaraderie of the crowd into a powerful collective energy. turies that any large gathering of people has inher- ent vulnerabilities on which they can prey: Crowds make it hard for security to keep track of any single person or spot unusual behavior, and the number of people congregated in one space amplifies the impact of any attack. 63