Comments on: Greyhound bus security

By: .

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:29:58 +0000

Murder of Tim McLean From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Li's trial commenced on March 3, 2009, with the accused pleading not criminally responsible. This means, that he accepted that the offense occurred but he claimed that he was unable to form the necessary mental element or mens rea. According to a testifying psychiatrist, Li, diagnosed with schizophrenia in custody, performed the attack because God's voice told him McLean was a force of evil and was about to execute him. Furthermore, Li believed McLean to be capable of coming back to life, so he proceeded to mutilate the victim's body. An agreed statement of facts was released, revealing new details of the attack. It was also revealed that Li continues to suffer from psychosis and hallucinations, despite being put on strong anti-psychotic medication. Two days later, the presiding judge found Li not criminally responsible for the murder. Li will remain in a high security mental health facility under heavy security for at least another year before being re-assessed.

By: Tristan

Tristan — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 05:52:36 +0000

Do we know more about what caused the attack now? Was it the inhumanity of sitting on a long distance bus which drove the attacker to madness?

By: oleh

oleh — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 04:37:50 +0000

It is unfortunate that fear arising from one particularly gruesome but extremely unique event which cannot be effectively prevented has caused such increased security costs and inconvenience for all passengers. Fear has won over common sense.

By: clyde

clyde — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 04:20:35 +0000

I believe the main reason why metal detectors will not be put in every bus stop is because it would be way too expensive. Some of the bus stops are really small and they would close down instead of bareing the cost, and as result Grayhound will lose alot of money

By: Most visited posts of 2008

Most visited posts of 2008 — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 23:35:07 +0000

[...] By far the most popular was this post on Greyhound bus security, arguing that incorporating airport-style security into the bus system doesn’t make sense. [...]

By: Metal detectors and carry-on restrictions for Greyhound travel

Metal detectors and carry-on restrictions for Greyhound travel — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:27:42 +0000

[...] logic of security on intercity buses differs substantially from the logic for aircraft, as I have written about previously. The system has already been introduced in Edmonton, Calgary and [...]

By: Milan

Milan — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:14:23 +0000

It seems Greyhound has decided to ignore the impracticalities and dubious security benefits of adding screening at bus stations: Ottawa Greyhound passengers to face metal detectors CBC News

By: Litty

Litty — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:44:35 +0000

The members of the Westboro Baptist Church planning to protest the funeral of the man killed on a Canadian Greyhound bus must be among the stupidest people on the planet, not to mention the most insensitive. Their beliefs, in not particular order of plausibility:

There is an all-powerful being who created the universe.
It cares what humans do.
It dislikes abortion, homosexuality, gay marriage, and legal divorces.
It punishes countries that allow these things.
Because Canada allows these things, it punished Canada.
It did so by making one man behead another man on a Greyhound bus.

Take that Canadian politics! You see what happens when you create and perpetuate a sane and tolerant society! God manifests his will through the violent impulses of mentally unstable individuals, punishing innocent people who have nothing to do with the policies in question!

By: Peta Hops on the Cannibal Wagon « eponymous horn

Peta Hops on the Cannibal Wagon « eponymous horn — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:55:26 +0000

[...] attack is raising a lot of questions about bus security, and Greyhound has pulled its unfortunate slogan: ‘There’s a reason you’ve never [...]

By: .

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:15:05 +0000

“It would be characteristic of our modern sensibility if we were to react to one bizarre death by hiring dozens of “safety” people to loiter on highway shoulders to check the bags of bus passengers. Of course, as an alternative, Greyhound could just go ahead and eliminate most rural stops. (The people who’d miss them don’t vote Liberal or NDP anyway.) But did we mention that even in the cities, riders who intend to continue their journey are constantly getting on and off the bus to have a cigarette or buy a sandwich? We can’t have that either, surely. Some wackjob might have a knife stashed behind a toilet in Foam Lake.”

By: .

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:12:43 +0000

The Post editorial board on the Greyhound murder:
The government’s best policy response is to … do nothing
Posted: August 03, 2008, 5:32 PM by Jonathan Kay

By: Milan

Milan — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 23:03:51 +0000

Dealing with the public always comes with risks. I think having training for the staff on procedures for stabilizing situations may be important to consider though.

I agree.

The cost would be reasonable, and the training could be applied to all sorts of situations. Solutions like metal detectors deal with specific threats (metal weapons). More generalized responses like crisis training are much more broadly applicable, making them a better use of resources.

It’s like investing in general health crisis capacity, rather than specifically in something like anthrax vaccines.