Security Officials Betting on BlackBerry

The Massachusetts Port Authority (known as Massport) has equipped state police troopers at Boston's Logan International Airport with ten BlackBerry wireless e-mail pagers that allow them to easily check passengers randomly selected for interviews against criminal records in the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Crime Information Center database.

Thomas J. Kinton Jr., acting executive director for Massport, says in a statement that the BlackBerries, manufactured by Research In Motion in Waterloo, Ontario, allow troopers to "check immediately if an individual is wanted by law enforcement." "This gives our agents an added tool as they conduct one-on-one interviews and strengthens our multilayered security system at Logan," the statement says.

The troopers using the BlackBerries in the two-month test have concentrated their patrols in the airport terminals, parking facilities, and the taxi pool, Kinton says. Individuals and cars are selected randomly as troopers patrol the airport.

Working Wirelessly

Troopers use the handheld device, which includes a standard QWERTY keyboard, to type in an individual's name and address. They then use the pager to check the individual against the NCIC database, which contains information on outstanding warrants, previous felonies, or stolen vehicles. The device eliminates the need for troopers to call a dispatcher over a voice radio and then have the dispatcher type the information into a terminal that can access the NCIC database.

If the pilot program, which ends at the end of this month, proves successful, Massport says it will consider expanding the system to tap into other databases, including state records and federal watch lists.

Aether Systems in Owings Mill, Maryland, loaned the ten e-mail pagers used in the Logan pilot program. David Grip, marketing director for Aether's mobile government group, says the pagers at Logan run the company's PocketBlue software, which is designed to adapt the BlackBerry and is widely used by corporate road warriors for public safety use.

Aether charges $89 per month for the PocketBlue software, which includes built-in encryption algorithms for security and airtime over a dedicated wireless data network operated by Cingular Wireless in Atlanta. Public safety agencies usually need to buy the BlackBerry hardware, which starts at $350, but Aether is running a promotion through March that includes free hardware, much like cellular carriers give away phones to customers who sign up for a specified period of time, Grip says.

Grip says Aether "expects" the PocketBlue pilot at Logan will lead to a follow-on contract, but adds that nothing has been signed yet.

Two of the aircraft involved in last September's terrorist attacks were hijacked from Logan. Since then, Massport has worked to beef up its security with tests of a number of high-tech systems, including facial recognition technology and automated document matching systems.