How revealing is an X-ray scanner?
In just six seconds, an X-ray scanner can produce a 360 digital image of the body – minus clothes. This is no coy version of James Bond’s X-ray specs, in which 007 can see the hidden guns – and saucy underwear – which lie beneath a villain’s garments. What shows up is the naked human form and anything concealed on the person: coins in a pocket, trouser studs, metal or ceramic knives, guns, explosives, drugs. The shin bones, which lie close to the skin’s surface, can also be seen, as can features such as the cleft between buttocks. Just such an X-ray scanner has been used by UK police for the first time, during a pub raid last Friday night. Those rounded up were given the option of a body search or this electronic strip search. Of the dozens searched, the majority opted to be scanned. Arrests were made for a range of offences including cannabis possession, handling stolen goods and carrying a knife. The X-rays in effect strip you naked – little is left to the imagination, says Superinte
