Bomb sat for weeks at federal office

[Guest guest]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/bomb-sat-weeks-federal-office-20110324-085144-377.html;\

_ylt=AjOauHsZPykhJY6rxirrz3aLssB_;_ylu=X3oDMTNvbGtkYnRyBGNjb2RlA3ZzaGFyZWFnMgRwa\

2cDZThjYWE4YWQtZGNlMy0zOGNkLWExNjAtNzY1NmQzYjQ0YTU3BHBvcwM3BHNlYwNtb3N0X3BvcHVsY\

XIEdmVyAzg3NDNiNDNjLTU2NDgtMTFlMC1hZjNmLTZiZDIyZTUxYTViYw--;_ylg=X3oDMTFjNjVhOWU\

zBGludGwDY2EEbGFuZwNlbi1jYQRwc3RhaWQDBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25zBHRlc3QD;_ylv=3

Bomb sat for weeks at federal office

By Deepa Seetharaman | Reuters – Thu, 24 Mar, 2011 11:51 AM EDT

DETROIT (Reuters) - A package found by a security guard at a U.S. federal office

building in Detroit sat three for weeks before someone thought to screen it and

found it was a bomb, an official who represents unionized guards said on

Wednesday.

A private contract guard, since suspended, apparently found the package outside

in late February, said , president of the union that represents

Federal Protective Service guards but not contract guards.

The building in downtown Detroit houses offices for the FBI, U.S. Senator Carl

Levin of Michigan, the Social Security Administration and others.

The guard brought the package into the building and put it in " lost and found "

without having it screened, said. It sat until March 18, when someone

decided to X-ray the package and found that it might contain a bomb, he said.

The guards then notified the Federal Protective Service and Detroit police and

the package was moved outside the building, where the police bomb squad

recovered it, he said.

Detroit police said they recovered a package Friday from the federal building

and detonated it.

The FBI is investigating the incident, Special Agent Berchtold said.

Neither police nor the FBI commented further on details of the incident,

said it was not clear whether the guard who found the package initially

was the one who decided to have it screened for explosives. The package should

not have been moved in either case except by explosives experts, he said.

(Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman; Editing by Jerry Norton)

[Guest guest]

This article takes great pains to point out that unionized federal officers scanned the package while heaping the blame on the non-union guard who brought the package inside. Lots of blame to go around here.

First, the first guard should have left the package alone and alerted his superiors.

Second, it should have been scanned when brought inside.

Third, the union guards should have noticed the package in the lost and found and scanned it. Certainly they should not have left it sitting for weeks.

Stupidity on the part of the first guard, laziness on the part of the union.

But really what this is a symptom of is rapidly expanding the organization and training the quality leadership lagging behind. This always happens when numbers are pumped up rapidly, particularly when making some ridiculous political point. The TSA has been rife with complaints about abusive treatment of innocent travellers and it seems to be getting worse as the regulations get tighter and greater effort is made to shame those who won't kowtow.

In a message dated 3/28/2011 12:51:30 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, no_reply writes:

A package found by a security guard at a U.S. federal office building in Detroit sat three for weeks before someone thought to screen it and found it was a bomb, an official who represents unionized guards said on Wednesday.

[Guest guest]

This article takes great pains to point out that unionized federal officers scanned the package while heaping the blame on the non-union guard who brought the package inside. Lots of blame to go around here.

First, the first guard should have left the package alone and alerted his superiors.

Second, it should have been scanned when brought inside.

Third, the union guards should have noticed the package in the lost and found and scanned it. Certainly they should not have left it sitting for weeks.

Stupidity on the part of the first guard, laziness on the part of the union.

But really what this is a symptom of is rapidly expanding the organization and training the quality leadership lagging behind. This always happens when numbers are pumped up rapidly, particularly when making some ridiculous political point. The TSA has been rife with complaints about abusive treatment of innocent travellers and it seems to be getting worse as the regulations get tighter and greater effort is made to shame those who won't kowtow.

In a message dated 3/28/2011 12:51:30 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, no_reply writes:

A package found by a security guard at a U.S. federal office building in Detroit sat three for weeks before someone thought to screen it and found it was a bomb, an official who represents unionized guards said on Wednesday.