Buster

NYPD Description Of Possible Nightclub Suicide Bombers Sounds Like Every Buzzed Nightclub Patron

While the identification of possible nightclub suicide bombers is an estimable goal, a new NYPD guide offering security tips casts a wide net when it comes to possible dancing terrorists.

As excerpted here, the police “Best Practices For Nightlife Establishments” guide suggests that club employees should be trained “in the detection of possible suicide bombers.” Noting that there are “many factors which may create suspicion of this activity,” police describe some things that could set off alarms, like “visible wires or tape.”

But many other suspicious activities detailed by the NYPD sound like the routine behaviors seen in dance clubs and nightspots (especially when alcohol or Ecstasy are involved). Like:

 * “Two or more people communicating and trying not to be observed”

 * “Individuals with obvious signs of extreme stress or nervousness, such as bulging veins in the neck, profuse sweating, shaking hands, touching the face continuously, involuntary motions, apathy, distant stare or unfocused gazing, feeling the body continuously"

 * “Individuals whose speech includes stuttering, mumbling or chanting, or are hesitant or unresponsive.”

Though that NYPD warning about the clubgoer who is holding a heavy piece of luggage close to their body seems to be a good one to heed.