As I went through White Plains train station this morning, police were at the front of the station setting up a table in order to inspect bags. There was a K9 there as well, which actually caused a bit of commotion. A hispanic male walked up to the dog and began petting him, the police were not too thrilled about that. The man sort of shrugged and walked away, either because he didn’t speak English, or he was pretending not to be able to understand what the cop said to him.

If you’re having difficulty reading the sign from the picture, it says:

MTA Police Department
Container Inspection Program

Backpacks/Containers are subject to inspection prior to entering the mass transit system. Individuals may refuse to permit inspection and elect not to enter the system. Individuals will not be permitted access to the system with the uninspected container. Individuals who refuse the container search and later attempt to enter the system with the uninspected container may be subject to arrest.

I’m not exactly sure how long the police will be there, and how many bags they plan on inspecting (everyone’s or just a random selection of people). The increased security is most likely a response to the bombing attack in the Moscow subway on Monday, which killed 39 people.