For some time now I’ve been arguing that security at parliament is utterly inadequate, and the point has once more been proven with yet another breach. As I rounded the corner leading to the main gates at parliament this morning I was confronted with an army of cameramen with their lenses pointing toward parliament’s roof. My immediate thought was that perhaps the earthquake had done some damage to the roof (as unlikely as that seemed). As I reached the cameramen I followed their collective line of sight to the protesters who had gained access to the roof and draped banners over the wall. My reaction? Completely unsurprised.
Parliamentary security is a joke precisely because the screening (for those who are screened) is shoddy at best. You go through the metal detector and your bag (if you haven’t simply passed it to a friend with a pass) goes through the x-ray machine. A guard then gives you the most superficial of frisks (completely ignoring the soles of your shoes, your lower back, and lower legs).
If you have a pass though things are even more ridiculous. No metal detector, no frisk, no x-ray of your bag (not even somebody taking a cursory look inside your bag). End result, a disgruntled researcher could do a lot of damage.
Now the argument against more rigorous security is that it would slow everything down, the business of parliament would be impeded. To that I would simply say the following; they manage it in Congress in the States.
It’s high times we learned from our mistakes (before something truely terrible happens) and actually took the security of parliament seriously.