Report: Olympic security isn't X-raying some bags at security checkpoints to speed up lines, and it's raising alarms about Rio's safety
At checkpoints, security officials have been checking bags by hand instead of putting them through X-rays to try and help congestion.
According to WSJ, a reporter at a media entrance said he was waiting for his bag to be reviewed when the security official walked away, leaving the reporter free to enter the building.
Mario Andrada, a spokesman for the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee, told the Journal:
"Sometimes we go to manual screening when we see the lines forming … but it's never like, open the doors, open the gates. We do manual screening and we do random screening and we have very experienced people."
This is obviously a concerning development at any major sporting event, but particularly a global one in a city with its share of crime troubles like Rio. On Friday night, the chief of security was mugged at knife point while leaving the Olympic Stadium, according to the New York Times.
Over the weekend, a News Corp. photographer had $40,000 worth of equipment stolen by a group of thieves who entered the archery venue illegally. Luckily for the photographer, in a dose of good fortune, he later saw one of the thieves carrying his equipment and he was able to get it back.
While Andrada told WSJ that they successfully shortened the lines, security should be a bigger priority than wait times to get into the venues.