Security at CP. - CoasterBuzz

I was reading over at GTTP about security checking bags at the gate. I was wondering if the park has installed metal detectors yet?

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""To be the man, WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!, You got to beat the man""!!!

Not that I've seen...

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Hey man. Wanna buy some weed? Crack? Freepass on Millennium Force? I got the hook up...

That surprises me, SFMM installed Metal Dectors years ago, and since 9-11, security is even tigheter, they cneck EVERYONE, ONE BY ONE, I have never been to CP so i wouldn't know but I would think they would have installed those long ago.

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We were there a few days ago and there were no metal detectors. I do not carry anything into the park, so I did not see nor experience the bags being checked.

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-Stephanie
Moderator and Wife to the self-contained Freak Show

Lots of good those metal detectors did on September 11. I'll leave it at that and you can probably figure out how I feel about metal detectors and their effectiveness. They only provide a "sense" of security. Someone said it before, but the best security is security that you don't see.

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-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew

Cedar Ponit has great security, but they do need to add a metal detector even though they dont work all the time. BTW is it true Cedar Point has its own police department?

Yes it is very true. Some of the officers even carry guns. So it's not your typical mall security operation even though there are few negative things I could say about some of the officers.

I for one feel as safe or safer at CP (or Hershey - another park without metal detectors) as I do at a park with metal detectors (let's take Six Flags New England or Six Flags Great Adventure as examples). It can be a major hassle getting through those things in the morning and would make the "running of the bulls" or "Millennium Mile" (whatever they call it) not the same.

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-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew

MDOmnis said:
"Lots of good those metal detectors did on September 11"

Well that's a really unfair comment to make. Remember, until they actually hijacked the planes, the terrorists didnt do anything wrong. Box cutters and the like were completely permissible under the former rules. Blame the policy, not the detectors.

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"To get into this head of mine, would take a monkey-wrench, and a lot of wine" Res How I Do

Very true, but it shows that metal detectors can not stop everything. Metal detectors can be a useful tool, but they are not 100%. They provide a "sense" of security and not much more. People that want to hurt people are going to find a way to do it - metal detectors or not. There are probably still plenty of things that can be used as weapons that a metal detector will never pick up. Also, are we going to implement metal detectors everywhere? Take a shopping mall for example - are we going to have metal detectors and guards at every entrance to every mall in America? Probably not. So why amusement parks? Someone can walk into a mall and shoot someone for free. Why are they going to pay $40 or $50 bucks to get into an amusement park?

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-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew

You need to look at the big picture. Exactly what good would metal detectors do at CP? If I wanted to get a weapon in the park it wouldn't be hard, even with metal detectors. For instance:

I could go in the park and then have a friend drive around Perimeter road and lob a weapon over the fence.

I could check into the hotel and bring a bomb along with me.

I could pull up to the shoreline in my boat.

The list could go on and on.

Excellent point.

Thing is, when you're considering security at a place like CP or any other amusement park or resort, there are several things to consider. Start with the fact that most people are there to have a good time. Continue with the fact that most of the incidents Security is going to have to deal with are situations where people are interfering with each others' desire to have a good time. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that it's a lot simpler, a lot cheaper, and a lot more effective to concentrate on dealing with problems as they come up in the park rather than having the security staff sit and stare at magnetometers all day.

Busch Gardens learned the hard way (BGW had metal detectors during its halloween event last year, and doesn't now). If the park has decent security to begin with, metal detectors are more trouble than they are worth.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I think that most parks base whether or not they have metal detectors on their experience with their own guests and the requirements and/or pressure that they get from their insurers. I would also guess that right now the delivery for metal detectors is looooonnnnng. There are jprobably lots of people that want them now and can't get them.

I think that metal detectors and searching are more for patron security from domestic issues rather than just terrorism. Great America had their detectors up well before 9/11. At the Festival grounds in Milwaukee there were several incidents of gang fighting with knives and guns at the festivals and people being held up in the restrooms. When they started checking everyone at the gate with metal detectors and searches the problems stopped. There hasnt been a single incident since then.

I personally welcome the added security parks are adding because the world we live in today is not a safe place and people cannot have fun if they dont feel safe. I now make it a point to thank each and every person that checks me at the gate for the job they are doing and the service they are providing me in making sure I have a safe and enjoyable day.

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Bob Hansen

A proud CoasterBuzz Member

"So you think your'e really brave, gonna see the DEMONS cave.
You silly dude, your'e only food, for the DEMON"

It also seems that parks that are closer to large cities, especially ones known to have high crime rates usually have the metal detectors as compared to those that are more removed and therefore harder for the 'bad element' to get to. CP is a long way for some Cleveland, Columbus or Detroit troublemakers to travel to. But some parks are located close to major city centers and are easy to get to even for people without transportation of their own. Prices are also a deterrant for some (but not all) troublemakers. But tight security or invisible security, if someone really wants to do some damage, they most likely can get it done.