More bomb Threats....

**mikefmich** · July-18-12, 10:55 AM

Ok, this is getting ridiculous, but...should they have evacuated Comerica too?

http://www.macombdaily.com/article/2...-comerica-park

**Gannon** · July-18-12, 11:01 AM

I fear this is some sort of weird setup. There was a threat on Cobo Hall on Monday, too.

It could be someone testing the response times and evacuation procedures...or keeping the bomb squad working enough to avoid budget cuts...or a group trying to lull everyone into a Cry Wolf scenario, where they STOP investigating the threats enough to let evildoers really mess things up.

Or it could be kids playing, but given that one was from Windsor...the first...would that make them bored copycats?! I cannot wait to see how this turns up...given the technology we have now for phone traces and such, I suspect it shouldn't be too long a wait until we have some news.

This is simply getting too weird for words...

**Detroitej72** · July-18-12, 11:04 AM

Originally Posted by Gannon

given the technology we have now for phone traces and such, I suspect it shouldn't be too long a wait until we have some news.

This is simply getting too weird for words...

They were reporting on the radio this morning that the Comerica Park call came from a cell tower on Michigan Ave.

**DetroitPlanner** · July-18-12, 11:09 AM

There are disposable cell phones which you can't connect the number to a person. Hmm maybe I should not have said that as it may encourage more kooks!

**mikefmich** · July-18-12, 11:10 AM

Are they now able to trace calls, even when the call is blocked?
Does calling 911 automatically unblock a call?

**j to the jeremy** · July-18-12, 11:26 AM

Originally Posted by mikefmich

Are they now able to trace calls, even when the call is blocked?
Does calling 911 automatically unblock a call?

Cell companies can geographically trace all calls.

**Gannon** · July-18-12, 11:43 AM

Don't be fooled by the terms, even disposable phones can be traced, and if they are used for more than one call...it will be easy for them to find the perp. We just might not hear about it, since they won't want to play their hands on how our personal communications devices can be precisely tracked and monitored.

If they have to simply go to the dealer who originally sold it...it will be worse for them if more than a few phones are used to make these calls. Be because they could then prove conspiracy to commit a crime.

One way a perp could escape the dragnet is to 'borrow' someone's phone under the guise of an emergency. So...just don't EVER loan out your phone to anyone, ever. Heck, in some instances, I've heard of people doing that and the loanee simply running away with their phone...

**Gannon** · July-18-12, 11:46 AM

Originally Posted by mikefmich

Are they now able to trace calls, even when the call is blocked?
Does calling 911 automatically unblock a call?

Of course. The block is merely a civilian feature, the digital data is still transmitted to the cell system, or else the phone wouldn't work.

911 tracking has been a forced feature for many, many years. VERY few phones left in the system are without it.

**Meddle** · July-18-12, 11:51 AM

Originally Posted by mikefmich

Are they now able to trace calls, even when the call is blocked?
Does calling 911 automatically unblock a call?

Sometimes.
Also sometimes.

Originally Posted by j to the jeremy

Cell companies can geographically trace all calls.

Also sometimes.

There are no definitive answers on these questions. GPS/geolocation can be turned off on most phones at user discretion. If that's done, the best the cell company can identify is the cell tower the call hit. 911 Phase 2 compliant call centers have a better chance of pinpointing the caller's location, but I'm not sure if Detroit is Phase 2 compliant. Even with that, it won't always come up with an exact location. If it does, it's only at the moment of the call. It does not track the caller if they're moving on foot or in a vehicle.

CSI and NCIS are fiction people. Real systems are no where near as fancy as Hollywood imagines them to be.

Now, with all that said and a pattern of calls developing, it is possible that the FBI could bring in more sophisticated equipment temporarily.

But.......... didn't the articles say the tunnel call came from a pay phone?

**Meddle** · July-18-12, 11:58 AM

Originally Posted by Gannon

Don't be fooled by the terms, even disposable phones can be traced,

And if the phone is stolen, or lost, or just abandoned?

I have three or four old cell phones sitting on my shelf that haven't been used in years, but they'll still dial 911. They are completely untraceable and being as old as they are, I'm not sure the provider still has records as to who they sold them to.

Most people throw old phones like mine away. Some donate them to homeless or women/children shelters. They give them out without keeping records to protect battered women so they have a way of dialing 911 if they need to, without their abusers having any way to track them.

**Gannon** · July-18-12, 12:38 PM

Good points, Meddle.

What a mess.

**cla1945** · July-18-12, 12:51 PM

Yes, they should have evacuated Comerica Park. Why stop freighter and boat traffic over the tunnel after a bomb threat.? Why stop traffic on the bridge because of a bomb threat? There is something about a sporting event that causes good judgement to stop, or is it "the show must go on" and hang the consequences?

**Meddle** · July-18-12, 12:55 PM

Well, there's a big difference between parking a few police cars at the bridge or tunnel entrances to stop traffic and evacuating tens of thousands of people through a few narrow passageways.

One creates some pissed off truckers, the other creates potential panic and chaos.

**Gannon** · July-18-12, 01:16 PM

Does anyone know if idling time waiting in line is removed from the mandatory limit on driving per day for those truckers?! I think it is eleven or twelve hours per day they are allowed to legally drive now...

**Downriviera** · July-18-12, 08:57 PM

I was at the game and the only bombs I saw were the blasts by the LA Angels. As for evacuating the stadium, the Angels pretty much took care of that with 7 runs in the first 2 innings which lead to people starting to leave. The 100 F temp got people leaving too.

**Kevgoblue** · July-18-12, 10:50 PM

Originally Posted by Gannon

Does anyone know if idling time waiting in line is removed from the mandatory limit on driving per day for those truckers?! I think it is eleven or twelve hours per day they are allowed to legally drive now...

The clock keeps ticking, regardless of traffic patterns. I can recall numerous instances of traffic jams or a flat tire causing a load to come to a stop. Then the driver either has to park and wait out his break time or you can get another cab to deadhead in and take the load

**Gannon** · July-19-12, 07:03 AM

Originally Posted by Kevgoblue

The clock keeps ticking, regardless of traffic patterns. I can recall numerous instances of traffic jams or a flat tire causing a load to come to a stop. Then the driver either has to park and wait out his break time or you can get another cab to deadhead in and take the load

OMG, another beaurocratic idiocy...I'm sure some of these guys took a nap, or at least called to have their 'needs' met. But that amounts to a lost day, with way fewer miles clocked...which is how many of the independents get PAID, right?!

Damn.

**Detroitej72** · July-19-12, 03:34 PM

Speaking of bombs, anyone else hear the commercials on the radio about reporting suspicious packages? I caught the end of it while listening to the Tigers this afternoon. A guy is watching a ballgame and thinks to himself, "hey, that guy just left a package under the bleachers, I don't want to scare the kids, but should I tell someone?"

**detroitsgwenivere** · July-20-12, 05:25 AM

Who really reports stuff like that? If I found a suspicious package the problem solver in me would march it right over to the lost and found. Of course, that would be the day that Mr. Unibomber2 decides to make his point known...