The police officer on duty at 34th Street station in Manhattan wasn't interested in my thin briefcase, but he eyed my bulging Barnes & Noble bag suspiciously and politely asked if he could take a peek.

I sheepishly opened it and confessed. “Harry Potter. It's quite a tome.” The cop smiled. “I've seen a hundred of those today!” he laughed, before waving me through the turnstile.

I'm not thrilled at yet another assault on our civil liberties in the name of security, but I have to admit the visible presence of so many police officers made me at least feel safer, although I know it's just an illusion.

Recommended For You

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader

Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.