Remember the uproar over Metro Transit Police Chief Michael Taborn’s statement that Metro was thinking about upping security by conducting random searches of riders’ bags as they entered stations? Well, expect that uproar to get louder — Metro interim General Manager Richard Sarles announced this afternoon that random bag searches would be coming to a station near you “in the coming days.”

Here’s the official announcement from WMATA, which also describes how the searches will go down:

The inspections are expected to take only minutes and are designed to be non-intrusive, as police will randomly select bags or packages to check for hazardous materials using ionization technology as well as K-9 units trained to detect explosive materials. Carry on items will generally not be opened and physically inspected unless the equipment indicates a need for further inspection.

Anyone who is randomly selected and refuses to submit their carry-on items for inspection will be prohibited from bringing those items into the station. Customers who encounter a baggage checkpoint at a station entrance may choose not to enter the station if they would prefer not to submit their carry-ons for inspection.

While Metro isn’t talking about performing pat-downs or anything like that, it sure will be interesting to see how this added layer of security will work during the morning and afternoon rush hours.

Of course, there are a large number of people who are vehemently opposed to the idea of random searches. WMATA first suggested conducting bag searches in 2008, but the idea fizzled after a soundly negative response from the public. A DCist poll conducted in 2008 showed that approximately three-quarters of respondents were opposed to Metro conducting random bag searches.