Bag searches at subway stations have left some teenagers feeling singled out.

The searches were introduced in the summer of 2005 following terrorist attack on the transit system in London, England, which killed more than 50 people, and a failed attack weeks later in the same city. The NYPD said the searches were necessary and could stop future attacks here in New York. After all, the men who detonated the bombs in London carried the explosives in backpacks.

But some local teens feel the searches, which continue to this day, are unfair. "I feel like they are coming at the wrong people," said Adisa Cassell, a 17-year-old senior at Rice High School in Harlem. "If they are going to check anyone's book bag, check everybody's book bag."

Adisa says he and his friends feel the police deliberately target minorities, and that the searches are anything but random. They believe that white people are less likely to get their bags searched, or stopped and frisked. "I grew up in New York and I've never, in my 17 years, seen a cop stop a white boy," said Misaell Cabrall, who attends All Hallows High School on East 164th Street.

During his sophomore year in high school, Misaell was stopped by the police. "I was just going to pick up my girlfriend from school," he said. "Being that it was a half day, the police officer thought I was cutting school, but I wasn't."

Teens often feel they have to curb the way they dress or express themselves to protect against any preconceived notions police officers may have about young people. "Some teens feel nervous when they write on their [book] bag because they know that police officers would suspect them of being an uncivilized teenager," said Ryan Fuentes, 17. "They check you if you fit those descriptions."

Robert Gomez, a former FBI agent who is now a teacher at All Hallows, believes random bag searches in subway stations are a necessary evil; however, judging people on their appearance is wrong, he said.

Soon after the searches began, the New York Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the NYPD, charging that the searches were unconstitutional, as well as ineffective in stopping terrorism. But the NYCLU lost the court battle, and the searches continued.

The police did not return emails seeking comment on how the searches are conducted.