TSA Experiences [Archive] - Page 2

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Andrea

07-20-2013, 01:36 PM

TSA to expand speedier screening — for a fee

http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/2013/07/19/tsa-screening-pre-check-global-entry-dulles-indianapolis/2568101/ (http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/2013/07/19/tsa-screening-pre-check-global-entry-dulles-indianapolis/2568101/)

"But TSA Administrator John Pistole announced Friday the agency will expand eligibility for the program to include travelers who pay a one-time fee of $85 for five years, to cover an application with identifying information such as address and birthplace, a background check and fingerprinting."

Would you be willing to pay $85 and give the TSA/Homeland Security your information in exchange for the possibility (no guarantee) of speedier screening?

Andrea

07-27-2013, 12:00 PM

TSA Agent Beats Up Woman at ATL MARTA Station

TSA Agent Beats Up Woman at ATL MARTA Station - YouTube

This occurs at a railroad station and the TSA person is NOT at work.

Rockinonahigh

07-27-2013, 12:22 PM

On the 14th of next month i'm flying to vegas for a pool tournament,I am told I can bring on my pool case as a carry on,but i'm thinking of buying a large suit case and puting it in cady conered then packing my clothes around it.Many ideas have ben thought of by my team members all I know if someone messes up my very expensive custom stick I will be on really pissed off person..if it can be carryed on i'm ok with it but wonder if it's possable to do that.

Andrea

07-27-2013, 02:02 PM

Rockinonahigh

07-27-2013, 03:35 PM

According to the TSA website you can't take a cue stick as a carry on.

http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/prohibited-items (http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/prohibited-items)

Thats what I thought,it was my team captain who said we could carry them on.Back to plan b..thanks for clearing this up.

Andrea

07-28-2013, 08:21 AM

TSA officer, ex-Tarpon Springs police officer accused of kidnapping, sexually battering

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/dunedin-man-accused-of-posing-as-police-officer-sexually-battering-woman/2133549 (http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/dunedin-man-accused-of-posing-as-police-officer-sexually-battering-woman/2133549)

He left the police to work for TSA? Something stinks about that story.

Andrea

07-28-2013, 08:25 AM

Airport Security Without the Hassle

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/28/opinion/sunday/airport-security-without-the-hassle.html?_r=1& (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/28/opinion/sunday/airport-security-without-the-hassle.html?_r=1&)

"The chance of dying in an airplane is vanishingly small. The chance of being killed by a terrorist in an airplane is smaller still. Mark Stewart, a civil engineer who studies probabilistic risk, has put the odds at one in 90 million a year. Looking at these figures dispassionately, one might wonder if the Transportation Security Administration has found the right balance between safety and convenience with its notoriously burdensome airport screening procedures."

Bolding mine.....

Nic

07-29-2013, 03:03 PM

Andrea

07-31-2013, 07:35 AM

Report: TSA employee misconduct up 26% in 3 years

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/31/travel/tsa-misconduct/index.html?hpt=hp_t1 (http://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/31/travel/tsa-misconduct/index.html?hpt=hp_t1)

"Some of the most serious violations include: Employees sleeping on the job, letting family and friends go without being screened, leaving work without permission and stealing."

Andrea

07-31-2013, 07:40 AM

I got pulled for random search in Boston about 3 weeks ago. It was less of a pat down and more of a fondle if you ask me. Fortunately my gear wears well and it's not discernible as "after market equipment". I would have complained but the TSA agent was having a hard time getting used to her job and she seemed pretty embarrassed. It was her first day and she was obviously nervous. I thought that the female TSA agents did pat downs on women and the male TSA agents on men. Guess not. I hope that female passengers don't have to get patted down by male TSA agents somewhere. Is that sexist? I don't mean it to be. I think I wouldn't want my nieces patted down by a man but a woman could be equally efficient or disrespectful. I guess depends upon the person as always and it's not my right to hope anything except that everyone gets treated respectfully.

http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/pat-downs (http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/pat-downs)

"If a patdown is required in order to complete screening:

The patdown should be conducted by an officer of the same gender. Sometimes, passengers must wait for an officer of the same gender to become available."

It appears the TSA did not comply with their own rules and they should be reported.

*Anya*

07-31-2013, 07:47 AM

Week ahead: TSA Returns to the Hot Seat

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will return to the congressional hot seat as lawmakers hold a last week of hearings before they leave for their traditional recess during the dog days of summer.

The House Homeland Security’s Oversight and Management Efficiency and Transportation Security subcommittees will hold a hearing on Wednesday (7/31/13) about the TSA’s “integrity challenges.”

Officials with the panels said lawmakers will be examining “misconduct by airport security personnel.”

The hearings will be chaired by Reps. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) and Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.).

TSA has come under fire for undercover media reports that have captured footage of its employees stealing items such iPads and money from airline passengers' luggage.

The agency has traditionally argued that such instances of theft are outliers and no representative of the majority of its 47,000 workers. The TSA has fired employees who have been found to steal from passengers.

The hearing comes after the TSA had recently won rare plaudits from lawmakers for expanding access to its Pre-Check known traveler program.

There likely will not be many congratulations offered in Wednesday's hearing, however.

http://thehill.com/blogs/transportation-report/tsa/313991-week-ahead-tsa-returns-to-the-hot-seat#ixzz2ad9k94HC

Andrea

08-14-2013, 07:59 AM

TSA manager at Blue Grass Airport charged with sexual abuse of co-worker

http://www.kentucky.com/2013/08/13/2764038/tsa-manager-at-blue-grass-airport.html (http://www.kentucky.com/2013/08/13/2764038/tsa-manager-at-blue-grass-airport.html)

"A Transportation Security Administration manager at Lexington's Blue Grass Airport resigned after he was charged with sexually abusing a co-worker, according to court documents and TSA officials.

Shane Hinkle, 38, of Paris is accused of forcibly touching the co-worker, according to Fayette District Court records."

Andrea

08-20-2013, 06:51 AM

Stop TSA from scaring the children

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/letters/fl-online-letter3-20130817,0,7619543.story (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/letters/fl-online-letter3-20130817,0,7619543.story)

"She went through the metal detector with no problem. As expected, I set off the system and was asked to come to the side. However, as she was traveling with me, they also asked her to leave the line that she already had gone through and insisted on patting her down as well. She was crying and extremely frightened, to say the least."

Andrea

08-21-2013, 06:55 AM

Ron Hart: Keeping fear alive

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/tsa-521954-government-rule.html (http://www.ocregister.com/articles/tsa-521954-government-rule.html)

“Since 9/11, foreign-inspired terrorism has claimed about two dozen lives in the United States. (Meanwhile, more than 100,000 have been killed in gun homicides and more than 400,000 in motor-vehicle accidents.)”

– CNN

Rockinonahigh

08-21-2013, 10:47 AM

I just got back from Vegas,yesterday,when I got to my hotel room I found the tsa had broken up all my pool stick chalk,squeezed out all my hair jell,broken open a pack of hair combs then removed my pool sticks from the case to check them out..whoever did that had dirty hands cause my pool stick was sticky so it had to be reworked before I could play not to mention messed up my packed suit case then checked all my pills that were in the pill bottles I got them from at the druggest so I had to make shure the right pills were in the right bottles before I could take them.I had all my meds in an approved carry on sise suitcase but they said it had to be checked just the same I was glad I had some meds on my persons.In Shreveport I didnt get a pat down just a waund passed over me shoes off,belt off all the stuff in my pockets ect.When I left Vegas I got the whole nne yards of the tsa check including the xray machine and pat down by a woman tsa agent.I just delt with it to get it done and over with but shure didnt like it.Next trip to Vegas I swear I will drive cause I really dont care for flying or Americam Airlines...thats another story.

Andrea

08-21-2013, 06:42 PM

Andrea

08-28-2013, 06:26 PM

Holly Springs police charge former TSA supervisor with shoplifting

http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/08/27/3141906/police-charge-former-tsa-supervisor.html (http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/08/27/3141906/police-charge-former-tsa-supervisor.html)

"A U.S. Transportation Security Administration supervisor lost her job at Raleigh-Durham International Airport last week after police charged her with stealing about $95 worth of items from a Wal-Mart in Holly Springs."

Rockinonahigh

08-28-2013, 08:36 PM

But you do feel safer with all the security measures they used, don't you? /end sarcasm

Not one bit.Hear at home all I got was my cary on(back pack) xrayd then a wand pased over me.But in Veags I got xrayd stood in the spook machine that leves nada to the immagination then a pat down.I didnt care for any of it but bit back the snotty comment I had in my mind,I just wanted to go home.
Frankly I didnt leave a thing in vegas except my $$$ wich is all they were after any way.For whatever reason Vegas didnt make me bug eyed with antisiaption,I can watch strip shows and show girls right hear in Shreveport.
Onething about the food in Vegas was that only in rare occasions dose anyo0ne cook with seasonings ..most of it was bland & tastless.Thankgoodness for Louisiana cooking...heart is where the home(kitchen) is.

DapperButch

09-02-2013, 06:23 PM

Interesting story. TF and I went on a brief trip, last week.

When I went through the wave scanner on the first flight the monitor showed that I may have had metal (or whatever all it searches for), in my pockets (I had on men's cargo shorts) and there was a mark (it is a square block), on the middle of my chest. The female attendant asked me if I had a necklace on (I did not). Obviously, I had nothing in my pockets. Back into the machine I went. This time the machine only highlights my shorts and does not mark my chest. The women felt my pockets and then I was off and running. No biggy.

So, on trip back, I go through the machine. I am wearing another pair of men's cargo shorts. This time what is marked was my pockets and my genital area.

A male first touches my pockets. I then tell him I am female. I wasn't stressed about it, it just made sense to me that it would be a female who would be patting me down.

Anyway, the guy gets all flustered, apologizes, and sends me back into machine. This time my genitals did not get a mark, but my shorts again did. A female attendant touched my pockets and then waved me on.

I find it interesting that male vs. female effects the machine? I don't know if that is why the mark disappeared when they changed it to a female outline, or if it just disppeared for the random reason the marking on my chest disappeared the first time...just random.

Anyway, the patting down event didn't bother me either time. It has to be done, so no biggy.

http://www.smartertravel.com/blogs/today-in-travel/all-backscatter-body-scanners-officially-removed-from-airports.html?id=15035728

I never had to deal with the backscatter. I am glad that this machine uses radio waves instead of x-rays. I am a big believer that x-rays are not good for our health, and that in particular it stimulates cancer growth. I think that if I was a regular traveler I would choose to be patted down over going through an x-ray machine over and over again

ETA: They did go through TF's bag in a friendly, respectful way.

Andrea

09-06-2013, 07:37 AM

DFW Airport Police Targeted TSA in Sting Operation

http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/DFW-Airport-Police-Targeted-TSA-in-Sting-Operation-222618731.html (http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/DFW-Airport-Police-Targeted-TSA-in-Sting-Operation-222618731.html)

"Investigators found an American Airlines worker had stolen 100 parking passes for employee parking lots and recruited TSA officers to sell the passes to co-workers for $100 apiece, the sources said.

One person who was aware of the investigation said as many as 20 TSA officers are suspected of selling or buying the passes. Another person said the number was closer to 40."

Parking passes? Really? I wonder what they would do for $500....

Andrea

09-14-2013, 07:59 AM

Feds: Ex-TSA screener acted alone in threats case

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TSA_SCREENER_THREAT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-09-11-06-14-03 (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TSA_SCREENER_THREAT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-09-11-06-14-03)

"Federal authorities said Thursday they believe a former Los Angeles airport security screener acted alone and there wasn't a larger plot when he made threats that closed some airport terminals on the eve of the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks."

Andrea

09-14-2013, 08:01 AM

Been groped by TSA agents? Former DHS official implied privacy advocates are to blame

http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/been-groped-tsa-agents-former-dhs-official-implied-privacy-advocates-are-blame (http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/been-groped-tsa-agents-former-dhs-official-implied-privacy-advocates-are-blame)

"When passing through airport security to catch a flight, surely you've experienced either the body scanners or "enhanced" pat-downs. Well, fasten your flipping seatbelt because, according to a former DHS official, if you've been groped by TSA agents, you "can't blame the TSA;" instead, he implied that you should blame privacy advocates."

Andrea

09-14-2013, 08:02 AM

Feds Stalked Airline Passenger Lists to Catch Manning’s Friend, Documents Show

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/09/manning-friend-database-stalked/ (http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/09/manning-friend-database-stalked/)

"Federal agents entered the name of a friend of Chelsea Manning into a government watchlist database and waited months for him to leave the country for vacation just so they could nab him when he returned to seize his digital devices, according to documents released this week in a lawsuit."

Andrea

09-24-2013, 07:37 PM

Authorities probe suspicious device in luggage at Birmingham airport

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2013/09/authorities_probe_suspicous_de.html (http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2013/09/authorities_probe_suspicous_de.html)

"BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Authorities have cleared the scene at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport where a suspicious device was investigated earlier today.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, along with Birmingham police, the FBI, and the TSA were among the agencies involved in the investigation. Lawmen tell AL.com an item inside luggage being screened during check-in appeared suspicious.

Early reports were that it looked like a pipe bomb. Authorities checked the item, and said it didn't appear to be any kind of explosive device.

The passenger has said the item is part of his work. The terminal was evacuated, but was given the all-clear just after noon.

The passenger was allowed to travel on to Dallas. He is going, however, without his luggage which has been taken to the Birmingham Police Department's range. Bomb experts there will remotely detonate the luggage as a precaution."

Luggage was cleared, terminal was repopulated, and passenger was allowed to continue to his destination but they still blew the bag up??

Andrea

10-06-2013, 11:13 AM

Child hops flight from Twin Cities to Sin City alone, sans ticket

http://us.cnn.com/2013/10/06/us/vegas-flight-child/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 (http://us.cnn.com/2013/10/06/us/vegas-flight-child/index.html?hpt=hp_t2)

"Officials are trying to figure out how he got through security -- let alone on the flight."

Andrea

10-08-2013, 07:29 AM

TSA Harasses Sick Kid, Family Misses Flight

http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/tsa-harasses-sick-kid--family-misses-flight-154956391.html (http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/tsa-harasses-sick-kid--family-misses-flight-154956391.html)

"A woman traveling with her 3-year-old was so delayed by the way Transportation Security Administration officials handled her son’s medically necessary formula that the two missed their flight."

Andrea

10-13-2013, 06:44 AM

Phoenix airport screening draws angry complaints

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/11/phoenix-airport-screening-draws-angry-complaints/2970589/ (http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/11/phoenix-airport-screening-draws-angry-complaints/2970589/)

Not sure how accurate this reporting is as the hand held wand described in the groin chop have not been used in years......

Andrea

10-18-2013, 06:39 AM

Andrea

10-18-2013, 06:41 AM

Air marshal accused of taking photos up women's dresses at BNA

http://www.wsmv.com/story/23722109/air-marshal-accused-of-taking-photos-up-womens-dresses-at-bna (http://www.wsmv.com/story/23722109/air-marshal-accused-of-taking-photos-up-womens-dresses-at-bna)

"A federal air marshal is accused of using his cell phone to take pictures underneath women's dresses as they boarded a flight at Nashville International Airport."

DapperButch

10-18-2013, 09:32 AM

Autistic workers may make more reliable TSA baggage handlers, study says

http://globegazette.com/features/autistic-workers-may-make-more-reliable-tsa-baggage-handlers-study/article_964e32ac-a0cf-5d77-9cc2-35d450bc3a04.html (http://globegazette.com/features/autistic-workers-may-make-more-reliable-tsa-baggage-handlers-study/article_964e32ac-a0cf-5d77-9cc2-35d450bc3a04.html)

"A study published this year by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Minnesota found that high-functioning autistic men were just as accurate and almost as fast as non-autistic people in finding weapons in X-ray images of baggage.

More important, their performance improved as time went on, particularly in correctly identifying bags that had no weapons."

This is not shocking at all to me.

I love the last sentence of the article, as it is so accurate, and unfortunately unknown by the greater populace:

"... (autistic) individuals have unique abilities that can give them an advantage over others at performing some tasks."

My hope is that overtime autistic individuals will be seen for the incredible skill set many of them have and will be sought out by employers, rather than their skils either not being "seen" or them being discriminated against from the first interview due to their "poor" (per our society), social skills.

My mind goes to higher end, tech government jobs that people who are not neurotypical would do better at than others. I know someone whose father fits this category, has very high up security clearance. She says that many of the people at his workplace seem to be non-neurotypical (in her layman's perspective). This does not surprise me.

Andrea

10-18-2013, 02:15 PM

Andrea

10-23-2013, 06:38 AM

Security Check Now Starts Long Before You Fly

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/22/business/security-check-now-starts-long-before-you-fly.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hpw& (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/22/business/security-check-now-starts-long-before-you-fly.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hpw&)

"The Transportation Security Administration is expanding its screening of passengers before they arrive at the airport by searching a wide array of government and private databases that can include records like car registrations and employment information."

"...For instance, an update about the T.S.A.’s Transportation Security Enforcement Record System, which contains information about travelers accused of “violations or potential violations” of security regulations, warns that the records may be shared with “a debt collection agency for the purpose of debt collection.”... "

"...A recent privacy notice about PreCheck notes that fingerprints submitted by people who apply for the program will be used by the F.B.I. to check its unsolved crimes database... "

(Bolding mine)

DapperButch

10-23-2013, 08:24 AM

TSA: Terrorist Threat to Air Safety is Minimal

http://www.frequentbusinesstraveler.com/2013/10/tsa-terrorist-threat-to-air-safety-is-minimal/ (http://www.frequentbusinesstraveler.com/2013/10/tsa-terrorist-threat-to-air-safety-is-minimal/)

"While air travelers continue to be told that they must remove their shoes and go through a body scanner to combat the threat of terrorism in the skies, it turns out that the Transportation Safety Administration has gone on record stating that the threat and risk of terrorist attacks on aviation is very small."

Right, there has been no incidents, but how do we know that part of the reason for this is because those these strategies were put in place? Perhaps we would have seen more incidents if the changes didn't occur (people would have tried to bring things through). There is no way to know.

Andrea

10-23-2013, 08:35 AM

Right, there has been no incidents, but how do we know that part of the reason for this is because those these strategies were put in place? Perhaps we would have seen more incidents if the changes didn't occur (people would have tried to bring things through). There is no way to know.

Can we agree to disagree about this? :|

DapperButch

10-23-2013, 09:20 AM

Can we agree to disagree about this? :|

Absolutely, Andrea! :)

As an aside, I do enjoy this thread very much and appreciate your postings.

Cin

10-23-2013, 10:47 AM

Once the decision is made to buy into the idea of trading freedom for the illusion of safety it becomes impossible to convince someone it does not work. If nothing happens clearly the restrictions are working and the trade off is worth it and the person is safe. If something goes wrong then clearly what is needed is to restrict freedom further. It’s a slippery slope. It would be so much better to remove the reasons for terrorism in the first place, but that would require a restructuring of, well, of everything. Clearly it is easier and more comfortable to evoke righteous indignation and continue to take freedom away. And it does have a kind of sense about it. i mean if a country is going to continue pissing people off around the globe, people who generally have limited ways to bring attention to the abuses perpetrated against them, it only seems fair and logical that this country make an attempt to keep its citizens safe. Especially since not pissing people off around the world by perpetrating or supporting abuses against them is apparently not an option.

Glenn

11-09-2013, 12:27 PM

Obama's NOT Hilter's words:
"We cannot rely on our military in order to achieve national security objectives we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded."
The TSA now has more ammunition than the US military.
http://conpats.blogsport.com/2013/08/obamas-army-possesses--more-ammo-than-us.html
Meanwhile, he's purging the real armed forces from officers who would refuse orders to fire on other Americans.
http://www.prisonplanet.com/military...stitution.html

Once the decision is made to buy into the idea of trading freedom for the illusion of safety it becomes impossible to convince someone it does not work. If nothing happens clearly the restrictions are working and the trade off is worth it and the person is safe. If something goes wrong then clearly what is needed is to restrict freedom further. It’s a slippery slope. It would be so much better to remove the reasons for terrorism in the first place, but that would require a restructuring of, well, of everything. Clearly it is easier and more comfortable to evoke righteous indignation and continue to take freedom away. And it does have a kind of sense about it. i mean if a country is going to continue pissing people off around the globe, people who generally have limited ways to bring attention to the abuses perpetrated against them, it only seems fair and logical that this country make an attempt to keep its citizens safe. Especially since not pissing people off around the world by perpetrating or supporting abuses against them is apparently not an option.

This blog posting describes issues Sai has had with TSA due to his neurological disorder.

http://saizai.com/tsa (http://saizai.com/tsa)

Does his treatment really make you feel safer?

Please consider how many people the ineffectual TSA 'rules' adversely affect.

Andrea

11-21-2013, 07:51 AM

Dead TSA Screener Ernesto Lluberes Had Drugs in Car

http://tsatoday.wordpress.com/2013/11/20/dead-tsa-screener-ernesto-lluberes-had-drugs-in-car/ (http://tsatoday.wordpress.com/2013/11/20/dead-tsa-screener-ernesto-lluberes-had-drugs-in-car/)

"At this point what is clear is that the dead TSA screener was involved in criminal activity. The only questions remaining are who killed him and how deeply involved in crime he was while being paid by taxpayers to assure airport security."

Andrea

11-21-2013, 07:54 AM

DHS Still Hasn't Fired Black Supremacist Who Called for Mass Murder of Whites

http://m.govexec.com/defense/2013/11/dhs-still-hasnt-fired-black-supremacist-who-called-mass-murder-whites/74090/?oref=river&oref=ge-android-interstitial-continue (http://m.govexec.com/defense/2013/11/dhs-still-hasnt-fired-black-supremacist-who-called-mass-murder-whites/74090/?oref=river&oref=ge-android-interstitial-continue)

"Kimathi, using the online nom de guerre "the Irritated Genie," called for "ethnic cleansing" of "black-skinned Uncle Tom race traitors" on his website, which envisioned a massive race war on the horizon. "In order for Black people to survive the 21st century, we are going to have to kill a lot of whites—more than our Christian hearts can possibly count," he wrote.

In other postings, he warned that whites and their enablers like President Obama are trying to "homosexualize" black men in order to make them weaker, and suggested that a woman's primary role in life should be to "keep a strong Black man happy." He also seemed to hold anti-Semitic views, claiming in a Facebook post that his website was under attack from a conspiracy of "zionist smallhats, the Uncle Tom koons," and, naturally, "the haters.""

Andrea

11-21-2013, 07:57 AM

Henrico man, TSA employee, charged in father’s shooting death.

http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/local/henrico/henrico-man-tsa-employee-charged-in-father-s-shooting-death/article_62ff19a2-e43f-530b-bf4f-30f9ab2904a5.html?mode=jqm (http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/local/henrico/henrico-man-tsa-employee-charged-in-father-s-shooting-death/article_62ff19a2-e43f-530b-bf4f-30f9ab2904a5.html?mode=jqm)

Andrea

11-24-2013, 08:41 AM

Don’t pet the TSA dogs. Do collect the cards.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/tsa-k-9-handlers-handing-out-trading-cards-of-working-dogs/2013/11/21/16e9aa96-4d82-11e3-be6b-d3d28122e6d4_story.html (http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/tsa-k-9-handlers-handing-out-trading-cards-of-working-dogs/2013/11/21/16e9aa96-4d82-11e3-be6b-d3d28122e6d4_story.html)

"Last year, the agency started producing collectible cards featuring the members of the TSA team, more than 107 animals with a nose for things that could go “kaboom.” The novelty items feature a close-up photo of the dog and its biographical info: e.g., Lino, a German wirehaired pointer, born Dec. 1, 2010, educated at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. A smaller image on the flip side shows the dogs in action, like Cymro investigating a garbage can and Jolly poking around a bench. The tiny print describes the dog’s specialty and career highlights."

Andrea

11-24-2013, 08:46 AM

TSA supervisor among 2 men charged in cocaine conspiracy

http://virginislandsdailynews.com/news/tsa-supervisor-among-2-men-charged-in-cocaine-conspiracy-1.1589215 (http://virginislandsdailynews.com/news/tsa-supervisor-among-2-men-charged-in-cocaine-conspiracy-1.1589215)

"Two Virgin Islanders, one of whom is a supervisor for the Transportation and Security Administration, will face charges of conspiracy to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine in Miami."

Andrea

12-04-2013, 08:17 AM

TSA Expands Searches of Parked Cars at Airports

http://www.infowars.com/tsa-expands-searches-of-parked-cars-at-airports/ (http://www.infowars.com/tsa-expands-searches-of-parked-cars-at-airports/)

"TSA-approved warrantless searches of vehicles parked outside airports are being expanded, with a photograph taken at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport informing Thanksgiving travelers that all vehicles belonging to AmeriPark customers “will be searched by uniformed security.”"

DapperButch

12-04-2013, 04:28 PM

Andrea

12-05-2013, 08:39 AM

DHS stalls no-fly list trial by putting witness on no-fly list

http://boingboing.net/2013/12/04/dhs-stalls-no-fly-list-trial-b.html (http://boingboing.net/2013/12/04/dhs-stalls-no-fly-list-trial-b.html)

"Edward Hasbrouck of the Identity Project is doing a fantastic job of reporting on-site from Ibrahim v. DHS, the first legal challenge of United States government's no-fly list that has ever seen a courtroom. On the first day of trial, the judge learned that the plaintiff's daughter, scheduled to testify, was delayed because she had been denied boarding of her flight because she was put a Department of Homeland Security no-fly list. DHS staff deny this. The government's lawyers told the judge that the daughter is lying. The airline provided documentation of the DHS no-fly order. The subject matter of this trial is intense---restriction of movement based on blacklists---but there's no sign of an end to the jaw-dropping entertainment."

Andrea

12-09-2013, 02:10 PM

DISASTER AVERTED: TSA agent bravely confiscates sockmonkey’s gun

http://bearingarms.com/disaster-averted-tsa-agent-bravely-confiscates-sockmonkeys-gun/ (http://bearingarms.com/disaster-averted-tsa-agent-bravely-confiscates-sockmonkeys-gun/)

"May has a small business selling unique sock monkey dolls. She says she and her husband were on their way from St. Louis to Sea-Tac and she had a couple of monkeys and sewing supplies with her in a carry-on bag.

“His pistol was in there,” she says of the sock monkey “Rooster Monkburn,” a take-off on John Wayne character “Rooster Cogburn” from the film “True Grit.”

May and her husband were going through the screening process when she noticed that one of her bags was missing.

“And the (TSA agent) held it up and said ‘whose is this?’” she said. “I realized oh, my God this is my bag.”

May said the TSA agent went through the bag, through the sewing supplies and found the two-inch long pistol.

“She said ‘this is a gun,’” said May. “I said no, it’s not a gun it’s a prop for my monkey.”

“She said ‘If I held it up to your neck, you wouldn’t know if it was real or not,’ and I said ‘really?’” said May.

The TSA agent told May she would have to confiscate the tiny gun and was supposed to call the police.

“I said well go ahead,” said May. “And I said really? You’re kidding me right, and she said no it looks like a gun.”

“She took my monkey’s gun,” said May, who has retained her sense of humor.

“Rooster Monkburn has been disarmed so I’m sure everyone on the plane was safe,” she said. “I understand she was doing her job but at some point doesn’t common sense prevail?”"

Andrea

12-23-2013, 08:17 AM

7 Reasons the TSA Sucks (A Security Expert's Perspective)

http://www.cracked.com/blog/7-reasons-tsa-sucks-a-security-experts-perspective/ (http://www.cracked.com/blog/7-reasons-tsa-sucks-a-security-experts-perspective/)

"For a bunch of people in snappy uniforms patting down crotches, the TSA is remarkably unpopular. Nobody likes going through security at the airport, but you probably figured most of it had a point. All those hours spent in line with other shoeless travelers are a necessary precursor to safe flying. It's annoying, but at least it wards off terrorism.

That's all bullshit. The TSA couldn't protect you from a 6-year-old with a water balloon. What are my qualifications for saying that? My name is Rafi Sela, and I was the head of security for the world's safest airport. Here's what your country does wrong."

Andrea

12-25-2013, 08:08 AM

The TSA's 12 Banned Items of Christmas

luNfghUnvFg

Andrea

12-27-2013, 08:36 AM

'Inebriated' man, cross-dressed man jump airport fences in Newark, Phoenix

http://us.cnn.com/2013/12/26/us/new-jersey-airport-security-breach/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 (http://us.cnn.com/2013/12/26/us/new-jersey-airport-security-breach/index.html?hpt=hp_t2)

"In 2012, the TSA was criticized for failing to report, track and fix other types of airport security breaches adequately, according to the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general.

The agency's report said the TSA "does not have a complete understanding" of breaches at the nation's airports.

The report was requested by the late New Jersey Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg after a series of breaches at Newark, including a knife bypassing TSA screening, passengers walking around security checkpoints and a dead dog transported without being screened for explosives.

The TSA took action to fix only 42% of the security breaches documented at the Newark airport, according to the report."

Bolding mine.

Andrea

02-11-2014, 10:23 AM

“He’s Wearing a Diaper!”: TSA Agent Humiliates Cancer Victim

http://www.infowars.com/hes-wearing-a-diaper-tsa-agent-humiliates-cancer-victim/ (http://www.infowars.com/hes-wearing-a-diaper-tsa-agent-humiliates-cancer-victim/)

"A cancer victim who suffers from incontinence was humiliated during an incident last week when a TSA agent loudly announced “he’s wearing a diaper” to waiting travelers, before laughing and subjecting the man to a strip search."

Andrea

02-11-2014, 03:00 PM

Reach for the sky! Overzealous Heathrow security officials 'confiscate' Toy Story cowboy Woody DOLL'S miniature gun

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2556586/Reach-sky-Overzealous-Heathrow-security-officials-confiscate-Toy-Story-cowboy-Woody-DOLLS-miniature-gun.html (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2556586/Reach-sky-Overzealous-Heathrow-security-officials-confiscate-Toy-Story-cowboy-Woody-DOLLS-miniature-gun.html)

"With his trademark cowboy boots, cute waistcoat and red neckerchief, little Woody from Toy Story hardly looks like an imposing figure.

But the cowboy doll was apparently branded a terror risk at Heathrow Airport – because it was holding a miniature six-shooter.

A bemused air traveller has claimed on a social networking site that the figure was examined at Heathrow by security staff - who then subsequently confiscated the doll’s tiny firearm."

Andrea

03-15-2014, 06:45 AM

TSA Halts Testing on Technology to Screen Passengers' Online Data

http://www.nextgov.com/big-data/2014/03/tsa-halts-testing-technology-screen-passengers-online-data/80065/ (http://www.nextgov.com/big-data/2014/03/tsa-halts-testing-technology-screen-passengers-online-data/80065/)

"The Transportation Security Administration has called off -- for now -- live tests of technology that would expand background checks on airplane passengers to include analyses of their online presences.

The idea was to have contractors analyze consumer data -- potentially including dating profiles and shopping histories -- on fliers who apply for the voluntary "Pre✓” program. Pre✓, open to all U.S. citizens, lets passengers breeze through dedicated checkpoints without removing shoes, belts, laptops or TSA-compliant liquids after paying an $85 fee and proving their identities."

Bolding mine!

Andrea

03-28-2014, 09:47 AM

Not TSA people but airport employees that have passed TSA background checks.

LAX Workers Busted For Stealing from Suitcases

http://gma.yahoo.com/lax-workers-busted-stealing-suitcases-keep-luggage-safe-195314146--abc-news-topstories.html (http://gma.yahoo.com/lax-workers-busted-stealing-suitcases-keep-luggage-safe-195314146--abc-news-topstories.html)

"The FBI served 25 search warrants and made six arrests Wednesday night at Los Angeles International Airport, accusing workers there of stealing items from travelers' luggage."

Andrea

04-08-2014, 07:28 AM

Disabled woman denied flight out of LAX due to expired license

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=9492805 (http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=9492805)

"LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A woman left disabled after a stroke was denied a flight out of Los Angeles International Airport due to an expired driver's license.

Sherry Wright, of Canyon Country, is still upset about the way she and her disabled sister, Heidi Wright, were treated by a Transportation Security Administration official at LAX.

Heidi, 58, suffered a stroke 10 years ago. She is wheelchair-bound and unable to speak.

"He just wanted me to make my sister talk, and I couldn't believe it. I was like, 'Wow, we're going to make a miracle right now,'" said Wright.

Sherry took Heidi to the airport Wednesday for a flight to Phoenix, but they were stopped by the TSA because of the expired license.

"I showed her ID, her social and her DMV papers," said Sherry."

From TSA website (bolding mine):
Adult passengers (18 and over) are required to show a valid U.S. federal or state-issued photo ID in order to be allowed to go through the checkpoint and onto their flight.

We understand passengers occasionally arrive at the airport without an ID, due to lost items or inadvertently leaving them at home. Not having an ID does not necessarily mean a passenger won't be allowed to fly. If passengers are willing to provide additional information, we have other means of substantiating someone's identity, like using publicly available databases.

Andrea

04-25-2014, 07:24 AM

TSA Gives Full Body Pat Down to 2 and 6 Year Old Children [VIDEO]

http://www.travelerstoday.com/articles/9588/20140423/tsa-gives-full-body-pat-down-to-2-and-6-year-old-children-video.htm (http://www.travelerstoday.com/articles/9588/20140423/tsa-gives-full-body-pat-down-to-2-and-6-year-old-children-video.htm)

Andrea

05-11-2014, 09:00 AM

TSA supervisor busted for having sex with underage girls in the Dominican Republic

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/tsa-supervisor-busted-sex-underage-girls-dominican-republic-officials-article-1.1786724 (http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/tsa-supervisor-busted-sex-underage-girls-dominican-republic-officials-article-1.1786724)

Andrea

05-28-2014, 06:21 AM

Exclusive: Transgender travelers singled out in TSA screenings, docs show

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/5/26/groin-anomalies-andpatdownstravelingwhiletrans.html (http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/5/26/groin-anomalies-andpatdownstravelingwhiletrans.html)

Department of Homeland Security documents obtained last month reveal details of incidents in which transgender travelers were subjected to heightened scrutiny when passing through airport security checkpoints.

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests netted civil rights complaints, incident reports and internal memos and emails from the DHS's Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and the Transportation Security Administration. They show that trans people have been required to undergo pat-down searches by officers of the opposite gender, reveal or remove items such as chest binders and prosthetic penises and defend challenges to their gender identities and their right to opt out of body scans, among other problems.

Zimmeh

05-28-2014, 07:57 AM

I work at an airport and had to go to another terminal for work. The TSA agent stopped me and asked to see in my mouth. I gladly smiled for him and he noticed that I had braces with a pink chain over them. I know several of the agents and asked them how he could not see I had titanium brackets attached to my teeth, their response still makes me laugh. They said he was just bring an asshole that day. I understand why they are a little crazy at times. One of the agents was attacked by a traveler and had to be rushed to the hospital.

Zimmeh

clay

05-28-2014, 08:20 AM

Was in the Caribbean a couple weeks ago. Going through customs on St. Croix as we arrived was a breeze.
As we left, I was in a WC (having just had my knee replaced 7 weeks prior to) going through customs to depart island. I was scanned, had the wand all over me PLUS a patdown over my whole body!! A female agent did the exam. My partner and gate agent who were escorting me through were on other side, laughing so hard at me...my "expression" was funny they say. Of course, I was shaking so hard....BUT NOT due to exam. I was afraid for take off. It was a mini hurricane going on at time of departure. ALL I could see was that huge mountain we had to climb up and over on takeoff! Whew.
My TSA experience was very pleasant. Their job is a difficult one, to say the least! I applaud them.
BTW, the metal prosthetic in my knee...was NO issue at all. I even had my card stating such..they weren't even interested in that at all.
Thank you, TSA!!!

Andrea

06-05-2014, 04:06 PM

TSA worker accused of attacking colleague with box cutter

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/tsa-worker-accused-of-attacking-colleague-with-box/ngCbH/ (http://www.ajc.com/news/news/tsa-worker-accused-of-attacking-colleague-with-box/ngCbH/)

The good news is he had passed his background check....../end sarcasm

Andrea

06-20-2014, 07:06 AM

Say Hello to Higher Airline Ticket Fees Next Month

http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2014/06/19/say-hello-to-higher-airline-ticket-fees-next-month/ (http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2014/06/19/say-hello-to-higher-airline-ticket-fees-next-month/)

"The agreement raised the fees to a flat rate of $5.60 added to each leg of a trip from $2.50 for a nonstop flight, or $5 for a trip with a layover.

The TSA is looking to charge an extra $5.60 fee for each leg of the flight where there is a connection of more than four hours."

Andrea

07-02-2014, 04:43 PM

Don't forget these people are hired to keep us safe and they must pass rigorous background checks.....

TSA agent arrested after drugs found inside SW Miami-Dade home

http://www.wsvn.com/story/25840586/woman-arrested-after-drugs-tsa-uniforms-found-inside-sw-miami-dade-home (http://www.wsvn.com/story/25840586/woman-arrested-after-drugs-tsa-uniforms-found-inside-sw-miami-dade-home)

"According to Daniels' arrest affidavit, a search warrant was executed at her home, located on the 11300 block of Southwest 245th Street in Southwest Miami-Dade, Saturday. Detectives found large amounts of cocaine and marijuana, as well as a loaded Beretta PX4 handgun"

"The complaint also states Daniels' four children were home during drug transactions"

Andrea

08-06-2014, 07:12 AM

Stowaway Arrested at LAX After Boarding Flight from San Jose

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Marilyn-Hartman-LAX-Stowaway-Arrested-Southwest-Flight-from-San-Jose-270076971.html (http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Marilyn-Hartman-LAX-Stowaway-Arrested-Southwest-Flight-from-San-Jose-270076971.html)

A woman who tried unsuccessfully several times to stow away aboard planes at San Francisco International Airport has breached security at another Bay Area airport. This time the plane took off with her on board.

Marilyn Hartman, 62, managed to navigate through security at Mineta San Jose International Airport on Monday night – without a proper boarding pass – and got on Southwest Airlines Flight 3785 to Los Angeles International Airport, NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit has learned. She apparently bypassed a document checker after a couple of failed attempts.

(Bolding mine)

Andrea

09-11-2014, 03:21 PM

Video: TSA Demands to Conduct Full Body Pat Down on Man After His Plane Already Landed

http://www.infowars.com/video-tsa-demands-to-conduct-full-body-pat-down-on-man-after-his-plane-already-landed/ (http://www.infowars.com/video-tsa-demands-to-conduct-full-body-pat-down-on-man-after-his-plane-already-landed/)

"TSA agents demanded to conduct a full body pat down on a man after he had already landed and was set to leave Denver Airport in a security mix up that was caught on camera.

Kahler Nygard flew from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to Denver last Saturday but was told to exit the plane before all other passengers before being met by TSA agents at the gate.

Video of the incident shows Nygard asking if he is being detained by TSA agents as an officer requests that Nygard follow him into a private screening room."

Andrea

09-19-2014, 07:19 AM

Shirtless, greasy, barefoot man tried to stow away on JetBlue plane

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-fbi-orlando-international-airport-20140918-story.html

"Hall, 32, of Orlando, was arrested Thursday after he burrowed his way under a fence into a restricted area of the Orlando International Airport then climbed into the wheel well of an airliner hoping for a free ride to the Big Apple.

Orlando police say Hall walked about eight miles from Oak Ridge Road to the airport then spent hours inside the wheel well before he finally got out and was spotted standing on the tarmac by a JetBlue Airline employee.

Hall was shirtless, greasy and barefoot standing near a light pole."

Andrea

09-20-2014, 02:48 PM

Passengers with 'ISIS' T-shirts detained at JFK airport

http://7online.com/news/passengers-with-isis-t-shirts-detained-at-jfk/314528/ (http://7online.com/news/passengers-with-isis-t-shirts-detained-at-jfk/314528/)

"A group of about 10 travelers were briefly detained at Kennedy Airport because several of them were wearing shirts with "ISIS" written on them.

And at least one of the passengers on Sun Country Airlines Flight 243 from Minneapolis to Kennedy Airport was carrying a bag with "ISIS" written on it

The passengers were questioned upon arrival at Kennedy Airport's Terminal 4 at noon, then released with no charges.

Aircraft cargo in the plane was swept and nothing suspicious was found.

The ISIS shirts were apparently from an overseas travel agency.

Sun Country Airlines has not responded to request for comment."

Andrea

09-20-2014, 02:54 PM

Police search luggage with bomb-sniffing dog and pull passengers off plane after bag with logo similar to ISIS insignia causes security scare at New York airport

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-2762021/Security-scare-JFK-Airport-New-York-luggage-logo-similar-ISIS-insignia-noticed-Sun-Country-Airlines-flight.html (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-2762021/Security-scare-JFK-Airport-New-York-luggage-logo-similar-ISIS-insignia-noticed-Sun-Country-Airlines-flight.html)

'I didn’t see luggage but there did seem to be some profiling going on because the people detained were wearing hijabs and clothing you see in the Middle East.’

Andrea

02-04-2015, 09:26 PM

Innocent frequent flier detained after run-in with TSA

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20150204_TSA_jails_innocent_traveler_when_he_asks_ to_file_a_complaint.html (http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20150204_TSA_jails_innocent_traveler_when_he_asks_ to_file_a_complaint.html)

APPARENTLY, working as a supervisor for the Transportation Security Administration at Philadelphia International Airport comes with a perk: You get to throw people in jail for no good reason and still keep your job.

GinaSofia

02-04-2015, 10:25 PM

Andrea

02-05-2015, 04:55 AM

I'd pull them the fuck out too! Fuck ISIS and thank God for our security teams.

Did you read the article? The ISIS logo was not the evil ISIS. It was an travel agency.

How did removing the passengers wearing shirts with a logo on them make flying any safer?

Andrea

02-10-2015, 07:41 AM

http://www.news10.net/story/news/nation/2015/02/09/serial-stowaway-slips-aboard-jacksonville-flight/23155913/ (http://www.news10.net/story/news/nation/2015/02/09/serial-stowaway-slips-aboard-jacksonville-flight/23155913/)

She does it again! :)

"An alleged serial stowaway who somehow slipped past airport security onto a flight to Jacksonville and then reportedly talked her way into a villa at the Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort had to change her accommodations Monday morning — to a cell at the Nassau County Jail."

*Anya*

03-24-2015, 07:21 AM

$1 Billion TSA Behavioral Screening Program Slammed as Ineffective “Junk Science”

The Transportation Security Administration(TSA) has been accused of spending a billion dollars on a passenger-screening program that’s based on junk science.

The claim arose in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which has tried unsuccessfully to get the TSA to release documents on its SPOT (Screening Passengers by Observation Techniques) program through the Freedom of Information Act.

SPOT, whose techniques were first used in 2003 and formalized in 2007, uses “highly questionable” screening techniques, according to the ACLU complaint, while being “discriminatory, ineffective, pseudo-scientific, and wasteful of taxpayer money.” TSA has spent at least $1 billion on SPOT.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported in 2010 that “TSA deployed SPOT nationwide before first determining whether there was a scientifically valid basis for using behavior detection and appearance indicators as a means for reliably identifying passengers as potential threats in airports,” according to the ACLU. And in 2013, GAO recommended that the agency spend less money on the program, which uses 3,000 “behavior detection officers” whose jobs is to identify terrorists before they board jetliners.

The ACLU contends SPOT uses racial profiling, even though TSA has a zero-tolerance policy for such singling out of people based on their ethnicity. The lawsuit says “passengers, as well as behavior detection officers themselves, have complained that this process results in subjecting people of Middle Eastern descent or appearance, African Americans, Hispanics, and other minorities to additional questioning and screening solely on the basis of their race.”

Furthermore, “there is no known instance in which these techniques were responsible for apprehending someone who posed a security threat” after years of using SPOT.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

http://www.allgov.com/news/where-is-the-money-going/1-billion-dollar-tsa-behavioral-screening-program-slammed-as-ineffective-junk-science-150323?news=856031

To Learn More:

TSA Asked to Divulge Screening Techniques (by Adam Klasfeld, Courthouse News Service)

ACLU Sues TSA over Behavior Screening Program (by Bart Jansen, USA Today)

American Civil Liberties Union v. Transportation Security Administration (U.S. District Court, Southern New York) (pdf)

Request Under Freedom of Information Act/Expedited Processing Requested(American Civil Liberties Union) (pdf)

TSA Behavior Detection Technique Deemed Not Much Better than “Chance” (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)

Andrea

03-24-2015, 08:07 AM

“there is no known instance in which these techniques were responsible for apprehending someone who posed a security threat” after years of using SPOT.

Not to be confused with there is no known instance where anything TSA has done has resulted in deterring a terrorist incident.

Andrea

05-21-2015, 09:50 AM

Hundreds More Airport SIDA Badges Missing

New information to an ongoing NBC 5 investigation found hundreds of airport security badges, known as Secure Identification Display Area (SIDA) badges, are unaccounted for across the country.

Working in partnership with the NBC station in San Diego, NBC 5 Investigates found more than 270 SIDA badges missing at the San Diego International Airport in the last two years.

http://www.nbcdfw.com/investigations/Hundreds-More-TSA-SIDA-Badges-Missing-304485391.html (http://www.nbcdfw.com/investigations/Hundreds-More-TSA-SIDA-Badges-Missing-304485391.html)

*Anya*

06-01-2015, 12:04 PM

Investigators able to smuggle weapons past airport checks in 95 percent of tests

JUSTIN FISHEL, PIERRE THOMAS, MIKE LEVINE and JACK DATE via GOOD MORNING AMERICA

8:54 AM, Jun 1, 2015
27 mins ago

An investigation of the Transportation Security Administration revealed security failures at dozens of the nation’s busiest airports, where undercover investigators were able to smuggle mock explosives or banned weapons through checkpoints in 95 percent of trials, ABC News learned exclusively.

The series of tests were conducted by Homeland Security Red Teams who pose as passengers, setting out to beat the system.

According to officials briefed on the results of a recent Homeland Security Inspector General’s report, TSA agents failed 67 out of 70 tests, with Red Team members repeatedly able to get potential weapons through checkpoints.

In one test an undercover agent was stopped after setting off an alarm at a magnetometer, but TSA screeners failed to detect a fake explosive device that was taped to his back during a follow-on pat down.

Officials would not divulge the exact time period of the testing other than to say it concluded recently.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson was apparently so frustrated by the findings he sought a detailed briefing on them last week at TSA headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, according to sources. U.S. officials insisted changes have already been made at airports to address vulnerabilities identified by the latest tests.

“Upon learning the initial findings of the Office of Inspector General's report, Secretary Johnson immediately directed TSA to implement a series of actions, several of which are now in place, to address the issues raised in the report,” the DHS said in a written statement to ABC News.

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/national/tsa-failure-investigators-able-to-smuggle-weapons-past-airport-checks-in-95-percent-of-tests

*Anya*

06-12-2015, 05:47 PM

(Washington Post) – The inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday that he is investigating the leak of classified information from an undercover operation in which investigators were able to slip through airport security with weapons and phony bombs more than 95 percent of the time.

“We have started an investigation to determine where the leak was,” Inspector General John Roth told the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

The information received widespread attention in the news media and on Capitol Hill. Roth told the panel that he had briefed top officials about his findings without the information leaking to the public.

“I was as disturbed as anyone that this information got into the media,” he said.

He declined to discuss in Tuesday’s public hearing any aspect of the investigation, in which auditors from his department were able to carry weapons or bomb-like material through airport-security checkpoints in 67 of 70 attempts this year.

Acting TSA Administrator Melvin Carraway was forced from the job last week after reports of the airport-security issues became public. U.S. Coast Guard Vice Adm. Peter Neffenger is awaiting Senate confirmation to become TSA administrator.

Asked whether security at any one airport proved to be more lax than at others, Roth said, “The results were consistent across airports.”

Former TSA head John S. Pistole said last week that some people assigned to test airport security might have had the upper hand because they were intimately familiar with checkpoint operations. He also said that unlike terrorists, intelligence-gathering networks don’t alert the TSA of their planned operations.

“The testers don’t have any special background or training in this area,” Roth said when asked whether his undercover operatives were particularly knowledgeable about overcoming security operations.

The hearing came five days after the release of an inspector general report that said the TSA did not identify 73 aviation industry workers whose links to terrorism should have raised suspicion. Those workers, who had badges that gave them access to secure airport areas, were not identified in the report, and the reasons they should have been flagged were not specified.

The report said, however, that the TSA was “generally effective in identifying credential holders with links to terrorism.” It said the agency had revoked 58 airport badges since 2003 because of security concerns.

“We remain deeply concerned about [the TSA’s] ability to conduct its core mission,” Roth said.

The hearing also focused on the TSA’s Pre-Check program, one of several initiatives that speed 40 to 50 percent of passengers through airport security without the thorough scrutiny that once was common for everyone.

Fliers become eligible for Pre-Check by providing the TSA with personal information and paying a fee. Under Pistole’s direction, other passengers selected at random were allowed to use the faster Pre-Check lines.

“TSA is handing out Pre-Check [privileges] like Halloween candy in an effort to expedite passengers as quickly as possible,” testified Rebecca Roering, a TSA administrator at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and a whistleblower who has revealed details of TSA operations.

She said the TSA was “well aware of the risk” in allowing passengers who have not gone through pre-screening to use the program.

Roering added, however, that the risk-based approach to security implemented by Pistole was appropriate.

“We need to focus on the passengers that really pose a risk,” she said.

Another whistleblower witness, Federal Air Marshal Robert J. MacLean, agreed.

“If Pre-Check is done right, it reduces the time screeners have to spend on non-risk passengers,” he said.

Although the TSA was not invited to participate in Tuesday’s hearing, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) spoke up on the agency’s behalf.

“As we all sit and pound the desk and say how bad the TSA is, we have to remember that we keep cutting their money,” McCaskill said.

View the original content and more from this author here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/homeland-security-looking-for-leaker-of-report-on-airport-checkpoint-failures/2015/06/09/570ede22-0eb3-11e5-adec-e82f8395c032_story.html

Andrea

07-27-2015, 02:28 PM

http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2015/07/tsa-is-investigating-how-a-man-boarded-a-plane-at-dfw-airport-sunday-without-a-ticket.html/ (http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2015/07/tsa-is-investigating-how-a-man-boarded-a-plane-at-dfw-airport-sunday-without-a-ticket.html/)

"The Transportation Security Administration is trying to find out how a man was able to leave his car outside a Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport terminal, pass through a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint and board a flight without a ticket Sunday night."

Andrea

10-09-2015, 04:19 AM

Poll: 87 percent of frequent flyers unhappy with TSA

http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/256026-poll-87-percent-of-frequent-flyers-unhappy-with-tsa (http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/256026-poll-87-percent-of-frequent-flyers-unhappy-with-tsa)

"Our survey respondents traverse security checkpoints multiple times each month and are in an excellent position to render a verdict on this subject," he continued.

Forty-five percent of the poll's respondents said they were dissatisfied with their airport security experience. Seventy-six percent said they had used TSA's PreCheck trusted traveler program, where passengers volunteer information about themselves and pay an $85 fee in exchange for five years of expedited airport screening.

Only 62 percent of the poll's respondents were satisfactied with the PreCheck program, down from 80.3 percent in 2013.

Andrea

10-22-2015, 10:35 AM

Almost 100 Homeland Security employees have been paid to stay home for over a year

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/federal-eye/wp/2015/10/22/at-homeland-security-almost-100-employees-paid-to-stay-home-for-more-than-a-year/?postshare=4351445521817113 (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/federal-eye/wp/2015/10/22/at-homeland-security-almost-100-employees-paid-to-stay-home-for-more-than-a-year/?postshare=4351445521817113)

"A year after auditors documented tens of thousands of federal workers on paid leave for at least a month and longer stretches that exceed a year, close to 100 Department of Homeland Security employees still are being paid not to work for more than a year.

<snip>

DHS was one large agency cited by the Government Accountability Office in October 2014 in the first report on administrative leave. The audit, first made public by The Washington Post, found that 53,000 civilian employees were kept home for one to three months during the three fiscal years that ended in September 2013. About 4,000 of them were idled for three months to a year and several hundred for one to three years.

The tab for these workers exceeded $775 million in salary alone, auditors found. They acknowledged that their report almost certainly understates the extent and cost of administrative leave because the figures they examined accounted for only about three-fifths of the federal workforce."

Bolding mine.

Andrea

12-07-2015, 05:07 AM

72 DHS Employees on Terrorist Watch List

http://freebeacon.com/national-security/72-dhs-employees-on-terrorist-watch-list/ (http://freebeacon.com/national-security/72-dhs-employees-on-terrorist-watch-list/)

Rep. Stephen Lynch (D., Mass.) disclosed that a congressional investigation recently found that at least 72 people working at DHS also “were on the terrorist watch list.”

“Back in August, we did an investigation—the inspector general did—of the Department of Homeland Security, and they had 72 individuals that were on the terrorist watch list that were actually working at the Department of Homeland Security,” Lynch told Boston Public Radio.

“The [former DHS] director had to resign because of that,” he said.

Andrea

12-19-2015, 11:49 AM

TSA Worker Accused Of Smuggling Marijuana Through Oakland Airport

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/12/18/tsa-worker-accused-of-smuggling-marijuana-through-oakland-airport/ (http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/12/18/tsa-worker-accused-of-smuggling-marijuana-through-oakland-airport/)

According to a federal Department of Justice news release, Clark operated an X-ray machine at the Oakland airport, where she allowed unnamed co-conspirators to clear the checkpoint without the required screening of their carry-on luggage.

Bolding mine: As someone smarter than me pointed out on FlyerTalk.com, this appears to mean the bags didn't even go through the x-ray so these people could have been carrying items that were potentially harmful to an aircraft.

Cin

12-19-2015, 03:18 PM

Andrea

12-23-2015, 03:51 PM

TSA changes rules for who must go through body scanner

http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/23/travel/tsa-airport-screening-change/index.html (http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/23/travel/tsa-airport-screening-change/index.html)

The Transportation Security Administration can now mandate some passengers go through a body scanner even if the travelers ask to opt out and get a full-body pat-down instead.

Andrea

01-02-2016, 12:46 PM

TSA PAT DOWN & GROPPING of 10 YEAR OLD GIRL

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f91_1451695115 (http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f91_1451695115)

On 12/30/15 TSA ordered a full Pat Down of my 10 year old daughter & detained us for over an hour (see YouTube video of the Pat Down, the link is below)

TSA policy states PAT Downs of children under 12 should be method of last resort.

In my 10 yr old daughter's case, after clearing metal detector, a forgotten Capri Sun juice pack was found in her hand bag by x-ray & agent swabbed bag resulting in a false positive.

Rather than retesting bag or alternate screening methods, my daughter was immediately ordered to submit to a full body Pat Down, and I was told I could not record the process. Luckily I knew the law regarding video recording and agent subsequently allowed me to record.

Andrea

02-12-2016, 10:47 AM

TSA official responsible for security lapses earned big bonuses

https://www.revealnews.org/article/tsa-official-responsible-for-security-lapses-earned-big-bonuses/ (https://www.revealnews.org/article/tsa-official-responsible-for-security-lapses-earned-big-bonuses/)

Over several months before undercover auditors carrying hidden weapons slipped undetected past security screeners at U.S. airports, the official ultimately responsible for the lapses received cash bonuses and awards that reached nearly $100,000, according to a whistleblower complaint obtained by Reveal.

A classified U.S. Department of Homeland Security report, details of which were leaked to ABC News last year, found that the Transportation Security Administration failed to find weapons – including fake explosives – more than 95 percent of the time during 70 covert tests. Arlen Morales, a spokeswoman for the inspector general’s office, confirmed the tests occurred from early April to mid-May at eight domestic airports.

Andrea

02-22-2016, 07:40 PM

TSA agent caught 'stealing $1,000 watch from passenger's bag during security screening' at Newark Airport

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3458026/TSA-agent-caught-stealing-1-000-watch-passenger-s-bag-security-screening-Newark-Airport.html (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3458026/TSA-agent-caught-stealing-1-000-watch-passenger-s-bag-security-screening-Newark-Airport.html)

A security agent has been arrested after being accused of stealing a watch worth $1,000 from a passenger's bag.

Daniel Ortiz Junior, 39, of Woodland Park, was on duty as a Transportation Security Administration officer at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey last Tuesday.

Witnesses allege that around 4.30pm, they saw him take the watch out of the man's bag while it went through a security screening and place it in his pocket.

A Port Authority police spokesman said that when authorities went to confront Ortiz, they found the Michele Delo silver watch in the pocket of his pants.

He was then arrested and is due in court in March 2.

Andrea

02-24-2016, 07:23 AM

TSA employee at DIA brought loaded gun to work

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/tsa-agent-at-dia-brought-loaded-gun-to-work (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/tsa-agent-at-dia-brought-loaded-gun-to-work)

Denver7 has confirmed a TSA employee at Denver International Airport was detained after bringing a loaded handgun to work.

Denver police were called in to question the worker at approximately 5:45 a.m. Tuesday, said police spokesman Doug Schepman.

At this point, the employee has not been charged. A decision could came later this week, pending further investigation, Schepman said.

A TSA spokesperson sent Denver7 the following statement:

“While conducting security measures established to mitigate the potential insider threat at airports, TSA discovered a loaded handgun in the possession of an employee. TSA takes the potential for insider threats at airports very seriously. At this moment, there is no reasonable cause to believe that the employee who was found with a handgun in his backpack prior to his shift had any ill intentions. The case is currently with local law enforcement and the employee has been suspended until the investigation is completed.

TSA administers employee security checks at airports prior to accessing sterile areas. TSA will continue to closely partner with local law enforcement on this investigation and, where possible, will use the findings from the investigation to improve current processes.”

TSA said the worker was hired in 2002 and works in a support role, but officials would not release any more information about that support role.

Andrea: TSA workers are not required to go through screening (even metal detector) so it will be interesting to learn how this was discovered.

Andrea

02-24-2016, 03:40 PM

Canadian YouTube star Jus Reign forced to remove turban to board flight

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/programs/metromorning/jus-reign-turban-1.3460092 (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/programs/metromorning/jus-reign-turban-1.3460092)

Jasmeet Singh, better known as comedian and YouTube star Jus Reign, travels a lot for work. As a Sikh, he also wears a turban.

Normally those two details about Singh are not in conflict. But at the San Francisco airport on Monday, he was forced to remove his turban in order to board a flight back to Toronto, an ordeal he called "insensitive."

A similar issue sprang earlier this month when Sikh actor Waris Ahluwalia was also barred from a flight because he refused to take off his turban. Singh told Metro Morning this is a result of growing paranoia about travel, but also a general lack of education about what a turban is among security authorities.

It started when Singh was asked to go through an extra layer of security before boarding his flight on Feb. 22.

"I'm at the airport, and go through security and did one of those full body scans where you have to do a freeze jumping jack pose. So I went through that and did a pat-down and a metal detector was run over my turban, and everything cleared," he said.

"And then at one point, one of the security officials told me I had to go into a room to get extra search done," he said. "I said sure, we can do that. But I soon as I stepped into the private room, they told me to remove my turban."

The turban, or dastaar, is mandatory for all men in the Sikh religion. It is not appropriate to remove it in public.

So Singh respectfully declined to remove his turban, he said, and asked to speak to a manager. Some time later, when the manager arrived, he was given an option of rebooking a flight with another airline or removing the turban.

Wanting to get back to Toronto, he removed the turban.

It passed all other security inspections.

But when he asked for a mirror to put the turban back on, security directed him to a public washroom at the other side of the terminal, he said. That forced him to walk through the airport without the sacred religious headpiece.

"It's an embarrassing and really insensitive ordeal," he said, calling it like asking someone to remove their underwear in public.

"A turban is not a shoe, and it is not a hat," he said. It can take up to 10 minutes to put back on, and requires two hands a mirror to tie it into his hair.

As his alter ego Jus Reign, Singh has removed his turban in public before, when he filmed a YouTube instructional video on how to tie it. But it was still not a pleasant experience.

There are many Sikhs who would not have been able to walk in public without the spiritual cloth turban.

Singh said airport security asking Sikhs to remove their dastaar in public is becoming more frequent.

In fact, he said he has Sikh friends who remove their turbans when they fly in order to make it an easier process in security.

On Feb. 8, Waris Ahluwalia, a familiar face from Wes Anderson films and Deepa Mehta's Beeba Boys, was barred from boarding a flight home to New York after he refused to remove his turban in public.

Both Ahluwalia and Singh put details of their security check on social media, where they've received both support and criticism.

Singh said there is a lack of understanding about what the turban is, how it's taken on and off, and why some Sikhs refuse to be seen in public without it. He said his situation would've been avoided or at least alleviated had security at San Francisco's international airport know more about the Sikh garb.

He also blames a changing public sentiment.

"That same tension and that same paranoia that happened directly after 9/11 seems to be stemming up again," he said.

"I don't want to have to be given the option of not wearing a turban to feel more comfortable."

Andrea

02-26-2016, 11:49 AM

The TSA Releases Data on Air Marshal Misconduct, 7 Years After We Asked

https://www.propublica.org/article/tsa-releases-data-on-air-marshal-misconduct-7-years-after-we-asked (https://www.propublica.org/article/tsa-releases-data-on-air-marshal-misconduct-7-years-after-we-asked)

Seven and a half years ago, as a new reporter here, I filed a Freedom of Information Act request for all reports of misconduct by federal air marshals.

It had been several years since the U.S. government rapidly expanded its force of undercover agents trained to intervene in hijackings after 9/11. And a source within the agency told me that a number of air marshals had recently been arrested or gotten in trouble for hiring prostitutes on missions overseas.

I knew the FOIA request would take a while — perhaps a few months — but I figured I’d have the records in time for my first ProPublica project.

Instead, I heard nothing but crickets from the Transportation Security Administration.

Finally, last Wednesday, an email popped into my inbox with the data I had been fighting for since my fourth day at ProPublica.

The saga to get the air marshal data reveals a lot about the problems with FOIA, which is supposed to guarantee the public’s access to government records, as well as what happens when an agency decides to drag out the process.

Even though the Federal Air Marshal Service insists it has taken steps to build an agency steeped in professionalism with no tolerance for misconduct, it continues to face the same issues it was battling when I filed my FOIA request in 2008.

While waiting for the data, I found dozens of air marshals who had been arrested for crimes ranging from aiding a human trafficking ring to attempted murder. One air marshal used his badge to smuggle drugs past airport security while another used his to lure a young boy to his hotel room, where he sexually abused him.

Air marshals had hired prostitutes in Barcelona and gotten into a fight with security guards after patronizing a brothel in Frankfurt.

Another marshal’s in-air behavior concerned flight attendants so much that they reported it to the agency, saying “I can’t believe he is able to carry a gun!” (That officer was later convicted of bank fraud for trying to cash a $10.9 million check that he said was a settlement after he was a scratched by a friend’s cat.)

As time passed, the problems continued.

Last year, several other news outlets published troubling reports about air marshals that sound remarkably similar. A few selections: Air marshals accused of hiring prostitutes in Europe and recording the sex on their phones. Air marshals describe a “party-hearty” atmosphere. Air marshal kicked off plane after throwing a fit when he was offered only one dinner choice instead of three.

Oddly, when the TSA finally responded to my seven-year-old request, it included its own analysis of the data along with an unsolicited statement.

“The vast majority of FAMs [federal air marshals] are dedicated law enforcement professionals who conduct themselves in an exemplary manner,” it said. “TSA and FAMS continually strive to maintain a culture of accountability within its workforce.”

The statement also said the agency saw a “significant reduction” in misconduct cases in 2015 as a result of its initiatives. But notably, the agency only provided data through February 2012, even though in my last email exchange with the office last month I requested the entire database.

This has become standard practice for many agencies. By delaying FOIA requests for years, the TSA gets to claim the data it releases is old news. (The agency made the same claim back in 2008, which — because of the data we received recently — we now know wasn’t true.)

So what did the data tell us about misconduct by air marshals?

For starters, air marshals were arrested 148 times from November 2002 through February 2012. There were another 58 instances of “criminal conduct.”

In addition, air marshals engaged in more than 5,000 less serious incidents of misconduct, ranging from 1,200 cases of lost equipment to missing 950 flights they were supposed to protect.

Is that a lot or a little? It’s hard to say because the number of air marshals is classified and the estimates of the size of the force don’t include turnover.

The TSA says the misconduct represents just a “handful of employees.” But concerned air marshals I spoke with said they should all show sound judgment, given that air marshals are allowed to carry guns on planes and must make split-second life-and-death decisions.

Some other highlights found in our analysis of the data:

250 air marshals have been terminated for misconduct; another 400 resigned or retired while facing investigation.
Air marshals have been suspended more than 900 times, resulting in more than 4,600 days lost to misconduct.
The Washington field office had the most incidents with 530 cases, followed by New York with 471, Chicago and Dallas with 373 each and Los Angeles with 363. There were 85 cases at air marshal headquarters, highlighting that in some cases, misconduct has extended to the top brass.

After our story ran in late 2008, Robert Bray, the director of the air marshal service at the time, vowed to create a “culture of accountability” within the agency and raised the penalty for drunk driving arrests to a 30-day suspension.

We now know the number of misconduct cases remained fairly steady, about 600 a year, in the years before and after our investigation.

It’s unclear if the agency got tougher or weaker. Before the story ran, only 4 percent of air marshals who had been arrested received a suspension of 14 days or longer. After the story ran, that number jumped to 20 percent. But at the same time, a much higher percentage of arrested air marshals got off with minor discipline such as a letter of reprimand, a warning or no action at all.

After the story, I continued to talk to air marshals and pursue the FOIA request. Inspired by the Obama administration’s memo on transparency, and armed with new information that there was a specific misconduct database, I filed a second FOIA request in 2010.

This was perhaps a mistake. Rather than respond to my first request, the TSA merged it with my new request.

In 2012, the agency responded. But the TSA only released two columns — one showing allegations against air marshals, the other listing disciplinary actions taken in response. Notably, there were no dates, which would have allowed us to check if the agency’s “culture of accountability” was working.
Jason Leopold, ‘FOIA terrorist,’ vs. the United States

VICE News reporter Jason Leopold spoke with ProPublica's Eric Umansky about tips for filing FOIA requests, his most surprising finds and more. Listen to the podcast.

I immediately appealed. In addition, I filed another FOIA request for the entire database — “all columns and rows.”

Two more years passed. Meanwhile, air marshal director Bray himself became embroiled in a misconduct investigation. A supervisor was accused of obtaining free and discounted guns from the air marshals’ weapons supplier and providing them to top officials, including Bray, for their personal use. In 2014, Bray retired.

Around that time, I partially won my appeal. But the data was still incomplete.

After nearly six years, I had pretty much given up.

Until late December. That’s when an email arrived from TSA telling me my request from 2012 had been sitting in a backlog and wanting to know if I was still interested.

Indeed I was. (The TSA had asked me this question a few times during my pursuit of these records.)

A month later, I had the information I had been seeking. It only took seven years, seven months and 29 days.

Andrea: Bolding mine

Andrea

04-06-2016, 04:48 AM

Former LAX Baggage Handlers Accused Of Trafficking Cocaine

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2016/04/04/former-lax-baggage-handlers-accused-of-trafficking-cocaine/ (http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2016/04/04/former-lax-baggage-handlers-accused-of-trafficking-cocaine/)

Two former Los Angeles International Airport baggage handlers were arrested Monday on cocaine trafficking charges.

Adrian Ponce, 27, and Alberto Preciado Gutierrez, 26, both of South Gate were arrested by investigators looking into the usage of LAX employee credentials to breach airport security. Both men are charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and are expected to make their first court appearances in federal court Monday.

According to an affidavit written by a detective with Los Angeles Airport Police, Ponce and Preciado — who was working as a supervisory baggage handler for Swissport International at the time — facilitated third-party couriers who used commercial airlines to smuggle kilogram “samples” of cocaine from Los Angeles to drug customers on the East Coast.

During the investigation into former baggage handlers, detectives seized a kilogram of cocaine in Preciado’s possession on Dec. 16, 2015 just as he was delivering it to a courier who had a ticket for a JetBlue flight to New York, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The next day, Ponce admitted in a written statement that “on multiple occasions,” he and Preciado used Preciado’s supervisory status as an LAX employee to smuggle drugs to out-of-state drug customers by using third-party couriers, according to the affidavit.

In another statement, Ponce admitted to working with a large-scale drug supplier and supplying couriers who had already passed through normal airport security. According to the affidavit, Ponce said if East Coast customers liked the cocaine “sample,” then large shipments – more than 100 kilograms – would be delivered by driving the drugs across the country. Federal prosecutors say Ponce also admitted to driving such drug-laden trucks in exchange for payment.

“These defendants are charged with abusing their privileged access on behalf of drug dealers,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “This case is yet another example of employees associated with airports assisting drug traffickers.”

Andrea

04-27-2016, 09:49 AM

Wedgie, noogie, pushup: Life inside TSA’s intelligence office

https://www.revealnews.org/blog/wedgie-noogie-pushup-life-inside-tsas-intelligence-office/ (https://www.revealnews.org/blog/wedgie-noogie-pushup-life-inside-tsas-intelligence-office/)

An accusation of a wedgie. Forced motivational push-ups. Speculation about what a cohort looked like naked. Exile for reporting misconduct. Even a noogie for a job well done.

This is not 1950s fraternity-house hazing or high school locker-room Tom Foolery. These are accounts of life inside the intelligence office of the Transportation Security Administration.

Since the March 22 airport and subway bombings in Brussels that killed 32, the top U.S. transportation security official has scrambled to quell fears about the risk of similar attacks on domestic soil by highlighting the agency’s intelligence-driven approach to security.

Already facing multiple congressional inquiries into senior-level misconduct, internal complaints of retaliation and the ire of the aviation industry over hour-long security checkpoint delays, TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger earlier this month told reporters that the “vast national intelligence network” helped bolster transportation security. His comments came days after he testified to a Senate commerce committee that under his leadership TSA has enhanced how it shares threat information.

But the agency’s own Office of Intelligence and Analysis, plagued by near-constant turnover at its top levels and often in turmoil, has struggled to reach its potential, insiders say. The office’s track record includes leadership battles that have fostered a toxic culture, produced intelligence that frequently is of little value and mishandled classified information that jeopardized the agency’s direct access to useful intelligence, interviews with current and former intelligence officials, court records and other documents show.

One internal photograph, obtained by Reveal, even shows an employee held in a headlock, getting a noogie from a senior government executive at an awards ceremony.

The office has repeatedly mishandled sensitive information, including a leak related to the Boston Marathon bombing investigation. That has rankled intelligence agencies, which in turn temporarily restricted TSA’s access to classified records.

These issues and others are likely to arise during a House oversight committee hearing Wednesday as lawmakers continue to investigate management practices and misconduct at TSA amid concerns about security gaps in the nation’s transportation systems.

Mark Livingston is one of three current TSA managers the oversight committee has called to testify. He was the intelligence office’s deputy assistant administrator from July 2013 until October 2014, when he was reassigned after raising concerns about discrimination against women and inappropriate behavior. In an interview, Livingston described a culture of harassment and retaliation for reporting misconduct. TSA has major management challenges that result in the agency’s failure to perform effectively, which poses a risk to national security and economic stability, he said.

“The culture of any organization is shaped by the worst behavior of its senior leaders. I keep seeing these examples – there seems to be no bottom to this failed leadership abyss,” he said. “The environment at TSA among senior leaders is like ‘Lord of the Flies’ – either attack or be attacked. Even with changes in leadership I haven’t seen a change.”

Livingston said he refused to brush aside another top official’s inappropriate comment directed at his female assistant. He also reported a manager who hazed employees, including women wearing skirts, by making them do pushups in the office. He made those claims and others in a discrimination lawsuit filed recently in U.S. District Court.

“We ask the public if they see something to say something, but we can’t ask our employees,” Livingston said, referring to the Homeland Security Department’s campaign motto to report suspicious activity. “No one is safe at TSA who reports issues. I am concerned that employees fear their supervisors more than they fear a potential terrorist threat.”

Lax security protocols for handling classified or sensitive information shook the broader intelligence community’s confidence in the agency. Livingston said he reported some of these security blunders. While he did not face retaliation for calling attention to those incidents, others did not fare as well, he said.

“Intel is happening in spite of leadership, not because of it,” he said. “TSA needs intel professionals running the intelligence office, not program managers or specialists.”

TSA declined an interview request. In a written statement emailed to Reveal, an agency spokesman said the agency recently was given expanded access to a sensitive terrorist identity database and regularly meets with officials from intelligence agencies and the aviation industry.

“TSA currently has complete and immediate access to the intelligence it needs to effectively conduct its counterterrorism mission,” the spokesman wrote.

Debra D’Agostino, a Washington-based attorney who represents multiple TSA employees, said the TSA intelligence office’s type of mismanagement is “juvenile, frat-boy nonsense.”

“This is not what one would expect to hear of an office that has such an important role in our nation’s security,” D’Agostino said. “It’s been very disappointing to hear about what is going on in that office.”

D’Agostino has fought the agency over false allegations, hostile work environment and retaliation. One of her female clients who works in the intelligence office was accused of giving a male employee a wedgie, among other allegations of inappropriate conduct. The accused woman denied she had ever pulled or even attempted to pull his underwear up his buttocks. She did not even know what a wedgie was, and had to look up the definition of the word, D’Agostino said.

The agency’s Office of Professional Responsibility nonetheless investigated and proposed removing the woman from her job, which she challenged, D’Agostino said. The woman admitted that she had called an employee a vulgar word, albeit in jest, and later apologized. Instead of removing her, the agency gave her a letter of counseling.

Livingston, D’Agostino and others say the agency shuffles senior leaders who come under fire, rather than addressing the underlying problems. That creates even more issues, especially when top managers don’t have the relevant experience to lead. Intelligence officials say that continues to be the case in the office.

The harassment extends to gender discrimination and sexually offensive language, according to several current and former employees. Raechell Bailey, a former executive advisor to Livingston and others, said that several women tried to speak to TSA’s top leaders about specific issues, but were largely ignored.

In one instance, a male manager wondered aloud to a female employee what another co-worker looked like undressed. In another example, Bailey, who served in her role from 2013 to 2015, said a supervisor spread a false rumor while she was on maternity leave that her newborn daughter looked like her boss. She said she left TSA when she saw little support from top officials in addressing the harassment issues.

“There may be intel issues but more importantly to me there are people issues and they are not concerned about remedying it,” she said. “We’re saying women are being sexually harassed at all levels – directors to analysts – every day. Every other branch of government has a zero tolerance policy for sexual harassment. TSA does not enforce that policy.

“Behind the SCIF doors is a boys’ club, and they know it,” she added, referring to intelligence jargon for Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, a secure area where classified information is stored and handled. “It’s a stretch to call TSA ‘intelligence-driven’ based on how they manage people.”

For some career intelligence officials, several of whom came from the National Security Agency, the office became a government career graveyard if they fell out of favor with top leaders, current and former officials said.

When it came to mishandling sensitive information, instead of identifying the breakdown that caused the errors, senior leaders instead went looking for a scapegoat, several officials said.

Cindy Farkus, who ran the office after decades at the National Security Agency, refused to fire one official, Andrew Colsky, who was blamed — wrongly, she and others said — for one such mishap. Farkus was then reassigned to another unit of the Homeland Security Department, and eventually left government.

“I’ve seen weird things in the intelligence community over the years … but I’d never seen anything like that,” she said.

Although the TSA intelligence office had made progress, the intelligence community reportedly balked at TSA after that incident. Instead, the nation’s spymasters saw the TSA office as clowns with whom they didn’t want to share any information, said Michelle Farr, who quit as Farkus’ deputy after her reassignment. After leaving TSA Farr consulted for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. She now works in private industry.

But with the Brussels attacks, Neffenger, the TSA administrator, has a new opportunity to put the office back on the right track. Otherwise, the traveling public – and the director of national intelligence – should be concerned, she said.

“People die when we’re not all (working) together,” Farr said. “To be intel-driven, you have to have a good intel shop.”

Andrea

04-28-2016, 05:21 AM

Minnesota T.S.A. Manager Says He Was Told to Target Somali-Americans

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/28/us/politics/minnesota-tsa-manager-says-he-was-told-to-target-somali-americans.html (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/28/us/politics/minnesota-tsa-manager-says-he-was-told-to-target-somali-americans.html)

A Transportation Security Administration manager here said he was instructed by his supervisor to provide the names of Somali-American leaders visiting the agency’s local office so they could be screened against national security databases for terrorist ties, a disclosure that quickly drew accusations of racial profiling.

In a midyear performance evaluation, David McMahon, the supervisor of Andrew Rhoades, an assistant federal security director, wrote that he had advised Mr. Rhoades to check potential visitors to the agency’s offices with the field intelligence officer to determine “if we want them in our office space or meet elsewhere.”

Mr. McMahon, a deputy federal security director, wrote that he “reminded employee that with our current world affairs that we need to be mindful of those we interact with.”

Mr. Rhoades, who works with Somalis in the Twin Cities area, said he considered the remarks racial profiling and reported the incident to the T.S.A.’s Office of the Chief Counsel and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. He has also contacted members of the Minnesota congressional delegation and the Office of Special Counsel, an independent agency that protects federal employees from reprisal.

“I have never been asked to give the names of anyone else who visited the office to the intelligence officer,” Mr. Rhoades said.

The Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties said Tuesday that it had opened an investigation into the allegations.

In a statement, the T.S.A., an agency in the Department of Homeland Security, said it did not tolerate racial profiling.

“We are reviewing this complaint and will take appropriate action if there is evidence that any T.S.A. officer acted inappropriately,” the agency said. “However, it would be unfair and irresponsible to infer or conclude that profiling is a common T.S.A. practice based upon a single interaction between one employee and his supervisor.”

The disclosure by Mr. Rhoades has prompted accusations of racial profiling from some members of the Somali community, who say they have a long history of mistreatment by T.S.A. at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. It also threatens to undermine efforts by the Obama administration to fight against the recruitment of Somali youth in the United States by the Islamic State and other extremists groups.

Dozens of young men have left Minnesota to join terrorist groups, according to law enforcement officials. Several men who were accused of trying to leave the country to join the Islamic State were indicted by a federal grand jury here in October.

Somali leaders acknowledge that the arrest of young men trying to join terrorist groups like the Islamic State is a cause for alarm, but they say that law enforcement agencies should not use that as an excuse to subject the entire community to additional scrutiny.

Minneapolis is one of several pilot cities for the Obama administration’s programs to counter violent extremism by providing money and training to help communities whose youth are targeted by terrorist groups.

Jeh Johnson, the secretary of Homeland Security, visited the city in 2014 and met with Somalis to discuss, among other things, the issue of racial profiling. Many shared stories of their experience while traveling through the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport.

T.S.A. officials here say they try to strike a balance between properly screening for security threats while at the same time avoiding the perception of racial profiling.

Officials said they have hosted Somali elders at the airport to explain how the agency carries out its mission and attended community meetings to resolve grievances. T.S.A. officials say they have also recruited Somalis as screeners and for other jobs. And the agency has assigned people like Mr. Rhoades to help address problems like people having trouble getting on a flight, or those who feel they have been singled out for extra screening.

Somali leaders give the agency credit for its outreach, but they say the instructions by a T.S.A. manager to pass on the names of those seeking redress at the agency’s offices to an intelligence officer is a setback.

“Why would you want to check the terror watch list for people who are coming to your office to seek help?” said Sheikh Sa’ad Musse Roble, president of the World Peace Organization in Minneapolis, who has spoken at the White House and serves on several local law enforcement task forces to counter violent extremism, including one led by the United States attorney for Minnesota, Andrew M. Luger. “You are assuming that they have done something wrong.”

Other leaders say the disclosure will only fuel the anger many Somalis feel toward law enforcement agencies. And, they say, it will create even more skepticism about the federal government’s multimillion-dollar community outreach programs to fight terrorist recruitment.

“It’s damaging,” said Jaylani Hussein, a Somali-American who is executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “They want Somali leaders to be a part of task forces and have conversations about countering extremism, but they treat everyone like a suspect.”

Minnesota’s growing Somali-American population has received increased attention from law enforcement and intelligence agencies in their counterpropaganda battles with the Islamic State, which has aggressively recruited young Somalis.

Representative Keith Ellison, Democrat of Minnesota, the first Muslim elected to Congress, said he found troubling the local T.S.A.’s suggestion to potentially screen people who visit its office seeking help. He has written a letter to Mr. Johnson calling for an investigation.

“The Somali-American community, and all Minnesotans, deserve to know if T.S.A. officials are engaging in racial, ethnic or religious profiling,” Mr. Ellison said.

The Minneapolis episode is not the first time the T.S.A. has been accused of racial profiling by employees. In 2012, more than 30 federal officers at Logan International Airport in Boston told officials that a behavioral detection program intended to spot potential terrorists by observing their mannerisms had relied on racial profiling, targeting not only people from the Middle East but also blacks, Hispanics and other members of minority groups.

The latest accusations come as the T.S.A. is under fire from Congress for retaliating against whistle-blowers at the agency who have spoken out about security lapses at a number of airports. Dozens of employees have been reassigned, demoted, investigated or fired for reporting lapses or misconduct by senior managers, charges that were later upheld by whistle-blower protection agencies, records show.

On Wednesday, the House Oversight Committee held a hearing to examine misconduct at the agency. The committee has spoken with several former and current T.S.A. staff members and has requested hundreds of documents. Mr. Rhoades was one of three T.S.A. officials who testified.

While most of the hearing covered security lapses, long airport lines, and alleged retaliations against whistle-blowers, several members of the committee, including Representative William Lacy Clay, Democrat of Missouri, raised the issue of racial profiling by T.S.A. personnel.

In Minnesota, Mr. Rhoades is being praised by some Somalis for making the exchange with his supervisor public.

“It is what many of us have long suspected,” said Omar Jamal, a community activist. “Now we have confirmation.”

Andrea

04-29-2016, 01:09 PM

TSA at MSP Airport failed 9 of 12 tests by undercover Red Team

http://www.fox9.com/news/134259040-story (http://www.fox9.com/news/134259040-story)

On Monday, a Homeland Security undercover unit called Red Team tested passenger screening at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. It did not go well.

Source tells Fox 9, TSA agents failed 9 out of 12 tests, passed two tests and one test was inconclusive. Sources say the inconclusive test involved the full body scanner, the one where passengers lift their arms, known as Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT). Those sources say the machine wasn’t calibrated properly and failed detect simulated explosive material that was strapped to an undercover agent’s leg.

A separate Red Team tested MSP cargo, and MSP passed both tests.

What the Red Team found at MSP wasn’t unusual. In June 2015, a classified Inspector General’s report revealed that undercover testers at some of the nation’s busiest airports were able to get weapons past TSA agents in 67 out of 70 tests – a 95 percent failure rate.

The Red Team test at MSP is believed to be the first since passenger screening was reconfigured with consolidated screening at the north and south end of the ticketing concourse. The redesign led to 90-minute wait times during the spring break travel season and calls by Minnesota Congressional leaders to improve wait times.

Andrea

05-11-2016, 12:58 PM

U.S. air traveler patience with TSA at 'breaking point'

http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/11/aviation/airport-frustration-tsa-passenger-screening-lines/index.html (http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/11/aviation/airport-frustration-tsa-passenger-screening-lines/index.html)

Get ready, America, for a summer full of long security lines at major airports, missed flight connections and millions of grumpy passengers.
That's the warning from authorities at the nation's most congested and busiest airports and the Transportation Security Administration.

Airports are starting to take matters into their own hands.

In an unusual, strongly worded letter to the TSA, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey -- which oversees the New York City area's three major airports -- has essentially threatened to fire the TSA by privatizing their passenger screening process.

The letter mentioned the "inadequacy of TSA passenger screening," fears of widespread "customer dissatisfaction" and described wait times as "abysmal."

From mid-March to mid-April, there were hundreds of times that passenger waits lasted more than 20 minutes -- and sometimes more than 55 minutes, the letter said.

"The patience of the flying public has reached a breaking point," said the letter from Port Authority Aviation Department Director Thomas Bosco and Chief Security Officer Thomas Belfiore.

The airspace surrounding New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport ranks among the most congested in the nation. About 126 million passengers passed through those airports last year.

Airports in other cities, including Seattle, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Atlanta have expressed similar frustration with the TSA.

Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport -- which handled more than 100 million travelers last year -- sent a similar letter to the TSA threatening to privatize passenger security lines.

It's partnering with Delta Air Lines and the TSA to figure out a better passenger screening procedure.

They're calling these experimental lines Innovation Lines -- or I-Lines.
Two I-Lines are expected to debut at Atlanta's south domestic terminal checkpoint on May 24, the TSA said. Here's how they'll be different:

Baggage bins automatically move to a separate conveyor belt if a TSA agent IDs them as suspicious.
Baggage bins automatically recirculate after they move through the security machine.
The I-Line includes special "divestiture" areas where passengers can take off shoes, belts, etc. at their own pace.

The TSA has been talking about these ideas for years, said Chad Wolf, a former TSA assistant administrator.

"All of these things will save time," he said. "We just don't know how much time."

The biggest time saver, Wolf said, likely will be re-routing suspicious bags.
"Re-routing bags to a different conveyor is a big deal," he said. "Once that belt stops, the whole line stops."

The X-ray machine that screens passenger bags is a "big time suck," Wolf said.

The decision that goes into stopping the belt and flagging a bag for extra scrutiny takes time and holds up the line.

The new equipment is similar to systems employed at London's Heathrow and Amsterdam's Schiphol, the TSA said.

The I-Lines will operate side-by-side with two regular lanes. Officials will gather data to compare and analyze the two systems.

The results will help the TSA create a pilot program that could be replicated at other airports..

The TSA has already warned that staffing issues might create long waits at the nation's big airports during the upcoming summer travel season.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh C. Johnson said he has called on Congress to approve more money to pay overtime for TSA officers working at airports across the nation this summer.

So far, that hasn't happened.

Factors like relatively lower fuel prices and fares are likely to drive passenger traffic higher this summer.

As for the carriers, American Airlines has blamed missed flights by thousands of its passengers on the TSA checkpoints.

The airline lobbying group Airlines for America has kicked off an aggressive social media campaign asking people to share photos of long security lines and post them with the hashtag: #iHatetheWait.

But what happens after passengers pass through the metal detectors and put their shoes back on and get on the planes and settle into their seats?
Apparently, a lot of us are able to put that unpleasantness behind us, according to a recent survey.

That's what we can surmise from the 2016 J.D. Power and Associates North America Airline Satisfaction Study, released Wednesday.

Satisfaction with North American airlines rose for a fourth straight year, measuring at a record high 726 points on a scale of 1,000.

On the other hand, airline customer complaints are at their worst level in 15 years, according to the 26th annual national Airline Quality Rating report, which was released in April. From 2014 to 2015, complaints rose by 38%.

girlin2une

05-21-2016, 01:12 PM

Having flown many times in my life, I'm accustomed to the occasional "frisking". However, I've been frisked every time the last 3 times and today was frisked by a male. If I'm not mistaken, that's illegal...

Andrea

05-25-2016, 11:46 PM

Former Arkansas TSA inspector pleads guilty to child porn charge

http://swtimes.com/news/former-arkansas-tsa-inspector-pleads-guilty-child-porn-charge (http://swtimes.com/news/former-arkansas-tsa-inspector-pleads-guilty-child-porn-charge)

A former Transportation Security Agency inspector pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Little Rock to distribution of child pornography.

Raymond Kinney, 54, of Jacksonville was arrested in January 2015 and indicted in February 2015. He will be sentenced at a later date, according to a news release from Chris Thyer, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas.

As part of a plea deal, federal prosecutors have agreed to recommend a 20-year sentence, the maximum allowed by law, and not charge Kinney with enticement of a minor and other offenses, Thyer said.

Prosecutors say Kinney went to a motel in January 2015 to meet a person he thought was a 10-year-old girl for sex. Kinney had arranged the meeting through a social networking site and had sent several pictures and videos of child pornography over the Internet.

When Kinney went to meet the person he had been chatting with — in reality an undercover officer — he took sex toys and children's clothing with him, according to prosecutors.

The statutory penalty for distribution of child pornography is five to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Andrea

06-03-2016, 08:34 AM

Alleged war criminal worked for TSA

http://www.abc10.com/news/nation-now/alleged-war-criminal-worked-for-tsa/230069213?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter (http://www.abc10.com/news/nation-now/alleged-war-criminal-worked-for-tsa/230069213?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter)

An alleged Somali war criminal is on leave from his job at Dulles International Airport in Virginia after a CNN investigation discovered him working for the Transportation Security Administration there.

Yusuf Abdi Ali was dubbed Colonel Tukeh in the Somalian army, known for his violent acts during that country’s civil war.

Ali has been the subject of an investigation by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporationsince 1992, when journalists discovered him working in Toronto as a security guard.

During the Somali Civil War, which began in 1991, Ali was commander of a region of Somalia where unspeakable violence unfolded. Tens of thousands of men, women and children were killed there by government forces.

According to CNN, Ali is accused of terrorizing the Isaaq people. The actions included mass executions and burning villages, CNN reported.

Canada deported Ali, who eventually made it to the United States. After a series of security jobs, he ended up working for TSA as an unarmed security guard at Dulles International Airport.

Government contractor Master Security hired Ali and confirmed this week he’s now on administrative leave. His access to the airport has been withdrawn.

Master Security confirmed Ali passed a criminal background check by the FBI and a security threat assessment by the TSA.

According to ABC News, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which runs Dulles airport, said in a statement: "We have verified that all of these processes were followed and approved in this instance."

According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Ali was trained in the United States in 1986, as part of a Pentagon program for foreign military officers.

Andrea

07-21-2016, 01:09 PM

Seattle TSA Worker Arrested on Voyeurism Charge

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/seattle-tsa-worker-arrested-voyeurism-charge-n613711 (http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/seattle-tsa-worker-arrested-voyeurism-charge-n613711)

A Transportation Security Administration agent in Seattle was arrested after allegedly being spotted using a phone to take video up a woman's skirt at the city's airport, according to authorities.

Nicholas Fernandez, 29, was arrested on a charge of voyeurism Tuesday, Seattle police said in an arrest report. The incident occurred on an escalator, and not in a security line.

"TSA does not tolerate illegal, unethical or immoral conduct," a spokesperson for the TSA said in a statement.

"When such conduct is alleged, TSA investigates it thoroughly. When appropriate, TSA requests that it be investigated by a law enforcement authority. When an investigation finds that misconduct has occurred, the appropriate action is taken."

Fernandez has been removed from screening duties and he has been suspended without pay, the agency said.

According to an arrest report, the TSA was investigating information it received that Fernandez, who works at Seattle Tacoma International Airport, might have taken inappropriate photos of women.

A TSA special agent saw Fernandez take a break from a checkpoint at around 11:15 a.m. and follow a woman up an escalator, where he activated a cell phone flashlight and appeared to take video of the woman.

Fernandez is jailed in lieu of $7,500 bail, according to jail records. Court records online did not list an attorney.

Andrea

07-24-2016, 10:55 AM

Mercury News editorial: TSA looks even worse in Congress' report

http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_30154509/mercury-news-editorial-tsa-looks-even-worse-congress (http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_30154509/mercury-news-editorial-tsa-looks-even-worse-congress)

Critics of the stepped-up security presence at American airports since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks have always said that while it looks good, it isn't really making travelers much safer.

Now, more and more, it doesn't even look good.

After a series of scandals marred the image of the Transportation Security Administration, a congressional committee investigated the TSA's efforts to head off employee misconduct. The result is a new report from the staff of the House Homeland Security Committee whose title does further wonders for the agency's reputation: "Misconduct at TSA Threatens the Security of the Flying Public."

Of particular concern in the 29-page report is that the instances of misconduct have grown at an alarming rate in the last six years, even after a watchdog investigation revealed substantial misconduct.

For example, the report noted that in December a federal grand jury charged a TSA officer at Oakland International Airport with using her position to facilitate drug smuggling through the security checkpoint. The officer allegedly helped smuggle more than 100 kilograms of marijuana over a two-year period.

The report notes this is a problem everywhere, which is troubling because everywhere is where we all fly.

The eye-popping statistic is a 28.5 percent increase in reported misconduct by TSA workers nationwide from 2013 to 2015, when the annual number of allegations climbed to 17,627, equating to about one for every three full-time employees.

The biggest category of misconduct was "neglect of duty," which doubled in the two years ending in 2015, to 1,206 incidents nationwide. Neglect of duty is described as "inattention to duty resulting in a loss of property or life; careless inspection; negligent performance of duties; failure to exercise due diligence in performance of duties; failure to follow procedures."

Another of the eight categories of misconduct that saw increases is "integrity and ethics," which covers accepting bribes and other criminal conduct. Try not to think about that the next time you're standing in a long checkpoint line.

The misconduct ranges from salacious (federal air marshals spending government money on hotel rooms for romps with prostitutes) to downright dangerous (an officer in Orlando taking bribes to smuggle Brazilian nationals through a checkpoint without questioning).

The House report says that while allegations have been rising, the TSA has taken fewer disciplinary actions against employees. A faulty disciplinary system contributes to low morale. As the report says, "Employee misconduct of all types corrupts TSA's core mission to protect the traveling public and poses serious security vulnerabilities."

The TSA's job is to make airline passengers feel safer and, not incidentally, actually make us safer. It's failing on both.

Andrea

07-25-2016, 08:00 AM

Security Video Shows Man Breach TSA Checkpoint

http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2016/07/22/security-video-shows-man-breach-tsa-checkpoint/ (http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2016/07/22/security-video-shows-man-breach-tsa-checkpoint/)

For one year, the Transportation Security Administration has refused to say how a man managed to get around a security checkpoint and on a plane at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

It was called a bad romance that broke through security barriers.

Last July, Damarias Cockerham of Garland managed to move around the security checkpoint at gate D-16 and board a plane to confront his girlfriend who was leaving him.

Cockerham is seen walking up to an unused and unguarded metal detector that had a cloth security belt in front. Cockerham simply moved the belt and walked through the metal detector and blended in with everyone else who had gone through screening.

Seconds later he’s seen walking down the jetway where he boarded the plane without a ticket. A gate agent is seen chasing him, then getting off the plane… then going back and eventually escorting Cockerham off the plane. The agent walks Cockerham to the general public area and manages to stall until police arrive — 14 minutes after breaching security.

Neither the TSA nor DFW Airport has commented on the incident.

Andrea

07-26-2016, 04:32 PM

Unplugged TSA scanner allows travelers to pass airport security

http://nypost.com/2016/07/26/unplugged-tsa-scanner-allows-travelers-to-pass-airport-security/ (http://nypost.com/2016/07/26/unplugged-tsa-scanner-allows-travelers-to-pass-airport-security/)

At least 15 travelers strolled through a TSA checkpoint at La Guardia Airport without being searched because someone forgot to plug in the security scanner, The Post has learned.

“Our nation’s security is dependent upon whether or not a TSA screener plugs in the screening machine,” a furious law-enforcement official said.

“There has to be a better way.”

The snafu was discovered at about 8 a.m. Sunday inside Terminal D by TSA Agent Eva Cocoli, according to sources.

Delta Air Lines supervisor Deborah Trapani quickly ordered the checkpoint closed, while Port Authority cops tracked down nine of the unscanned fliers.

Finding them took about an hour, and they all had to be brought back to the checkpoint to be properly inspected.

“It was a big inconvenience,” said a woman who was among the nine who were rescreened.

After checking surveillance footage, authorities determined that at least six other passengers who went unscanned were not located and were assumed to have boarded planes, police officials said.

Andrea

08-30-2016, 06:29 PM

PHX federal air marshal accused of selling, making drugs

http://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/phx-federal-air-marshal-in-accused-of-selling-making-drugs (http://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/phx-federal-air-marshal-in-accused-of-selling-making-drugs)

SAN TAN VALLEY, AZ - The latest arrest of a federal air marshal is part of a much bigger picture.

Kristopher Hanks, a federal air marshal whose current employment status is unknown, is facing several different charges for allegedly making and selling bath salts and spice.

A judge is allowing Hanks to be released from jail on his own recognizance until his trial in October.

However, Hanks had very little to say when ABC15 confronted him about the charges.

"No comment," Hanks said.

Court documents show DEA started to investigate Hanks in 2010 after he was accused of working with former police officers Shelly Worthley and her husband, Ronald Worthley .

Shelly was with the Salt Lake City Police Department before she and her husband moved to Arizona. Ronald got a job with the Gilbert Police Department. He worked there between 2007 and 2010.

Court records show Shelly mixed the drugs at her San Tan Valley home.

Hanks and the couple opened several businesses together selling the drugs. However, the DEA didn’t waste time shutting the Worthleys’ business down.

But last May, Shelly insisted that she hadn’t done anything wrong.

“Everything I purchased was through the UK and I made sure it wasn't on a federal ban list," Shelly said.

Court documents reveal emails, lab reports and thousands of dollars worth of cash exchanged between Hanks and Shelly Worthley. The pair is accused of knowing that people were buying their products to get high.

"It was labeled: ‘Not for human consumption,’” Worthley said. “But people want to get high and there is nothing you can do to stop that.”

Worthley is now taking responsibility and is slated for sentencing in October.

"I justified it by saying people are going to get high,” Worthley said. “It was a bad decision. I got caught up in the money. A lot of people were doing it. But it affected my husband and family and I regret it.”

Hanks is not saying much.

When ABC15 asked him, "Do you know how dangerous those drugs are?” He simply responded, “No comment. Thank you."

Court documents show that the drugs were distributed all over the nation.

ABC15 reached out to the Transportation Security Administration, which oversees the Federal Air Marshal Services, to find out Hanks' history with the department and the status of his employment. ABC15 is waiting to hear back.

Two other people were convicted in connection to this operation as well. They received probation.

Andrea

09-08-2016, 01:23 PM

The 9/11 legacy: Airport security still largely a matter of faith

http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/transportation/article100626637.html (http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/transportation/article100626637.html)

Year after year, more Americans attempt to board planes with concealed firearms in their carry-ons. They also come with hidden swords, hatchets, sharpened ninja stars and even gunpowder.

Invariably, the response from passengers when officers from the Transportation Security Administration seize the weapons is: Oops, I forgot I had it.

“It’s always astonishing to me that people can forget they have a weapon in their carry-on,” said TSA Administrator Peter V. Neffenger. “I’m not sure why people continue to do this.”

Not everyone buys the excuse of forgetfulness.

“They didn’t forget their pants. It’s beyond me,” said David Borer, general counsel of the American Federation of Government Employees, a union that represents the nation’s 42,000 or so transportation security officers.

Whether the reason is memory lapse or a desire to be prepared should armed terrorists once again try to commandeer an aircraft, the seizure of a record 2,653 firearms last year at airport checkpoints is but one aspect of an evolving security panorama as the nation passes the 15-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The security ritual now has a familiar rhythm: Shoes off. Laptops out. Everything through the X-ray machine. Nearly 2 million passengers endure the drill each day. Many hate it. A few get unruly.

The tools deployed by the security agents – including full-body scanners – get ever more sophisticated while the most basic of questions goes without a satisfying answer: Do all the security measures work? Are terrorists truly deterred? Are we safe?

Experts agree on only one thing. Heightened airport security is here to stay.

“It’s going to take a long time before we stop taking our shoes off,” said Bruce Schneier, a security technologist and fierce critic of the TSA.

It’s going to take a long time before we stop taking our shoes off. Bruce Schneier, security technologist

It’s hard to pick apart the security procedures the federal government has adopted and not arrive at the conclusion, as Schneier has, that much of it is “security theater.”

Seeming failures abound. An audit last year found that TSA officers found weapons only three times when undercover investigators passed through airport security checkpoints 70 times with weapons or mock explosives, a failure rate of 95 percent. The then-administrator lost his job.

“We are not safer than before 9/11, regardless of the money and energies spent to change airport security,” said Michael Boyd, an aviation consultant and longtime former airline executive based out of Evergreen, Colorado. “The TSA approach is a dud. It is a giant bureaucracy with zero accountability for failure.”

Events in the past month underscore how TSA officers, who are unarmed, behave in the face of potential terror. On the night of Aug. 14, when false reports circulated of gunshots at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, TSA officers and civilian security guards abandoned their posts and joined a stampede of hundreds of travelers. It raised questions about readiness in the event of a real terrorist attack.

The TSA approach is a dud. It is a giant bureaucracy with zero accountability for failure. Michael Boyd, aviation consultant

Two weeks later, panic broke out at Los Angeles International Airport when loud noises led to rumors of an active shooter. Several terminals were evacuated, and passengers and TSA officers alike breached security doors to flee to the airport tarmac.

Panicked people, Boyd said, were “chasing off in all directions like a herd of gazelles running from thunder. TSA has no plan in the event of an incident, except to tell people to run away from the noise, or dump them into the street in a nice tight crowd for a terrorist target.”

The hassles of slipping off shoes, pulling laptops out of bags and emptying coins from pockets has spurred applications for expedited security screening. Known as TSA PreCheck, the program lets low-risk travelers ease through checkpoints without removing shoes.

Some 12,000 applicants a day pony up the $85 for five-year memberships, after waiting six weeks for appointments, and total numbers have surpassed 3.5 million. According to Secretary Jeh Johnson of the Department of Homeland Security, 96 percent of PreCheck passengers spend an average of five minutes or less at security checkpoints.

“We’ve turned security into have and have-not,” Schneier said: the PreCheck passengers who’ve paid their money and the rest of the traveling public.

Rudeness and the occasional too-intimate pat-down have led to combative encounters.

“There’s just this sort of general hatred of TSA, and some people go off,” said Borer, the union general counsel. “All this scorn gets heaped on them. It’s all the people coming through and saying, ‘Screw you. Don’t touch me.’ It’s awful.”

All this scorn gets heaped on them. It’s all the people coming through and saying, ‘Screw you. Don’t touch me.’ It’s awful. David Borer, American Federation of Government Employees

Passenger anger has occasionally flared. In 2013, an unemployed motorcycle mechanic killed a TSA officer and wounded two other officers and a teacher in a rampage at Los Angeles International Airport. A notebook he left behind referred to the TSA’s “Nazi checkpoints.”

In 2015 in New Orleans, a taxi driver attacked TSA officers with a machete and wasp spray, injuring one of them, before being shot by a sheriff’s lieutenant. The assailant later died.

Rating the effectiveness of security procedures is a divisive endeavor. Experts disagree.

“The two things that have improved security since 9/11 – and there are only two – is one, reinforcing the cockpit doors, and two, teaching passengers that they have to fight back,” Schneier said.

Some airline pilots, protected by the reinforced locked cockpit doors, now maintain handguns at arm’s reach in case of intruders.

Awareness among passengers of their own potential roles in thwarting terrorism soared after Sept. 11, 2001, when courageous passengers aboard United Flight 93, bound from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco, took on the four hijackers. The passengers and crew tried to regain control of the flight, leading to its crash in a field in Pennsylvania but preventing the hijackers from slamming the airliner into a still-unknown target, perhaps the White House or the U.S. Capitol.

Fighting back now seems ingrained in some passengers.

Certain airports present a better ideological target for terrorists: JFK, LaGuardia, LAX, San Francisco, Atlanta. Anthony C. Roman, former pilot who is a security consultant

“Go to an airport and pick 10 random people, and they’ll tell you, ‘We know we have to do this, 100 percent,’ ” Schneier said.

Indeed, passengers have averted several terrorist incidents. Richard Reid, a Brit whom al Qaida had recruited to board a Paris-Miami flight with explosives in the soles of his shoes in late 2001, was tackled by passengers and crew members before he could ignite the explosives.

Travelers also subdued a Nigerian man, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, after he attempted to detonate plastic explosives hidden in his underwear on a Christmas Day flight from Amsterdam to Detroit in 2009.

“Ultimately, it’s going to be fellow passengers and alert citizenry who create a better defense for Americans than a government monopoly like the TSA,” said Chris Edwards, an analyst at the Cato Institute, a research center that advocates for minimal government intrusion.

Even the famed air marshals, whose numbers soared after Sept. 11, have come under fire. The program, which puts armed agents on high-risk domestic flights, costs more than $820 million annually. In theory, the marshals are the last line of defense before a terrorist hijacking. In practice, more air marshals appear to have been arrested for felony crimes they themselves have committed than make arrests in the line of duty.

When the bureau responded to a freedom of information request earlier this year by ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative newsroom, more than seven years after the request was made, it acknowledged that air marshals had been arrested 148 times from 2002 through the early 2012 for various crimes unrelated to their work.

While air marshals attended to “thousands” of medical emergencies and non-terrorist incidents involving unruly passengers, they apparently carry out few arrests of real terror suspects. A Federal Air Marshal Service spokesman, Thomas H. Kelly, did not address a request for a breakdown of incidents.

A Tennessee Republican U.S. lawmaker, John J. Duncan, said in 2010 that the air marshals service had made an average of 4.2 arrests per year from 2001 to 2010, adding that “we are spending $200 million per arrest.”

Even with the travails of the TSA and the air marshals, one fact since Sept. 11 can gladden the heart of any traveler.

“There haven’t been any (successful) terror attacks since 9/11, knock on wood,” said Borer.

That may make passengers feel better, but not experts who see shortcomings.

Some foresee airports with concentric rings in the approaches to terminals, with facial recognition software in active use, pushing a security perimeter outside terminal buildings.

“Our back doors are wide open at airports,” Boyd said. “Ground security for airliners is really weak: things like catering carts, cargo pods, et cetera, have no security.”

“Certain airports present a better ideological target for terrorists: JFK, LaGuardia, LAX, San Francisco, Atlanta,” said Anthony C. Roman, a former pilot who is a security consultant. “We have to be hyper aware – not frightened, but not with our heads in the clouds.”

“Should there be a successful attack on a U.S. airport, I think we’re going to see more intense security procedures,” he said.

Andrea

09-15-2016, 10:00 AM

NBC 5 Investigates: Records Show TSA Funded K-9 Teams Failed Annual Tests More Than 50 Times at Large U.S. Airports

http://www.nbcdfw.com/investigations/NBC-5-Investigates-Records-Show-TSA-Funded-K-9-Teams-Failed-Annual-Tests-More-than-50-Times-at-Large-US-Airports-393493421.html (http://www.nbcdfw.com/investigations/NBC-5-Investigates-Records-Show-TSA-Funded-K-9-Teams-Failed-Annual-Tests-More-than-50-Times-at-Large-US-Airports-393493421.html)

NBC 5 Investigates has learned several K-9 teams at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field Airport failed important certification tests that check how accurately they can detect explosives, calling into question whether those teams are training enough to stay at the top of their game and keep passengers safe.

The mission of explosive detection K-9 teams is to keep bombs out of airports and off planes by screening baggage, cargo and passengers for potential threats.

New records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request raise questions about the top dogs at some of the nation’s biggest airports.

The records show K-9 teams funded by the Transportation Security Administration have failed annual certification tests at large U.S. airports, including D/FW Airport and Love Field, more than 50 times between Jan. 1, 2013, and June 15, 2015, the most recent detailed numbers TSA provided. Some teams failed to find explosives, while others had too many false alarms that could cause unnecessary airport evacuations.

NBC 5 Investigates obtained data from the Transportation Security Administration through the Freedom of Information Act concerning the agency’s explosive detection canines. TSA provided a list showing 52 instances where K-9 teams were de-certified after failing certification tests from January 1, 2013, to June 15, 2015, at 10 large U.S. airports. The map above was created using that data. Some K-9 teams that failed are managed by TSA and others by local airport police.

K-9 teams that fail are pulled out of service and cannot work in airports again until they can pass the test, but experts NBC 5 Investigates spoke with say clusters of failures at some airports raise concerns about how well those teams are being managed.

The TSA said the failures are just a normal part of upholding high standards. But multiple failures at D/FW Airport and Love Field raise questions about whether those teams have been training enough to maintain the highest level of readiness.

In a statement, the TSA tells NBC 5 Investigates, “If a team does not meet TSA’s rigorous guidelines, it is decertified and restricted from working.”

“The team must successfully meet certification standards before returning to search duties. Dog teams that are unable to return to TSA’s high standards are subject to removal,” the TSA said.

The agency said teams performed better in the latter half of 2015 – with a 93-percent passing rate nationwide. But the agency would not share any detailed records for that time period or for 2016, so it’s unknown if there are still some airports with clusters of failures.

“We rely on K-9 teams a lot more now than we ever have in the history of aviation security,” said airport security consultant Jeffrey Price.

Price said the lives of passengers depend on how well the dog teams perform.

“Dogs have always been considered the gold standard in explosive detection. So when you’re considered the best, you better be the best,” said Price.

At Love Field, K-9 teams assigned to protect the airport failed four out of 14 tests with a failure rate of nearly 30 percent over two-and-a-half years. In 48 tests over the same time period, teams at D/FW Airport failed five times, or 10 percent of the time.

The nation’s busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, did better than those in Dallas with only two failures in 75 tests (3 percent) over the same two-and-a-half year time period. All K-9s managed by the Atlanta Police Department passed while two TSA managed teams failed.

To better understand why more K-9 teams failed at airports like Love Field and D/FW Airport, NBC 5 Investigates went to Alabama to one of the nation’s top K-9 training centers at Auburn University and AMK9.

AMK9 works with the university training dogs in explosive detection for agencies across the country.

“You need to convince that dog that there’s a reason to work,” said John Pearce, who used to help oversee training for the TSA.

Pearce said the main reason some dogs fail certification tests is the people in charge of those K-9 units don’t always set aside enough time for constant training. He sees a direct relationship between the quality of the training and the success the dogs have on tests.

“Our primary job is to find an explosive, as a dog team, but that dog believes its primary objective is to get that toy that’s in the handler’s pouch,” said Pearce.

In airports, dogs rarely find explosives, so unless they practice locating test explosives frequently, they may lose interest.

In addition, handlers also need constant practice to accurately recognize the dog’s cues.

Pearce said handlers need to train daily.

“Train, train, train and train as you’re going to work,” said Pearce.

NBC 5 Investigates wanted to know if the people in charge of the K-9s at Love Field and D/FW Airport are spending enough time training.

Some of the teams are managed directly by the TSA, but many are run by D/FW Airport police and Dallas police that get their dogs, training and funding from the TSA.

Dallas police declined an on-camera interview and would not answer any questions about their teams at Love Field.

When asked about the teams decertified at D/FW Airport, a spokesman sent a short statement saying, “All of the canine teams maintained by the D/FW Airport Department of Public Safety are currently certified and active.”

In 2013 the investigative arm of Congress, the Government Accountability Office, found “some K-9 teams were repeatedly not in compliance with TSA’s monthly training requirement.”

Since then, the TSA has made changes, including a new program starting Oct. 1 to hold local airport police departments more accountable for training and to enforce higher training standards.

With multiple failures at airports including D/FW Airport and Love Field make some experts wonder if supervision and training is needed in a business where there may not be a second chance.

“Lives depend on the proficiency of the teams,” said Price. “You don’t get a do over in real life. If that team misses an explosive, then that’s a device that can end up on a plane.”

The TSA’s records have shown nearly a dozen teams failed at Washington Dulles International Airport and more than 20 at Los Angeles International Airport from January 2013 to June 2015. NBC 5 Investigates will be on NBC’s Today Show Thursday morning with the national part of the report and on NBC 5 News at 6 p.m. with what other major airports are doing to pass tests and make sure their teams are ready.

Andrea

09-23-2016, 09:16 AM

Father who allegedly killed family worked at Metro Airport; had TSA clearance

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/father-who-allegedly-killed-family-worked-at-metro-airport-had-tsa-clearance (http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/father-who-allegedly-killed-family-worked-at-metro-airport-had-tsa-clearance)

After the horrific murder of four children took place in Dearborn Heights, questions arose about the identity of the man behind the murderous acts.

Gregory Green allegedly killed four children and attempted to murder his wife on Wednesday. Police say after the murders, Green sat on his porch and awaited police.

After some investigating done by Local 4’s Shawn Ley, it was found that Green is actually an employee at Detroit Metropolitan Airport and has TSA clearance.

"While TSA and the FAA are taking my water bottle from me before I enter the airport, a convicted murderer was cleared to work for the food company that supplied the planes," said Local 4 legal analyst Neil Rocking. "In this day and age, with all of the concerns about airport security, etc, it is shocking to learn that a convicted murderer was working at the airport with security clearance and just as shocking to learn that the law and regulations may have permitted it."

Given Green’s history - he was convicted of murdering his pregnant wife in 1991- it was alarming to know that a man with such a brutal criminal history was able to be around aircrafts and possess security clearance. But his employer says that it wasn't aware of the crime.

Sky Chefs sent Local 4 this response to our inquiry:
"We are shocked and saddened by this tragic event that involved Gregory Green. Mr. Green has been an employee of our company for approximately one year. We follow all local, state and federal guidelines on employment records accordingly.

"Our employees are subject to background checks by our company and the TSA. Our checks go back for a ten-year period and did not indicate any issues with Mr. Green during that time frame. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of this tragic event." -LSG Sky Chefs

Green’s murder conviction was more than 10 years ago, and though FAA regulations list ‘murder’ as a disqualifying factor for airport security clearance, Green was able to get by because of the amount of time that has passed since his conviction.

cricket26

11-05-2016, 08:41 AM

i was delayed for a couple of 6 oz containers of yogurt *sigh* i had to throw them away *cries*

Andrea

11-05-2016, 09:22 AM

i was delayed for a couple of 6 oz containers of yogurt *sigh* i had to throw them away *cries*

If these were medically necessary, TSA should not have required you to toss them.

cricket26

11-05-2016, 10:27 AM

If these were medically necessary, TSA should not have required you to toss them.

they were not medically necessary...i just love yogurt :)

Andrea

11-19-2016, 01:19 PM

‘Creepy’ Airport Security Embarrasses New Mom Over Breast Milk

https://www.yahoo.com/beauty/creepy-airport-security-embarrasses-new-mom-over-breast-milk-144833718.html (https://www.yahoo.com/beauty/creepy-airport-security-embarrasses-new-mom-over-breast-milk-144833718.html)

A nursing mom’s Facebook post went viral after airport security made a spectacle of her breast milk.

Juliana Barrett recalls the screening officer “squishing [her breast milk] in his hands, holding it up and commenting on how many ounces it was.”

“People were walking by and staring,” she wrote.

The traveling mom had done her research; she knew she was allowed to bring prepackaged breast milk on a plane. But no amount of careful planning could prepare her for an insensitive, poorly trained staff member.

In a now private Facebook post, Barrett shared her experience:

It started with the TSA guy yelling about “everything out of your pockets” to everyone. I held the cooler bag and told him what was inside. He told me to put it on the belt anyways. It went through the scanner and I watched it sit. Patiently, I waited for the TSA screener guy to grab it. He ignored it until I finally pointed it out. He grabbed it and after I told him what was inside, he asked me where my baby was because “I don’t think you can bring this on without your baby present.” Uhhh, what?! Why would I have all of this if my baby was with me?!

I let him know I was traveling for work. He then opens the bag and proceeds to pull my cold breast milk bags out (ALL 21!). Squishing them in his hands, holding them up and commenting on how many ounces they are, people are walking by and staring. … I begin to tear up as he’s handling my son’s food and throwing them into a bin to be RESCANNED! He makes comments that he’s not sure I can bring all of it on the plane.

Finally, a lady TSA agent comes over and tells him he doesn’t need to do that. She tells him I’m good to go. I’m dying. The milk is warming up. I still have six hours until I get home. … His touching my breast milk was uncomfortable, creepy, and upsetting. That’s such an intimate, private thing to me. I’d heard horror stories of milk being poured out. This is my son’s food.

Andrea

12-07-2016, 10:02 PM

Media personality battling breast cancer posts 'humiliating' TSA search on Facebook

http://abc7ny.com/news/radio-host-battling-breast-cancer-posts-humiliating-tsa-search/1641467/ (http://abc7ny.com/news/radio-host-battling-breast-cancer-posts-humiliating-tsa-search/1641467/)

A New York woman battling breast cancer says that what happened to her during a TSA search while traveling should never happen to anyone.

Denise Albert says she has never felt so violated.

"It's a feeling that I just never expect to ever experience," Albert said.

The mother of two, who has been quite public about her battle with breast cancer, posted that humiliating experience on Facebook. For the past three years, she's been the host of show called "The MOMS with Denise and Melissa" on radio and TV.

She says Sunday night at LAX, TSA agents aggressively tried to do a body cavity search - in public.

This all happened after she informed them of the metal port on her chest and the medical cream in her bag.

"Her hands were shoving up me, and she went around me and down my pants in the back. And then when she tried to put her hands in my shirt is when I said, 'enough,'" Albert said.

Albert complied with the agents request to take off her shoes, but she didn't want to put her bare feet on the floor because of open sores and rashes from her cancer treatment.
"After having looked at the TSA website, they were not allowed to ask me to take my shoes off because I had a medical condition that I told them about," Albert said.

At one point, out of sheer frustration, she took off her wig, a move she rarely does in public.

Albert says the whole ordeal could have been handled so much better.

"I actually want those people fired because they didn't follow any protocol and I think it was really a game for them," Albert said.

The 42-year-old has filed a formal complaint with the TSA. The agency informed her the matter will be investigated by supervisors at LAX.

The TSA released a statement Monday night saying, "The Transportation Security Administration takes reports of alleged impropriety very seriously. TSA is currently looking into the specific details as to what occurred during the screening process to ensure our security protocols were followed. We regret any discomfort the security screening process may have caused the passenger. We will work with the passenger directly to address her concerns."

On Tuesday, Albert announced that the TSA called her. "I'm very pleased with our conversation. They apologized for my experience and at this point there is an LAX investigation into what happened. They very aggressively train their agents on how to screen medical / disabilities. This was not at their expectations and a lot of disappointment they didn't get it right. They are going to refresh training at LAX 3000 employees," Albert posted on Facebook.

Andrea

02-11-2017, 10:11 AM

These people went through the TSA background check:

3 bag handlers at Vegas airport accused of looting luggage

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/feeds/canadian-press/world/3-bag-handlers-at-vegas-airport-accused-of-looting-luggage/article33988937/ (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/feeds/canadian-press/world/3-bag-handlers-at-vegas-airport-accused-of-looting-luggage/article33988937/)

Three contract baggage handlers at McCarran International Airport are facing felony criminal charges in what Las Vegas airport police described as a behind-the-scenes theft ring.

Las Vegas police Officer Laura Meltzer said Friday the recent arrests of Aaron Matthew Lopez and Jamarcus Domonique Harper, both 27, and 19-year-old Noah Javier Gonzalez, followed a two-week investigation of a man's Jan. 16 report that a gun was missing from his checked bag.

All three men face burglary, theft and stolen property charges.

Meltzer says the three worked for Worldwide Flight Services, a luggage handling firm for Allegiant and Frontier airlines at the airport.

She says police are still investigating the thefts.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports (http://bit.ly/2kyIAMD ) items taken included luxury purses and guns.

This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.

*Anya*

02-15-2017, 06:36 PM

TSA Busted In Massive $100 Million, 40,000 Lb Cocaine Smuggling Conspiracy

TOPICS:ConspiracyIllegal DrugsJay SyrmopoulosTSA

FEBRUARY 14, 2017

By Jay Syrmopoulos

San Juan, Puerto Rico – In a case highlighting the infiltration of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) by transnational criminal organizations, twelve current and former TSA officers and airport staff were indicted for allegedly trafficking over 20 tons of cocaine — worth over $100 million — into the U.S. over an 18-years timeframe.

Last Wednesday, a federal grand jury returned an indictment against the twelve defendants, who are charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.

From 1988 to 2016 the conspirators allegedly smuggled about 40,000 pounds, or twenty tons, of cocaine through Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and into the United States, according to the DOJ.

The DOJ press release detailed how the massive trafficking operation allegedly worked:

During the course of the conspiracy, the defendants smuggled suitcases, each containing at least 8 to 15 kilograms of cocaine, through the TSA security system at the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (LMMIA). Sometimes as many as five mules were used on each flight, with each mule checking-in up to two suitcases. From 1998 through 2016, the defendants helped smuggle approximately 20 tons of cocaine through LMMIA.

Six current and former TSA employees, José Cruz-López, Luis Vázquez-Acevedo, Keila Carrasquillo, Carlos Rafael Adorno-Hiraldo, Antonio Vargas-Saavedra, and Daniel Cruz-Echevarría allegedly smuggled multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine while employed as TSA Officers at the San Juan airport.

Their full time responsibilities were to provide security and baggage screening for checked and carry-on luggage that was to be placed on outbound flights from the LMMIA. During the duration of the conspiracy, these TSA employees smuggled multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine through the TSA X-Ray machines within LMMIA and onto airplanes without detection.

“These individuals were involved in a conspiracy to traffic massive quantities of illegal narcotics to the continental United States,” said Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. “These arrests demonstrate the success of the AirTAT initiative, which has successfully allocated a dedicated group of state and federal law enforcement officers, whose mission is to ensure that our airports are not used in the drug traffickers’ illicit businesses.”

Defendants Edwin Francisco Castro, Luis Vázquez-Acevedo and Ferdinand López are alleged to have operated as facilitators between drug trafficking organizations and the TSA employees who smuggled the cocaine into the airplanes. Defendant Miguel Ángel Pérez-Rodríguez, an airport security company employee, was a source of supply of cocaine to the drug trafficking organization, according to the superseding indictment.

The DOJ press release notes the strategic nature of the operation:

Defendant Javier Ortiz began assisting drug trafficking organizations as an employee of Airport Aviation Services (AAS) as a baggage handler/ramp employee. During the time of the conspiracy Ortiz used to pick up suitcases he knew contained cocaine from the mules at the airline check-in counter. Ortiz would then place the suitcases into the X-Ray machines being monitored by the TSA drug trafficking organization members, who cleared the suitcases.

After the suitcases had been cleared by TSA members, Ortiz took the suitcases to their designated flight, making sure no narcotic K-9 unit or law enforcement personnel were present when the suitcase went from the checkpoint to the airplane. Once the suitcases were loaded into the airplane, defendant Ortiz would make a phone call to a drug trafficking organization member indicating the all clear and the mules would then board the airplane. Ortiz also paid the TSA employees for clearing the suitcases through TSA security.

Defendant Tomas Dominguez-Rohena assisted the drug trafficking organization by taking the suitcases he knew contained cocaine after they had been cleared by TSA members or smuggled passed security to their designated flight. Defendant José Gabriel López-Mercado was a mule for the criminal organization.

“This investigation was initiated by TSA as part of its efforts to address employee misconduct and specific insider threat vulnerabilities. TSA has zero tolerance for employees engaged in criminal activity to facilitate contraband smuggling,” said José Baquero, federal security director for Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, in the Monday press release.

The indictment was a result of an internal TSA investigation by the Airport Investigations and Tactical Team (AirTAT), a 2-year-old multi-agency initiative.

If convicted, the defendants face prison terms of between 10-years to life in prison.

Not surprisingly, this is the second such bust of TSA officials in only 2 years for transporting massive amounts of cocaine.

In November 2015, three former TSA agents were indicted on charges of defrauding the government and smuggling cocaine.

According to the indictment, 35-year-old Joseph Scott, 32-year-old Michael Castaneda, and 27-year-old Jessica Scott, all former TSA agents at San Francisco International Airport, were involved in an ongoing operation to help transport drugs through airport security.

Still feel safe with the TSA protecting the nation’s airports?

Jay Syrmopoulos writes for TheFreeThoughtProject.com, where this article first appeared.

http://www.activistpost.com/2017/02/tsa-busted-massive-100-million-40000-lb-cocaine-smuggling-conspiracy.html

Andrea

02-20-2017, 08:33 PM

TSA allows Kennedy Airport passengers to walk through security checkpoint without being screened

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/tsa-jfk-passengers-bypass-security-checkpoint-article-1.2977418 (http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/tsa-jfk-passengers-bypass-security-checkpoint-article-1.2977418)

No lines. No waiting. And no TSA screeners.

Eleven passengers strolled through a security lane without being screened at Kennedy Airport early Monday after Transportation Security Administration agents left the area unsupervised, law enforcement sources said.

Instead of following protocol and notifying Port Authority cops, it took the TSA two hours to tell police about the frightening breach, the sources add.

The unscreened passengers — three of whom set off a metal detector — didn’t even have to take off their shoes to get through security, according to a photo of two of the men obtained by the Daily News.

There was no one present to operate the magnetometer, the X-ray machine or to do pat-downs and secondary screening, the sources said.

“It’s scary that people could just walk in like that. It’s seems like something’s out of control here,” said Marie Ruiz-Martinez, 49, of Connecticut, who was at the airport to see her niece off to Puerto Rico.

The breach happened just after 6 a.m. at Jet Blue’s Terminal 5.

Rather than notifying the police, who are specifically trained to handle those situations, the TSA used its own agents to search for the unscreened passengers.

The two men depicted set off metal detectors but are not suspected of any wrongdoing.

“The TSA tried to mitigate the situation by sending their screeners through the terminal in violation of all the protocols,” a source said. “The protocol says law enforcement is immediately notified.”

When they were finally alerted, Port Authority cops flooded the terminal equipped with surveillance photos of the travelers, but none of them could be found, the sources said.

The three people who set off the metal detector all flew to California, a Port Authority official said. Records show there were four Jet Blue flights from Terminal 5 scheduled for California between 7 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. — two to San Francisco and two to Los Angeles.

In a statement, the TSA said it was reviewing the incident.

“Early reports indicate three passengers did not receive required secondary screening after alarming the walk-through detector,” the agency said. “All personal carry-on bags received required screening.”

The Port Authority official said eight of the travelers hadn’t been identified by late Monday.

“Port Authority Police are continuing to assist federal authorities in efforts to identify and locate the other eight passengers,” the official said.

Julia Talcone, 32, who was traveling home to France with her 5-year-old son, Matthieum, said security should be better.

“If it could happen once, maybe it could happen again,” Talcone said.

“We’re living in dangerous times right now, a lot of things are happening worldwide,” she said. “Security should increase.”

Gavin Pruett, 20, traveling home to California, was alarmed by the security breach.

“You never know what people are thinking or what their motives are,” he said. “For someone to go unscreened, that’s kinda questionable. Especially at JFK.”

There was plenty of outrage to go around.

“What you have is 11 people, unscreened, who boarded unknown flights to unknown destinations,” a law enforcement source said. “This is the failure of the TSA to do its job.”

Rep. Pete King (R-Long Island) weighed in. “We are looking into it and trying to get more information,” he said, “but it is disturbing.”

A Port Authority police official confirmed the TSA’s two-hour delay in alerting cops.

“Port Authority Police attempted at approximately 8 a.m. today to locate 11 individuals who went through an unattended TSA PreCheck checkpoint at approximately 6 a.m. at John F. Kennedy International Airport’s Terminal 5,” the official said.

“Those terminal searches, initiated when a TSA supervisor discovered and alerted Port Authority Police to the lapse, were unsuccessful, and it is believed the travelers in question boarded various flights.” The statement did not make clear whether there was anyone at the screening spot to look at the monitors as the bags went through the X-ray machine.

The TSA said it was “confident” the incident represented “no threat to the aviation transportation system.”

“TSA works with a network of security layers both seen and unseen,” the statement said. “Once our review is complete, TSA will discipline and retrain the employees as appropriate.”

Andrea

03-06-2017, 07:36 AM

TSA Rolls Out New Pat-Downs, Some Travelers Say They’re Invasive

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/tsa-rolls-out-new-pat-downs-some-travelers-say-they-n729181 (http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/tsa-rolls-out-new-pat-downs-some-travelers-say-they-n729181)

The Transportation Security Administration has rolled out changes to pat-downs at airports, which some travelers said resulted in more invasive screenings at airports.

The pat-downs don''t involve any additional areas of the body, and will still be performed by agents of the same gender as passengers, the agency said.

Previously, agents used several different types of pat downs to choose from after travelers set off the metal detector or were otherwise flagged for security concerns, but the new rules establish one standardized pat-down procedure that is more comprehensive.

Nico Melendez, a public affairs manager at the TSA, said the procedure was streamlined to reduce confusion and lessen the cognitive burden of officers after the TSA faced a record number of firearms detection during the week of February 20. Agents found 79 firearms, 21 of which were round chambered, setting a new record from its highest number of 18 firearms in 2014.

Some travelers called the new pat-downs invasive.

Seasoned traveler Joel Stratte-McClure said when he was catching a flight from Redding Municipal Airport to Egypt on Thursday the agent warned him the new procedure "would involve a more intense horizontal and vertical pat down" to look for concealed weapons that people typically hide in their pants.

"This was the most intriguing, intense and invasive pat down I've had by the TSA since they came into existence," Stratte-MCClure said in an email to NBC News. "Usually it's comparatively perfunctory (the gold bracelet on my right wrist sets off every security alarm in the US)."

Stratte-McClure said he is curious why it took the TSA fifteen years to understand that people conceal weapons in their pants, and doubted that the new pat-downs would be much more effective than the old ones, which he said didn't work in the first place.

"Seasoned travelers might take it in stride but infrequent travelers will be embarrassed and shocked," he said.

Some Twitter users criticized the new system, calling it "legalized groping."

Department of Homeland Security spokesman Bruce Anderson said the new pat-downs will continue to use enhanced security measures implemented several months ago.

"TSA continues to adjust and refine our systems and procedures to meet the evolving threat and to achieve the highest levels of transportation security," Anderson said in a statement.

The change comes on the heels of the agency's study of a 2015 report by the Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General that drew headlines. The audit lambasted TSA for not detecting handguns and other weapons and suggested the termination of the "managed inclusion program."

DapperButch

03-08-2017, 06:43 PM

Andrea, they are actually allowed to cup your genitals now. This guy said a TSA agent put out his forearm and asked him to squeeze his forearm in the way he touches his genitals. This was so the TSA guy didn't squeeze him too hard when he cupped them. TSA actually informed law enforcement that they expect they will be getting more sexual assault complaints due to what they are now doing.

https://consumerist.com/2017/03/06/tsa-introducing-new-more-invasive-pat-down-method/

TSA Rolls Out New Pat-Downs, Some Travelers Say They’re Invasive

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/tsa-rolls-out-new-pat-downs-some-travelers-say-they-n729181 (http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/tsa-rolls-out-new-pat-downs-some-travelers-say-they-n729181)

The Transportation Security Administration has rolled out changes to pat-downs at airports, which some travelers said resulted in more invasive screenings at airports.

The pat-downs don''t involve any additional areas of the body, and will still be performed by agents of the same gender as passengers, the agency said.

Previously, agents used several different types of pat downs to choose from after travelers set off the metal detector or were otherwise flagged for security concerns, but the new rules establish one standardized pat-down procedure that is more comprehensive.

Nico Melendez, a public affairs manager at the TSA, said the procedure was streamlined to reduce confusion and lessen the cognitive burden of officers after the TSA faced a record number of firearms detection during the week of February 20. Agents found 79 firearms, 21 of which were round chambered, setting a new record from its highest number of 18 firearms in 2014.

Some travelers called the new pat-downs invasive.

Seasoned traveler Joel Stratte-McClure said when he was catching a flight from Redding Municipal Airport to Egypt on Thursday the agent warned him the new procedure "would involve a more intense horizontal and vertical pat down" to look for concealed weapons that people typically hide in their pants.

"This was the most intriguing, intense and invasive pat down I've had by the TSA since they came into existence," Stratte-MCClure said in an email to NBC News. "Usually it's comparatively perfunctory (the gold bracelet on my right wrist sets off every security alarm in the US)."

Stratte-McClure said he is curious why it took the TSA fifteen years to understand that people conceal weapons in their pants, and doubted that the new pat-downs would be much more effective than the old ones, which he said didn't work in the first place.

"Seasoned travelers might take it in stride but infrequent travelers will be embarrassed and shocked," he said.

Some Twitter users criticized the new system, calling it "legalized groping."

Department of Homeland Security spokesman Bruce Anderson said the new pat-downs will continue to use enhanced security measures implemented several months ago.

"TSA continues to adjust and refine our systems and procedures to meet the evolving threat and to achieve the highest levels of transportation security," Anderson said in a statement.

The change comes on the heels of the agency's study of a 2015 report by the Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General that drew headlines. The audit lambasted TSA for not detecting handguns and other weapons and suggested the termination of the "managed inclusion program."

Andrea

03-17-2017, 07:22 PM

TSA agent at Pittsburgh airport charged with sexting 13-year-old girl

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/west/2017/03/15/Former-Pittsburgh-police-officer-accused-of-inappropriately-texting-13-year-old-girl/stories/201703150125 (http://www.post-gazette.com/local/west/2017/03/15/Former-Pittsburgh-police-officer-accused-of-inappropriately-texting-13-year-old-girl/stories/201703150125)

A federal Transportation Security Administration agent and former Pittsburgh police officer has been charged after a year-long investigation with sending sexually suggestive texts to a 13-year-old girl.

John Serak, 51, of Baden, was arrested Tuesday by Allegheny County Police and faces multiple felony charges. He has been suspended from his job at the Pittsburgh International Airport, where he worked for TSA as a security specialist in explosives.

The investigation began in March 2016, when the girl’s parents showed police text messages that Mr. Serak sent the girl that talked about cuddling, according to a criminal complaint. In the messages, Mr. Serak asked the girl for pictures of her from the “waist up and waist down,” the complaint said.

The allegations were originally brought to a North Fayette school resource officer, who referred the case to Allegheny County Police.

The girl told her parents about the texts because she felt uncomfortable. The girl was a friend of Mr. Serak’s daughter, according to the complaint. In March 2016, a detective took over the girl’s phone, posed as the girl and continued to text with Mr. Serak for months, the complaint said.

Between March and October 2016 the detective and Mr. Serak texted regularly, according to the complaint. In a transcript of text messages listed in the criminal complaint, Mr. Serak texted that he dreamed about kissing and marrying the girl, that she’d look “hot” in a bathing suit and discussed touching her body.

“The issue for me is part of me wants to snuggle with you like a father figure but the other part of me wants to snuggle with you because you are a very attractive young lady,” reads one text listed in the complaint.

Mr. Serak repeatedly warned the girl to delete the text messages they exchanged, and told her that if anyone saw their texts, they would never be able to see each other again, the complaint said.

Mr. Serak did not text the girl’s phone after October 2016, according to the complaint. After the initial investigation, the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Child Abuse Unit reviewed the case, according to the complaint.

Mr. Serak is charged with unlawful contact with a minor, criminal solicitation, criminal use of a communication facility, attempted corruption of a minor and attempted indecent assault on a person under age 16.

Mr. Serak, who resigned from the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police in 2007, has now been suspended from his job at the TSA pending removal, said Michelle Negron, a TSA spokeswoman.

“TSA does not tolerate illegal, unethical or immoral conduct,” she wrote in an email. “TSA is cooperating with local law enforcement officials as they continue to investigate the allegation.”

Mr. Serak is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing on March 28. He is being held in the Allegheny County Jail on a $50,000 bond.

Andrea: Bolding mine

Andrea

03-27-2017, 06:54 PM

Sea-Tac TSA agent pleads guilty to voyeurism charge

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/sea-tac-tsa-agent-pleads-guilty-to-voyeurism-charge/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_travel (http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/sea-tac-tsa-agent-pleads-guilty-to-voyeurism-charge/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_travel)

A security worker at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport accused of taking photos from underneath passengers’ skirts has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge as part of a plea deal.

KOMO-TV reports 29-year-old Nicholas Fernandez of Tukwila pleaded guilty Thursday to attempted voyeurism.

A probable cause statement says authorities received reports of Fernandez’s behavior last July and began monitoring him.

Another TSA agent followed him as he left a security checkpoint for a break. The agent reported seeing Fernandez stand behind a woman at baggage claim and turn his phone on to record under her skirt.

Prosecutors are recommending a suspended sentence that would include a sexual-deviant treatment program and no use of a camera, among other conditions.

TSA officials said previously that Fernandez had been placed on indefinite suspension without pay.

Andrea

03-31-2017, 08:39 AM

TSA defends pat-down of Texas boy; countless others creeped out

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/tripping/wp/2017/03/28/tsa-defends-pat-down-of-texas-boy-countless-others-creeped-out/?utm_term=.ddc94fff201a (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/tripping/wp/2017/03/28/tsa-defends-pat-down-of-texas-boy-countless-others-creeped-out/?utm_term=.ddc94fff201a)

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is defending an officer’s pat-down of a boy at a Texas airport that outraged his mother and thousands and thousands of people who viewed her Facebook posting on the incident.

For at least two minutes, the TSA officer at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport gives the boy a going-over that just seems a little too thorough.

First, the TSA officer explains to the boy what’s coming. Then the TSA officer, who is wearing blue gloves, moves behind the kid and starts with a search of the kid’s left shoulder. Nothing there. Then the right shoulder. Nothing there, either. The kid’s only wearing a T-shirt after all.

Then the TSA officer runs the back of his gloved hand down the kid’s back four times. Then he runs his hands up and down the kid’s torso on both sides.

Then the TSA officer examines the waistband of the kid’s shorts with the sort of painstaking care a tailor might show while taking in a seam. Then the TSA officer runs the back of his hand down the kid’s buttocks and upper leg on the left side six times or so, with a few on the right side for good measure. Then he wraps his big manly hands around the kid’s hams.

Now it’s time to move around to the front. The TSA officer frisks the kid’s shoulders again – you never know when you’re going to find an armpit bomb. Then down the torso again. Then it’s time to fuss at the waistband some more. Then the TSA officer runs the back of his hands down the front of the kid’s upper leg. More ham-gripping.

Phew. All done. The kindly TSA officer steps away as if the ordeal’s over but – nope, he’s back at the kid’s crotch again.

Take a look, as more than 5 million other people have so far. It looks like the TSA officer’s giving the poor kid a sponge bath, not a pat-down.

“We have been through hell this morning,” the boy’s mother, Jennifer Williamson wrote on Facebook. Williamson, who did not give her son’s age, said she had asked the TSA treat him in a way that would not aggravate his disability, known as a sensory processing disorder.

“He set off NO alarms,” Williamson writes on her Facebook page. “He physically did not alarm at all during screening, he passed through the detector just fine. He is still several hours later saying ‘I don’t know what I did. What did I do?'”

She didn’t respond to a request for comment made through Facebook. In her posting, however, she said her son’s screening took so long they missed their flight.

“I am livid,” Williamson writes. “I wish I had taped the entire interchange because it was horrifying.”

The TSA said it was just following orders.

*Anya*

03-31-2017, 09:38 AM

Pat-down?

More like a molestation.

WTF??!!

I honestly feel like the whole world has gone insane since November.

Chad

04-16-2017, 06:25 PM

homoe

04-16-2017, 06:43 PM

I wonder how TSA will react to my tooth implant. I get my knee replacement through TSA without any issues but now I have my knee replacement and a tooth implant.

I will report back on my experiences.

Chad, if anyone goes to "frisk" ya inform them "not without dinner first" .......LOL

Chad

04-16-2017, 06:54 PM

Chad, if anyone goes to "frisk" ya inform them "not without dinner first" .......LOL

Haha! I would probably just smile and say "pleased to make your acquaintance ma'am".

homoe

04-16-2017, 07:06 PM

It is a damn shame they have NO sense of humor because I can think of a million things to say to crack them up!

DapperButch

04-17-2017, 06:17 AM

I wonder how TSA will react to my tooth implant. I get my knee replacement through TSA without any issues but now I have my knee replacement and a tooth implant.

I will report back on my experiences.

I have two implants. No problems and have been flying a lot in the past year.

Chad

04-17-2017, 10:52 AM

I have two implants. No problems and have been flying a lot in the past year.

Thanks buddy.

Chad

04-22-2017, 07:28 AM

Chad, if anyone goes to "frisk" ya inform them "not without dinner first" .......LOL

I did get a pat down in the airport and it got very personal. I thought that it did meet the dinner obligation or at least drinks. I hope she enjoyed playing with my body.

:cool:

Chad

04-22-2017, 07:33 AM

I wonder how TSA will react to my tooth implant. I get my knee replacement through TSA without any issues but now I have my knee replacement and a tooth implant.

I will report back on my experiences.

I made it through all the scanners just fine. TSA is cool with my implants. They could not resist patting me down though.

homoe

04-22-2017, 03:15 PM

I did get a pat down in the airport and it got very personal. I thought that it did meet the dinner obligation or at least drinks. I hope she enjoyed playing with my body.

:cool:

.....:|....

Andrea

06-14-2017, 12:48 PM

TSA begins testing fingerprint check-ins at two US airports

https://www.engadget.com/2017/06/14/tsa-testing-fingerprint-checkin/?sr_source=Twitter (https://www.engadget.com/2017/06/14/tsa-testing-fingerprint-checkin/?sr_source=Twitter)

It's never a nice experience to stand in line at the airport for hours just to get a pat down when you get to the end. Hopefully, TSA's new biometric fingerprint tech could make air travel a more pleasant experience for most people. Starting this week, the Transportation Security Administration's fingerprint sensors will go through proof-of-concept testing at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport and at Denver International Airport. The test will last for four weeks, and you can try it out for yourself if you registered your fingerprint as part of TSA's PreCheck program.

Your biometric info will serve as both proof of identification and boarding pass, so it can, in theory, lead to shorter lines and much speedier check-in. For the proof-of-concept test, though, participants still have to show their identification documents, boarding passes and tickets, since its purpose is to assess how accurate the biometric system is.

TSA Acting Assistant Administrator Steve Karoly said in a statement:
"TSA looks at technologies and intelligence capabilities that allow us to analyze and secure the travel environment, passengers and their property. Through these and other technology demonstrations, we are looking to reinvent and enhance security effectiveness to meet the evolving threat and ensure that passengers get to their destinations safely."

Haven't provided the agency your fingerprint yet, but you're willing to trust them with your info for the chance to test the new system out? You can still volunteer your fingerprint using its PreCheck lanes at the airport. If we're lucky, it could change the way airport security works in the US.

Andrea

06-28-2017, 07:20 AM

Fish market owner 'personally offended' by large lobster TSA photo

http://www.kcra.com/article/fish-market-owner-personally-offended-by-large-lobster-tsa-photo/10232478 (http://www.kcra.com/article/fish-market-owner-personally-offended-by-large-lobster-tsa-photo/10232478)

The owner of a Connecticut fish market says she is "personally offended" after she saw a photo of a 20-pound (9-kilogram) lobster being handled by a Transportation Security Administration screener on social media.

Lisa Feinman owns Atlantic Seafood Market in Old Saybrook, and says she packed the lobster in a cooler with other lobsters for a customer from Georgia.

TSA spokesman Michael McCarthy later shared a photo of a screener holding the lobster, getting thousands of likes on Instagram.

In a Facebook post, Feinman took great exception to the photo being taken.

"I have something to say about this," she wrote." "This TSA agent should mind his own business. When is it okay to go through someones checked baggage and take photographs? I am personally offended by this because I packed this checked cooler with care and concern for the lobsters and my customers personal property. In addition to this lobster, my customer also purchased several other lobsters all of which were purposefully packed on top of this guy. This agent (after seeing the contents on an x ray machine, no doubt) had to dump out 12 other lobsters to get to this guy. Seriously, nothing better to do? And who would be to blame when these lobsters show up with a claw broken off because the TSA agent doesn't know how to properly handle a lobster? Do your job and leave our personal property alone."

She also criticized the way the agent held the lobster, saying he could have snapped off a claw by putting all of its weight on its joints.

The agency has not responded to requests for comment.

*Anya*

06-28-2017, 07:38 AM

I have such mixed feelings about lobsters.

I have eaten lobster on a rare occasion but not without guilt.

I don't think I ever shall again after reading this:

"Lobsters usually feed on bottom dwellers like clams, snails, and crabs. Lobsters live in the murk and mud at the bottom of the ocean. Lobsters can grow up to four feet long and weigh as much as 40 pounds. It is believed that lobsters can live as long as 100 years."

100 Fun Facts About Lobsters - Woodman's of Essex

Any creature that can live 100 years should not be eaten.

Sorry for the thread derail Andrea.

Fish market owner 'personally offended' by large lobster TSA photo

http://www.kcra.com/article/fish-market-owner-personally-offended-by-large-lobster-tsa-photo/10232478 (http://www.kcra.com/article/fish-market-owner-personally-offended-by-large-lobster-tsa-photo/10232478)

The owner of a Connecticut fish market says she is "personally offended" after she saw a photo of a 20-pound (9-kilogram) lobster being handled by a Transportation Security Administration screener on social media.

Lisa Feinman owns Atlantic Seafood Market in Old Saybrook, and says she packed the lobster in a cooler with other lobsters for a customer from Georgia.

TSA spokesman Michael McCarthy later shared a photo of a screener holding the lobster, getting thousands of likes on Instagram.

In a Facebook post, Feinman took great exception to the photo being taken.

"I have something to say about this," she wrote." "This TSA agent should mind his own business. When is it okay to go through someones checked baggage and take photographs? I am personally offended by this because I packed this checked cooler with care and concern for the lobsters and my customers personal property. In addition to this lobster, my customer also purchased several other lobsters all of which were purposefully packed on top of this guy. This agent (after seeing the contents on an x ray machine, no doubt) had to dump out 12 other lobsters to get to this guy. Seriously, nothing better to do? And who would be to blame when these lobsters show up with a claw broken off because the TSA agent doesn't know how to properly handle a lobster? Do your job and leave our personal property alone."

She also criticized the way the agent held the lobster, saying he could have snapped off a claw by putting all of its weight on its joints.

The agency has not responded to requests for comment.

Andrea

10-24-2017, 06:43 AM

TSA Security Measures Could Cause an Allergic Reaction

https://www.flyertalk.com/articles/tsa-security-measures-could-cause-an-allergic-reaction.html?utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign= (https://www.flyertalk.com/articles/tsa-security-measures-could-cause-an-allergic-reaction.html?utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=)

Next time you’re traveling with a lot of snacks, be prepared – you may need to go through some extra security screening. As part of the Transportation Security Administration’s new, stricter screening rules, carry-on foods may need to go in their own bins. The measure has already gone into effect in airports like Orlando, where a woman from Arkansas told a travel agent that TSA was swabbing everything.

“When I went to Orlando from Memphis, I was pulled over for additional screening and was told it was [because] I had lots of snacks in my bag,” she said on a Facebook post reported by Allergic Living. “They swabbed every single snack.”

This poses a problem, though, for those with food allergies worried about cross-contamination. The bins are communal, so you don’t know what food has been in there already that might contain an allergen. And for TSA agents searching through bags or examining the food, they may have some sort of food allergen on their gloves from a previous traveler.

Sari Koshetz, a spokesperson for the southeast region of the TSA, gave Allergic Living some hints for how travelers can ensure no cross-contamination happens: Put all the allergy-safe food in clear, tightly sealed containers or baggies; Ask an officer going through your items to put on clean gloves; Point out liquids with medical purposes that exceed the volume limit for carry-ons so that TSA agents can scan them without opening them. It’s also a good idea, Allergic Living says, to carry a note from your doctor explaining your allergies and the safe foods (and possibly an EpiPen) you need to carry. Travelers should also consider joining TSA PreCheck, where the stronger security measures do not apply.

Andrea

11-07-2017, 09:21 PM

Homeland insecurities: Lost guns, backlogged asylum-seekers among DHS vulnerabilities

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/11/07/homeland-security-lost-guns-backlogged-asylum-application-vulnerabilities-lax-grant-oversight-dhs/838089001/ (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/11/07/homeland-security-lost-guns-backlogged-asylum-application-vulnerabilities-lax-grant-oversight-dhs/838089001/)

WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security has key vulnerabilities in administration and oversight that could leave the agency open to fraud and pose threats to national security and public safety, according to a series of reports issued in recent weeks by the department’s inspector general.

The problems range from miscommunications on immigration to oversight failures at the Federal Emergency Management Agency and a skyrocketing backlog of asylum applications that could present a “significant risk to national security and public safety,” the inspector general found.

The issues show just how steep the challenges are for President Trump’s pick to lead the agency, Kirstjen Nielsen, who is facing a Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday.

The 15-year-old agency, created to help keep Americans safe after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, has a broad mission guarding the nation's ports, borders and airports and overseeing federal disaster response and recovery.

Nielsen is an attorney with homeland security and cybersecurity experience who was chief of staff to Gen. John Kelly at DHS before he became White House chief of staff. She followed him to the White House, where she is principal deputy chief of staff.

Previously, she worked at the Transportation Security Administration and on the White House Homeland Security Council under President George W. Bush.

Here are some of the key vulnerabilities identified by the DHS inspector general — and issues she faces if confirmed.

Asylum backlog

A backlog of asylum applications has skyrocketed in recent years, jumping from roughly 57,000 in 2014 to more than 250,000 this year.

Immigrants who are already in the United States can seek asylum by filing an application with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which then reviews them and sets up fingerprinting, background checks and interviews before asylum can be granted.

The inspector general did not indicate where in the process the backlogged applications are, but the IG’s office told USA TODAY that USCIS officials indicated they had only received initial, preliminary vetting.

“These cases present a significant risk to national security and public safety when not vetting the applicants’ backgrounds,” the inspector general concluded.

Eliminating the backlog without added staffing or policy changes could take years, and in the meantime, the inspector general said, USCIS officials have identified fraud trends in the program.

“Individuals may file for affirmative asylum, anticipating a prolonged waiting period, as a means of exploiting the application process to obtain an Employment Authorization Document,” the inspector general said.

Last year, the department implemented an “asylum surge issue team” to help improve processing, but the inspector general found “no meaningful changes implemented.”

Immigration miscommunications

DHS does not foster enough coordination between its offices responsible for immigration administration and enforcement, which has led to miscommunications and breakdowns, the inspector general found.

The inspector general identified issues with bed space availability, inmate transfer responsibility, language services and processing of undocumented immigrants because of different decisions made by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

CBP apprehends immigrants but relies on ICE to house them, yet ICE didn’t consistently notify CPB if and where beds were available. In addition, while CBP is a 24-hour, seven-day operation, ICE enforcement and removal staff normally don’t work nights and weekends, leaving customs and border workers scrambling to house detainees.

A decision by USCIS last year to stop conducting interviews with individuals not currently detained at one location prompted ICE to convert nearly 2,000 cases pending asylum hearings to notices to appear in court. An ICE official said they likely would have been removed and not released into communities if their cases had been adjudicated upon entry to the United States.

ICE officials also didn’t always communicate with USCIS when they moved or released detainees, so USCIS at times showed up at facilities to do interviews but the subjects were not there.

“Lack of coordination in processing aliens creates potential vulnerabilities to national security and public safety,” the inspector general found.

In response to the report issued last week, department officials said they planned to establish a policy council with members from ICE, USCIS, CBP, and other offices to coordinate department-wide administration of immigration policies.

Hundreds of guns, badges lost

Between 2014 and 2016, DHS personnel lost thousands of sensitive assets including guns, badges and secure immigration stamps, the inspector general found.

Border patrol, ICE agents and TSA officers are among DHS personnel who carry guns and badges that pose a security risk if they are lost or stolen. A total of 228 guns and nearly 1,900 badges went missing during the two-year period.

The IG cited instances where two off-duty ICE officers left guns in backpacks while on a beach in Puerto Rico, and another left his gun and badge unsecured in a hotel room while on vacation.

A CBP officer left his badge in an unlocked public gym locker, another left his gun in a bag at a friend’s house, and a third left his gun in an unlocked car overnight. A TSA officer left his gun in his car while he had dinner with his family.

All were stolen.

Only a fraction of the officers were disciplined and none received remedial training on safeguarding such sensitive assets in the future.

In three cases, the inspector general found, weapons fell into the hands of convicted felons.

”Police recovered one firearm from an individual in possession of heroin; another from a suspect charged with armed robbery; and the last from a convicted felon at a pawn shop,” the IG wrote.

DHS officials said they concurred with the findings and plan to update policies, training and inventory control for guns and badges.
Marshaling better aviation security

The contribution to aviation security of the Federal Air Marshal Service is “questionable,” the inspector general concluded.

The details of the findings are classified but an unclassified summary said investigators made five recommendations for improvement. “We also identified a part of FAMS operations where, if discontinued, funds could be put to better use,” the summary states.

Part of the Transportation Security Administration, the service deploys marshals on commercial flights to “protect airline passengers and crew against the risk of criminal and terrorist violence.”

But critics contend that there are only enough marshals to cover 5 percent of flights, and yet the program accounts for 10 percent of the TSA’s budget, costing more than $800 milion per year.

“In general, spending one dollar on the service generates less than 10 cents in benefit,” wrote John Mueller, a political scientist at the Cato Institute and Ohio State University, and Mark Stewart, a civil engineer and risk analyst at the University of Newcastle in Australia.

Mueller told USA TODAY he believes they are virtually useless.

“They do nothing,” Mueller told USA TODAY in an interview. “They may have helped with a few drunks here and there. They’ve apprehended nobody.”

Mueller and Stewart, co-authors of Are we safe enough? Measuring and assessing aviation security, maintain that slashing the marshal service’s budget by 75%, increasing training and arming of pilots and installing secondary barriers to cockpits would produce “better aviation security and a savings of hundreds of millions of dollars each year.”
Disastrous loan oversight

In a separate report released last month, the inspector general found that FEMA “did not manage disaster relief grants and funds adequately and did not hold grant recipients accountable for properly managing disaster relief funds.”

Between 2009 and 2015, the inspector general identified $1.6 billion in questionable costs. Last year, the watchdog found another $155 million.

They included instances where projects did not qualify or grant recipients did not ensure full and open competition for work under the grants, did not provide opportunities to small, women- or minority-owned business and used prohibited cost-inflated contracts.

FEMA provides grants to state and local governments and nonprofit organizations to help response and recovery from major disasters.

The inspector general also audited the agency’s initial response to major disasters and found the responses were effective but noted “FEMA’s management responsibility merely begins with the initial disaster response.”

In response to the report, FEMA officials said they are committed to addressing the findings and the agency is working to advance consistent, FEMA-wide guidance for grant management and compliance.

Andrea

11-09-2017, 08:15 AM

'Disturbing' findings: Airport screeners miss most weapons

http://www.kcra.com/article/disturbing-findings-airport-screeners-miss-most-weapons/13456754 (http://www.kcra.com/article/disturbing-findings-airport-screeners-miss-most-weapons/13456754)

Undercover testing at multiple airport checkpoints brought back uncomfortable results, finding that security procedures missed weapons a majority of the time.

"We found that briefing disturbing," House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said at a hearing following Wednesday's briefing to discuss the details of the tests conducted by Office of the Inspector General.

The briefing itself was private, but a source told ABC News that the failure rate was "in the ballpark" of 80 percent. A CBS correspondent says the investigators were able to get through checkpoints with mock knives, guns and explosives more than 70 percent of time.

The Transportation Security Administration said it agrees with the report and is committed to Department of Homeland Security recommendations, though are no specifics on what those entail.

"We take the OIG’s findings very seriously and are implementing measures that will improve screening effectiveness at checkpoints," TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in a statement. "We are focused on staying ahead of a dynamic threat to aviation with continued investment in the workforce, enhanced procedures, and new technologies."

Despite the high rate of failure, the results of this round of testing is better than two years ago, when screeners missed 95 percent of prohibited items.

cricket26

11-12-2017, 10:07 AM

i do not know why but TSA always stops me...and flying from dallas to vegas i was stopped...the TSA lady felt my "chest" with her fingertips...i was told i could move along...and i did...it was because of my necklace...sheesh

Kätzchen

11-12-2017, 11:20 AM

Andrea

11-12-2017, 02:01 PM

Andrea??? Have you come across any articles, which address how the so-called "legalized groping" of airline passengers has negative impact on the airline industry?

I'm SO curious about this particular fall out, the unintended consequence of allowing this type of "security measure"..... I mean, hey, that article you found about screener's groping people to find guns or knives or any device of the sort is an failure to find anything except to grope people and put passengers through undue stress. I won't take an airplane anymore because I refuse to have strangers groping my body. I can hardly believe the hostile environment just to take an airplane to travel. It seems terribly counterproductive to have to submit to a body search, which is more like some prison tactic or sorts.

Anywhooo..... next time I'm visiting my friend who's a senior librarian, thus is something I'm going to ask her, if she's seen any credible literature concerning negative impacts on those who fly and the airline industry as an whole.

I haven't seen any numbers but the board I find stuff on indicates to me there are different classes of people. Those that travel for work and don't have much of a choice, those that believe the gropes are keeping us safe because there hasn't been another attack like 9/11, and those that don't fly but claim they wouldn't have an issue with being groped because if the government says it is necessary......

Then there is the rest of us that don't like it so limit our flying, but sometimes it is the only way to get somewhere when you have to be there.

What I don't get is why we keep spending the $ on an agency that has proven again and again it can't do the job.

Kätzchen

11-12-2017, 02:22 PM

Andrea

01-01-2018, 09:58 PM

Those airport cameras tracking your face may not be legal, study finds

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/12/21/scanning-the-face-of-every-american-traveling-overseas-would-be-invasive-costly-and-potentially-illegal-a-new-report-finds/?utm_term=.a1790b378669 (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/12/21/scanning-the-face-of-every-american-traveling-overseas-would-be-invasive-costly-and-potentially-illegal-a-new-report-finds/?utm_term=.a1790b378669)

A Department of Homeland Security program that would collect facial scans of every American citizen traveling overseas may skirt the law, come at enormous cost, exhibit technical flaws and invade the privacy of innocent people, a new report finds.

Published Thursday by three researchers at the Center on Privacy and Technology at Georgetown University’s law school, the report examined a DHS pilot program currently underway at nine U.S. airports with overseas flights. In an effort to prevent visitors from overstaying their visas or using fraudulent travel documents, border agents scan the faces of travelers before they depart, and compare the biometric scan against a DHS database.

Visitors and U.S. citizens alike who are traveling on certain international flights originating from cities including Washington, D.C., Atlanta, New York, and Chicago will have their faces captured. According to the study, DHS plans to extend the face scanning program to every airport in the United States that sends passengers abroad.

But the researchers urge policymakers and the public to consider abandoning the biometric exit program, which they say is “riddled with problems” and “offers no tangible benefits.” Congress has never clearly authorized the collection of facial data at the border from American citizens, the report says, and DHS has not begun a rulemaking process on the facial scanning program that it is required by federal law to conduct.

The $1 billion program may prompt more invasive forms of government surveillance, including passive biometric scans at domestic airports and the use of facial recognition in other public spaces not associated with air travel, according to the report. That may lead to the chilling of free speech and free association, the researchers said.

In a statement, Jennifer Gabris, a spokeswoman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said that the agency takes its privacy obligations seriously, and that U.S. citizens can currently opt out of the facial scanning process.

“In addition, in an effort to be transparent, CBP held a dialogue with privacy advocates in August 2017 and will do so again in January 2018,” she said. Gabris added that CBP has instituted a rigorous process to review the performance of the biometric pilot program, which has a “matching rate in the high 90 percentile.”

“CBP is working to meet the Congressional mandate for biometric exit in a way that’s most efficient and secure for the traveler and that is least disruptive for the travel industry, while also effectively enhancing border security,” she said.

But in addition to legal and privacy implications raised in the study, the researchers found that DHS itself had acknowledged technical flaws in how the facial scanning system functions. Citing DHS's own data, the report states that the agency's facial recognition system erroneously rejects as many as 1 out of every 25 travelers who display valid credentials. Applying that error rate to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, 1,632 innocent passengers could be wrongfully delayed or denied boarding every day under DHS's system, the study found.

What's more, DHS appears to not have measurements in place to evaluate how well its facial scanning systems actually detect would-be impostors, according to the study. The 1-out-of-25 error rate measures only false positives, not accurate detections of fraud.

The study likened DHS's lack of a positive detection metric to a bar owner who hires a bouncer without asking him how well he can spot fake IDs. “DHS appears to have no idea whether its system will be effective at achieving its primary technical objective,” the study said.

The report also found DHS is unable to determine whether the accuracy of its facial scans drops because of a traveler's demographic traits. Citing industry research and DHS's own inconclusive findings, the report argues that its likely the agency's biometric scanning systems may discriminate against people based on their race and sex. “Innocent people may be pulled from the line at the boarding gate and subjected to manual fingerprinting at higher rates as a result of their complexion or gender,” the report said.

If the program does continue, the researchers offered six recommendations. They include DHS offering a justification for biometric scanning and identifying and quantifying the problem they are trying to solve; excluding Americans from facial scanning; and for the DHS to adopt a policy restricting the use of facial data for verifying the identify of foreigners, and not for other purposes.

Andrea

01-22-2018, 09:59 PM

A woman called the ‘serial stowaway’ sneaked past airport security — again — and flew to London

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dr-gridlock/wp/2018/01/20/a-woman-called-the-serial-stowaway-sneaked-past-airport-security-again-and-flew-to-london/?utm_term=.ae065e78295e (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dr-gridlock/wp/2018/01/20/a-woman-called-the-serial-stowaway-sneaked-past-airport-security-again-and-flew-to-london/?utm_term=.ae065e78295e)

Marilyn Jean Hartman is infamous. For years, law enforcement agencies in several states have known her for her seemingly endless and bizarre habit of getting on planes without a ticket, a boarding pass or a passport.

The 66-year-old with short, white-blond hair was caught trying to get to Hawaii at least once in 2014. She made it to Los Angeles that same year after trying several times to board a plane in San Jose. She flew to Florida in 2015 after boarding a plane in Minnesota. She was jailed in Chicago that same year for trying to bypass security at the city’s two major airports. According to news reports, she usually tries to blend in with big groups to get past airport security.

And in 2016, an Illinois judge sentenced her to two years of probation and six months at a mental-health facility, where she had already been staying, after she was arrested again at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

Hartman is back on the news again. This time, she made it to London.

She sneaked past security in Chicago and boarded a flight to Heathrow Airport. She was arrested after arriving there Monday and was flown back to the United States on Thursday, according to Chicago police. Hartman has been charged with criminal trespass, a misdemeanor, and theft, a felony.

The Transportation Security Administration is investigating how she managed to sneak past security.

“During the initial investigation it was determined that the passenger was screened at the security checkpoint before boarding a flight. Upon learning of the incident, TSA, and its aviation partners, took immediate action to review security practices throughout the airport,” the federal agency said in a statement.

Lauren Huffman, spokeswoman for the Chicago Department of Aviation, said no passengers or visitors were placed in harm’s way because of the incident.

“We are working with our law enforcement partners to support a comprehensive and thorough investigation, while continuing to maintain the highest levels of security at O’Hare Airport,” Huffman said in a statement.

Several media outlets, including The Washington Post, have documented Hartman’s misadventures and often referred to her with a nickname. “ ‘Infamous serial stowaway’ Marilyn Jean Hartman strikes again,” says a Post headline from 2015. Media outlets have also called her a homeless loner bouncing between women’s shelters and motel rooms up and down the West Coast over the past decade.

But her bizarre and headline-grabbing behavior has confounded authorities.

“Ms. Hartman, what am I supposed to do?” Cook County Circuit Court Judge William Raines asked during a hearing in May 2015, according to NBC affiliate WMAQ.

A year later, Hartman was back in Raines’s courtroom. The judge dished out a harsh scolding as he recounted Hartman’s history, which included several attempts to escape from mental-health facilities in Illinois.

“The only reason why you’re not going to jail this time is because all these people that are here trying to help you still want to help you. I can’t figure out why that is,” Raines told Hartman, according to the Chicago Tribune’s account of the hearing. He added later: “There’s no more feeling sorry for you. I think you’re addicted to the attention.”

In many cases, Hartman seemed to expect to be caught.

“And it’s not as if she is, ‘Catch me if you can.’ It’s almost like, ‘Just come catch me,’ ” Assistant State’s Attorney Jeff Allen told reporters during the hearing.

But why the airport? That’s a question that assistant public defender Parle Roe-Taylor had told reporters she couldn’t answer.

In 2015, San Francisco Magazine tried to do so. A lengthy profile published online in June 2015 painted a picture of a woman who had been estranged from family members in Illinois, who constantly felt “the need to get on a plane to go away,” and who told wild tales of coverups and conspiracies.

Hartman claimed that people — airport security, public transit passengers, jail inmates, President Obama — have all conspired to compel her to sneak onto planes in an elaborate attempt to punish her, and then allow her to escape lengthy prison sentences so she can do it all over again, and again.

“They just hope I kill myself or act out against society,” she told the magazine during an interview while she was jailed in Florida. “Goodbye, cruel world.”

Hartman was living at an apartment facility for low-income seniors at a Chicago suburb before her arrest this week. She’s scheduled to appear in court Saturday, according to media reports.

Andrea

04-11-2018, 05:12 AM

TSA worker arrested after feds say he showed up for sex with 11-year-old girl

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-reg-tsa-worker-child-sex-case-20180410-story.html (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-reg-tsa-worker-child-sex-case-20180410-story.html)

A TSA worker based at Fort Lauderdale’s international airport is jailed on federal allegations he showed up at a Plantation park expecting to have sex with an 11-year-old family friend who he had been sending inappropriate texts and pornography.

Gary Delynn Linder, 27, of Lauderhill, cried during a bond hearing Tuesday in federal court in Fort Lauderdale. He did not speak but quietly wept and looked at his father in the courtroom.

Officials with the Transportation Security Administration at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport said the agency has begun the process of terminating Linder’s employment. Linder worked as a TSA officer since November 2016.

Linder began trying to groom the girl for sexual activity about a month after he obtained her cellphone number in January, prosecutors said.

“Have you hit puberty yet?” was one of the texts he sent to the girl, followed by more inappropriate questions about her body and development.

The girl’s parents saw the inappropriate texts from him in mid-February and turned the phone over to law enforcement.
Top officials at Backpage.com indicted after classifieds site taken offline

Investigators assumed the girl’s identity and began responding to Linder’s texts as if they were her.

Linder exchanged more than 1,000 texts in about two months, often reaching out to the girl while she was at school and as late as midnight to 1 a.m., according to testimony from Lee Bieber, a Plantation detective who works on the FBI’s child exploitation task force.

“I responded in kind but he set the tone of the conversation,” Bieber testified about the texts he exchanged with Linder when he posed as the 11-year-old.

During the investigation, Linder sent pornographic images of adults having sex, as well as photographs of his erect penis, and begged the girl to send him sexual photographs of herself. He gave instructions on how to shoot the photographs but the undercover detective made excuses and did not send photos.

The texts were extremely sexual and included a labeled diagram of female genitals, instructions on masturbation, and graphic descriptions of Linder’s sexual fantasies involving the girl, investigators said.
Stories and secrets from a TSA screener

Linder arranged to meet the 11-year-old girl at 4 p.m. on April 4 at a park in Plantation. Beforehand, he specified that he wanted to have sex with her in his car.

The undercover agent, posing as the girl, told him to bring two glazed donuts with him and to knock on the public restroom door and the girl would come out.

Agents arrested Linder when he showed up for the sexual encounter – with the glazed donuts.

“In this case, there was a real child – a child that was known to the defendant for a long time … and he took the substantial step of showing up to meet her,” prosecutor Jodi Anton told the judge. “But for law enforcement intervening, you’d have a hands-on offender.”

They said Linder confessed and identified the girl as a family friend whose home he often visited. He also said he was attracted to young girls between the ages of 6 years old to 14 years old, authorities said.

Linder also said he had been communicating with two other minors, girls aged 14 and 16. Authorities said they found two child pornography images on his phone when they searched it.

Linder was arrested on federal charges of using a cellphone to entice a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct to produce child pornography and transferring obscene materials to a minor.

If convicted, he could face 15 years to life in federal prison. Linder has not yet indicated if he plans to fight the charges.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Seltzer on Tuesday ordered that Linder will remain jailed while the case is pending.

Kätzchen

04-14-2018, 12:54 PM

I haven't seen any numbers but the board I find stuff on indicates to me there are different classes of people. Those that travel for work and don't have much of a choice, those that believe the gropes are keeping us safe because there hasn't been another attack like 9/11, and those that don't fly but claim they wouldn't have an issue with being groped because if the government says it is necessary......

Then there is the rest of us that don't like it so limit our flying, but sometimes it is the only way to get somewhere when you have to be there.

What I don't get is why we keep spending the $ on an agency that has proven again and again it can't do the job.

So, I wanted to follow up with you Andrea about the subject of credible scholarly literature available on the subject of Airline Industry issues... for example, issues relating to methods of security checks, methods utilized at boarding gates, port of entries, invasion of privacy (gross cases of body touch types of things --- groping, etc) and any number of topics available to read.

I'm limited in my attempt to conduct an exhaustive type of search due to lack of an desktop or laptop, but by smart phone device and experimenting with certain Boolyan catch-phrases, I couldn't find anything that comes close to what I had in mind. Of course, I'm no librarian or category research expert, but a few things come to mind about why there might not be too many credible Scholarly articles available.

1) Most all upper education institution's with research departments has to have an Independent Review Board (IRB). If an candidate conducting any formal research for a study wants to have their research to be deemed credible, the candidate has to submit an research proposal that meets that institution's set of criteria, to gain permission to move forward with their study, as well as the chair of their department. That's one hoop you can't neglect when committing to the research project the candidate undertakes as either fulfilling an departmental requirement for any upper graduate or doctoral study involved.

2) Since the general subject of the airline industry is an stand alone agency, I'm guessing that there might be barriers to uncovering certain types of available data. For example, I'm guessing, depending on the scope of study and how well the candidate narrows down to the type of information necessary to the case study involved, the candidate might face an awful lot of bureaucratic red tape gaining access to such information. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) agency is notorious for being exceptionally obtuse and often times it is hard to get any type of reasonable cooperation from this agency. Or.... Maybe the candidate might have trouble gaining access to credible case law applications or decisions rendered by State or Federal district courts. Or....maybe the candidate might have trouble getting available data from the FAA (there's always the possibility that certain sets of data might be classified as not available due to security risks).

3) When an candidate takes up an research topic, it's usually based off other research that has been previously published by another candidate .... and from what I've learned about getting your study published, it's helpful to either add toward the collective base of studies previously published or its even more helpful if the candidate's research disputes prior research and makes an airtight argument that nullifies previous studies noting x y or z types of conditions or similarities or that type of thing.

All that to say, that my ability to find any recent study within ten years, which it takes a few years for credible studies to get the institutional stamp of approval, was close to nothing -- I came up empty handed.

Anyway, you may or may not have already known about some of the barriers to credible studies and how hard it is to get enough information to get your study published. Especially if it's ground breaking news.

Thanks so much for taking the time to post about TSA issues in the news. :bunchflowers:

Andrea

07-31-2018, 11:30 AM

Welcome to the Quiet Skies

http://apps.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/graphics/2018/07/tsa-quiet-skies/?s_campaign=breakingnews:newsletter (http://apps.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/graphics/2018/07/tsa-quiet-skies/?s_campaign=breakingnews:newsletter)

Federal air marshals have begun following ordinary US citizens not suspected of a crime or on any terrorist watch list and collecting extensive information about their movements and behavior under a new domestic surveillance program that is drawing criticism from within the agency.

The previously undisclosed program, called “Quiet Skies,” specifically targets travelers who “are not under investigation by any agency and are not in the Terrorist Screening Data Base,” according to a Transportation Security Administration bulletin in March.

The internal bulletin describes the program’s goal as thwarting threats to commercial aircraft “posed by unknown or partially known terrorists,” and gives the agency broad discretion over which air travelers to focus on and how closely they are tracked.

But some air marshals, in interviews and internal communications shared with the Globe, say the program has them tasked with shadowing travelers who appear to pose no real threat — a businesswoman who happened to have traveled through a Mideast hot spot, in one case; a Southwest Airlines flight attendant, in another; a fellow federal law enforcement officer, in a third.

It is a time-consuming and costly assignment, they say, which saps their ability to do more vital law enforcement work.

TSA officials, in a written statement to the Globe, broadly defended the agency’s efforts to deter potential acts of terror. But the agency declined to discuss whether Quiet Skies has intercepted any threats, or even to confirm that the program exists.

Release of such information “would make passengers less safe,” spokesman James Gregory said in the statement.

Already under Quiet Skies, thousands of unsuspecting Americans have been subjected to targeted airport and inflight surveillance, carried out by small teams of armed, undercover air marshals, government documents show. The teams document whether passengers fidget, use a computer, have a “jump” in their Adam’s apple or a “cold penetrating stare,” among other behaviors, according to the records.

Air marshals note these observations — minute-by-minute — in two separate reports and send this information back to the TSA.

All US citizens who enter the country are automatically screened for inclusion in Quiet Skies — their travel patterns and affiliations are checked and their names run against a terrorist watch list and other databases, according to agency documents.

Explore the behavior checklist
1. Subject was abnormally aware of surroundings

Reversing or changing directions and/or stopping while in transit through the airport
Attempting to change appearance by changing clothes, shaving etc. while in the airport or on the plane
Using the reflection in storefront windows to identify surveillance
Observing the boarding gate area from afar
Boarded last
Observing other people who appear to be observing FAM team and/or subject

2. Subject exhibited Behavioral Indicators

Excessive fidgeting
Excessive perspiration
Facial flushing
Rapid eye blinking
“Adam’s apple jump”
Rubbing/wringing of hands
Strong body odor
Sweaty palms
Trembling
Cold penetrating stare
Exaggerated emotions
Gripping/“White knuckling” bags
Wide open, staring eyes
Face touching
Other

3. Subject’s appearance was different from information provided

Lost weight
Gained weight
Balding
Graying
Hair length/style change
Goatee
Visible Tattoos (Describe)
Visible Piercings (Describe)
Beard
Mustache
Apparent Altered Experience (Explain)
Clean shaven
Other

4. Subject slept during the flight

Subject slept during most of the flight
Subject slept briefly

5. General Observations

Checked baggage?
In possession of cell/smartphone?
In possession of multiple phones?
Used phone to talk?
Used phone to text?
In possession of computer?
Seated in first/business class?
Used lavatory?
In possession of any unusual items?
Traveled with others?
Met with others in the airport?
Engaged in conversation with others?
Subject initiated conversation with FAM?
Carryon baggage?
Other notable activity?
Subject engaged in “more than casual contact” with airport or airline employee?

6. For Domestic Arrivals Only

(If possible, provide identifiers (license plate, vehicle description) of pick up vehicle in AAR)

Picked up at curbside shuttle, taxi, bus or public transit?
Picked up at curbside by private vehicle?
Obtained rental car for transportation

The program relies on 15 rules to screen passengers, according to a May agency bulletin, and the criteria appear broad: “rules may target” people whose travel patterns or behaviors match those of known or suspected terrorists, or people “possibly affiliated” with someone on a watch list.

The full list of criteria for Quiet Skies screening was unavailable to the Globe, and is a mystery even to the air marshals who field the surveillance requests the program generates. TSA declined to comment.

When someone on the Quiet Skies list is selected for surveillance, a team of air marshals is placed on the person’s next flight. The team receives a file containing a photo and basic information — such as date and place of birth — about the target, according to agency documents.

The teams track citizens on domestic flights, to or from dozens of cities big and small — such as Boston and Harrisburg, Pa., Washington, D.C., and Myrtle Beach, S.C. — taking notes on whether travelers use a phone, go to the bathroom, chat with others, or change clothes, according to documents and people within the department.
Flying the quiet skies

Air marshals are following citizens to or from cities big and small, including these airports

Seattle
Minneapolis
Detroit
Boston
New York
Chicago
Harrisburg
San Francisco
Philadelphia
Washington, D.C.
Las Vegas
Charlotte
Phoenix
Myrtle Beach
Los Angeles
Atlanta
Houston
Miami

Quiet Skies represents a major departure for TSA. Since the Sept. 11 attacks, the agency has traditionally placed armed air marshals on routes it considered potentially higher risk, or on flights with a passenger on a terrorist watch list. Deploying air marshals to gather intelligence on civilians not on a terrorist watch list is a new assignment, one that some air marshals say goes beyond the mandate of the US Federal Air Marshal Service. Some also worry that such domestic surveillance might be illegal. Between 2,000 and 3,000 men and women, so-called flying FAMs, work the skies.

Since this initiative launched in March, dozens of air marshals have raised concerns about the Quiet Skies program with senior officials and colleagues, sought legal counsel, and expressed misgivings about the surveillance program, according to interviews and documents reviewed by the Globe.

“What we are doing [in Quiet Skies] is troubling and raising some serious questions as to the validity and legality of what we are doing and how we are doing it,” one air marshal wrote in a text message to colleagues.

The TSA, while declining to discuss details of the Quiet Skies program, did address generally how the agency pursues its work.

“FAMs [federal air marshals] may deploy on flights in furtherance of the TSA mission to ensure the safety and security of passengers, crewmembers, and aircraft throughout the aviation sector,” spokesman James Gregory said in an e-mailed statement. “As its assessment capabilities continue to enhance, FAMS leverages multiple internal and external intelligence sources in its deployment strategy.”

Agency documents show there are about 40 to 50 Quiet Skies passengers on domestic flights each day. On average, air marshals follow and surveil about 35 of them.

In late May, an air marshal complained to colleagues about having just surveilled a working Southwest Airlines flight attendant as part of a Quiet Skies mission. “Cannot make this up,” the air marshal wrote in a message.

One colleague replied: “jeez we need to have an easy way to document this nonsense. Congress needs to know that it’s gone from bad to worse.”

Experts on civil liberties called the Quiet Skies program worrisome and potentially illegal.

“These revelations raise profound concerns about whether TSA is conducting pervasive surveillance of travelers without any suspicion of actual wrongdoing,” said Hugh Handeyside, senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Security Project.

“If TSA is using proxies for race or religion to single out travelers for surveillance, that could violate the travelers’ constitutional rights. These concerns are all the more acute because of TSA’s track record of using unreliable and unscientific techniques to screen and monitor travelers who have done nothing wrong.”

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said Quiet Skies touches on several sensitive legal issues and appears to fall into a gray area of privacy law.

If this was about foreign citizens, the government would have considerable power. But if it’s US citizens — US citizens don’t lose their rights simply because they are in an airplane at 30,000 feet.

— Jonathan Turley, George Washington University law professor

“If this was about foreign citizens, the government would have considerable power. But if it’s US citizens — US citizens don’t lose their rights simply because they are in an airplane at 30,000 feet,” Turley said. “There may be indeed constitutional issues here depending on how restrictive or intrusive these measures are.”

Turley, who has testified before Congress on privacy protection, said the issue could trigger a “transformative legal fight.”

Geoffrey Stone, a University of Chicago law professor chosen by President Obama in 2013 to help review foreign intelligence surveillance programs, said the program could pass legal muster if the selection criteria are sufficiently broad. But if the program targets by nationality or race, it could violate equal protection rights, Stone said.

Asked about the legal basis for the Quiet Skies program, Gregory, the agency’s spokesman, said TSA “maintains a robust engagement with congressional committees to ensure maximum support and awareness” of its effort to keep the aviation sector safe. He declined to comment further.
A view from the top of dozens of passengers walking in an airport terminal.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Beyond the legalities, some air marshals believe Quiet Skies is not a sound use of limited agency resources.

Several air marshals, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly, told the Globe the program wastes taxpayer dollars and makes the country less safe because attention and resources are diverted away from legitimate, potential threats. The US Federal Air Marshal Service, which is part of TSA and falls under the Department of Homeland Security, has a mandate to protect airline passengers and crew against the risk of criminal and terrorist violence.

John Casaretti, president of the Air Marshal Association, said in a statement: “The Air Marshal Association believes that missions based on recognized intelligence, or in support of ongoing federal investigations, is the proper criteria for flight scheduling. Currently the Quiet Skies program does not meet the criteria we find acceptable.

“The American public would be better served if these [air marshals] were instead assigned to airport screening and check in areas so that active shooter events can be swiftly ended, and violations of federal crimes can be properly and consistently addressed.”

These revelations raise profound concerns about whether TSA is conducting pervasive surveillance of travelers without any suspicion of actual wrongdoing.

— Hugh Handeyside, American Civil Liberties Union’s National Security Project

TSA has come under increased scrutiny from Congress since a 2017 Government Accountability Office report raised questions about its management of the Federal Air Marshal Service. Requested by Congress, the report noted that the agency, which spent $800 million in 2015, has “no information” on its effectiveness in deterring attacks.

Late last year, Representative Jody Hice, a Georgia Republican, introduced a bill that would require the Federal Air Marshal Service to better incorporate risk assessment in its deployment strategy, provide detailed metrics on flight assignments, and report data back to Congress.

Without this information, Congress, TSA, and the Department of Homeland Security “are not able to effectively conduct oversight” of the air marshals, Hice wrote in a letter to colleagues.

“With threats coming at us left and right, our focus should be on implementing effective, evidence-based means of deterring, detecting, and disrupting plots hatched by our enemies.”

Hice’s bill, the “Strengthening Aviation Security Act of 2017,” passed the House and is awaiting consideration by the full Senate.
Read the bulletin

The Globe, in its review of Quiet Skies, examined numerous TSA internal bulletins, directives, and internal communications, and interviewed more than a dozen people with direct knowledge of the program.

The purpose of Quiet Skies is to decrease threats by “unknown or partially known terrorists; and to identify and provide enhanced screening to higher risk travelers before they board aircraft based on analysis of terrorist travel trends, tradecraft and associations,” according to a TSA internal bulletin.

The criteria for surveillance appear fluid. Internal agency e-mails show some confusion about the program’s parameters and implementation.
Another image of the Quiet Skies bulletin with highlighted text showing that selectees are not on under investigation or any watch list

Quiet Skies focuses on a person’s international travel patterns and potential affiliations. Passengers are not under investigation and their names are not on a terrorist watch list or in a screening database.

Air marshals have surveilled a businesswoman, a Southwest Airlines flight attendant, and a fellow federal law enforcement officer, sources said.

A bulletin in May notes that travelers entering the United States may be added to the Quiet Skies watch list if their “international travel patters [sic] or behaviors match the travel routing and tradecraft of known or suspected terrorists” or “are possibly affiliated with Watch Listed suspects.”

Travelers remain on the Quiet Skies watch list “for up to 90 days or three encounters, whichever comes first, after entering the United States,” agency documents show.

Travelers are not notified when they are placed on the watch list or have their activity and behavior monitored.

Quiet Skies surveillance is an expansion of a long-running practice in which federal air marshals are assigned to surveil the subject of an open FBI terrorism investigation.

In such assignments, air marshal reports are relayed back to the FBI or another outside law enforcement agency. In Quiet Skies, these same reports are completed in the same manner but stay within TSA, agency documents show, and details are shared with outside agencies only if air marshals observe “significant derogatory information.”

According to a TSA bulletin, the program may target people who have spent a certain amount of time in one or more specific countries or whose reservation information includes e-mail addresses or phone numbers associated to suspects on a terrorism watch list.

The bulletin does not list the specific countries, but air marshals have been advised in several instances to follow passengers because of past travel to Turkey, according to people with direct knowledge of the program.

One air marshal described an assignment to conduct a Quiet Skies mission on a young executive from a major company.

“Her crime apparently was she flew to Turkey in the past,” the air marshal said, noting that many international companies have executives travel through Turkey.

“According to the government’s own [Department of Justice] standards there is no cause to be conducting these secret missions.”

Andrea

08-30-2018, 07:40 AM

ACLU Seeks More Information About Los Angeles Subway Body Scanners

https://www.aclu.org/blog/privacy-technology/surveillance-technologies/aclu-seeks-more-information-about-los-angeles (https://www.aclu.org/blog/privacy-technology/surveillance-technologies/aclu-seeks-more-information-about-los-angeles)

The ACLU of Southern California filed a public records request today demanding more information about the body scanners that the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority is deploying in subway stations purportedly to detect terrorists. There are a lot of unanswered questions about these body scanners, which see through clothing to detect objects on people’s bodies. That raises numerous privacy and racial equity issues — and ultimately, the question of whether we want remote body scanning to become pervasive in our public spaces.

We wrote about this technology and the questions it raises in March when TSA tested it in New York’s Pennsylvania station. The privacy questions include whether the scanner searches are permissible under the Constitution under California’s very privacy-protective state constitution without a warrant and whether an alarm by one of these scanners is sufficient to justify a demand by a security officer to see underneath a person’s clothes. People carry all kinds of personal effects on and about their bodies, especially in a busy place like a transit hub, and many of those things are very personal: valuables; back braces; medical devices, such as colostomy bags and prosthetics, etc. We should also bear in mind that this technology will likely improve over time in its resolution, clarity, and effective operating distance — and will, therefore, become more intrusive.

There are also serious questions about its effectiveness and whether it survives a cost-benefit analysis. We don’t know what the system’s false positive and false negative rates are, but with all of the things that people carry, it’s likely to be generating constant false alarms. For instance, a German study reported on in 2011 found a strikingly high false positive rate of 54 percent in the use of these scanners. In other words, more than one out of every two items tagged as suspicious turned out to be innocuous. And that was the version used in airports on subjects who are standing still with their arms raised and their pockets empty rather than the free-standing version used here on moving crowds in a chaotic environment. Similarly, the risks of the false negatives — the rate at which these devices fail to detect actual threats — are potentially astronomical as well. In 2017, the Department of Homeland Security's internal watchdog reported that its undercover agents were able to slip contraband through TSA’s suite of security screening protocols in over 70 percent of attempts.

We don’t have anything like sufficient information to suggest that these devices will be effective in preventing mass casualty attacks. The government hasn’t made the results of its tests in Penn Station or elsewhere public. And even if we did have cause to believe they’d be effective, remember that, as security experts have long pointed out, when you harden one target, attackers will simply shift to a softer target. That is especially true of terrorists, who generally don’t care about disabling or degrading a specific facility but are simply interested in creating publicity and terror.

More broadly, this development is the latest to threaten the “airportization of American life.” Under the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment, police officers and other government agents ordinarily can’t search you without a warrant supported by probable cause. The courts have accepted an “administrative exception” to that requirement for the narrow purpose of detecting weapons and explosives that might be brought aboard aircraft. One of the questions raised by the Los Angeles body-scanner deployment is whether we’re going to allow that narrow exception to our privacy rights to be wedged wide open into a world where we are constantly searched as we circulate throughout our public places, effectively rendering the Constitution’s protections meaningless.

Los Angeles’ Union Station, for example, contains numerous restaurants, houses art exhibits, hosts weddings, and attracts tourists to view its renowned architectural elegance. New York’s Pennsylvania Station, where this technology was also tested, is similarly a contiguous part of New York City’s public spaces, with plentiful entrances and exits and numerous stores and restaurants. Neither are anything like the secured area of an airport. It’s hard to imagine that even with hundreds of body scanners installed throughout these stations, such scanning would be at all effective in detecting a sole bomber from among the 700,000 people who flow in and out of the two sprawling complexes each day.

TSA Administrator David Pekoske told reporters of the deployment, “We will not have a repeat of 9/11 or any terrorist incident inside our transportation systems in the United States.” As far as the Los Angeles subway goes that’s fairly certain because you can’t drive a subway train into a building. Mass transit facilities are far more like regular public spaces than they are like aircraft. Aircraft are uniquely structurally vulnerable to attack, uniquely terrifying to passengers contemplating such attacks, and uniquely able to be weaponized against ground targets.

Our domestic security bureaucracies will, like the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, mindlessly press forward with their task beyond any point of reasonableness. That is the nature of bureaucracies, which, as we have argued elsewhere, are best thought of as mindless organisms with certain common characteristics. They will carry out their task of stamping out any risk of attack, no matter how small, without regards to cost, proportion, or damage to other values.

The continued occurrence of mass shootings may also be taken up by our security bureaucracies as additional fuel for the construction of a “checkpoint and search” society. Officials at the launch of the Los Angeles scanners cited guns as another justification for these searches. But consider the ever-increasing calls for security checkpoints, metal detectors, randomized searches, and onerous backpack policies at schools in the wake of any school shooting. The security apparatus’ response to the epidemic of school shootings is to turn schools into fortified bunkers rather than to invest time and resources into student programming, school supplies, teachers, restorative justice, student support, and mental health care — all of which actually may stand a chance of preventing an attack.

Los Angeles Metro’s acquisition of scanners raises another troubling reality: racially biased policing. These devices only identify potential risks. The officers tasked with operating them follow up on alarms by determining whether an individual deserves additional scrutiny, questioning, or detention. As research has proven, the insertion of line-level discretion in policing introduces racial bias in enforcement decisions. The use of body scanners threatens to exacerbate these disparities. If an officer is unsure about whether to question an individual who may have a suspicious device, they will inevitably be more likely to do so if the person is a Black man than a white woman. Worse still, these scanners may provide officers with an “objective” basis to carry out a racially pretextual stop that they might not otherwise feel legally entitled to do.

In short, for all the specific unanswered questions raised by the Los Angeles subway deployment, which we are trying to get answers to today, the big question is whether we are going to go down the road of subjecting Americans to remote automated searches at every turn. The security bureaucracies and device manufacturers will be pushing for it, but that’s not how Americans should have to live.

Andrea

11-21-2018, 12:37 PM

I May Have to Quit Harvard Because the TSA Won’t Stop Searching Me

https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/discriminatory-profiling/i-may-have-quit-harvard-because-tsa-wont-stop#comment-239509 (https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/discriminatory-profiling/i-may-have-quit-harvard-because-tsa-wont-stop#comment-239509)

I realized my life had entered a new phase while crossing into the United States from Canada in September 2016.

“You both have to come inside,” the border officer said to my husband and me. “Inside” was an empty and cold warehouse with rows of wooden benches. They confiscated our keys and phones, and when I asked for my baby’s diaper bag from our rental car, they escorted my husband as they spoke into their radios: “Suspect is approaching car.”

I had already been detained on the same trip from my home in Orlando, including during a layover in Los Angeles that caused us to miss our flight to Portland, Ore. I had rationalized those stops: They’re just doing their job; maybe it’s a random search like they said.

But this time, they kept us overnight. As the hours passed in that warehouse, my 6-month-old baby howled and shivered. After we left, we went straight to the airport, only to endure extra screenings again on the return trip.

I started researching the Transportation Security Administration’s “secondary security screening selection” process to understand why I was being stopped every time I got on a plane or came back home to the United States after a foreign trip. Nearly two years later, I am still being stopped and searched, and I still don’t know why.

I’m a graduate student at Harvard University, and missed flights and travel anxiety were beginning to affect my schoolwork. So with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, I have filed a formal complaint with the Department of Homeland Security asking that I be allowed to travel freely, which is my constitutional right.

Am I being stopped because I am Muslim, or because my family once traveled to Iran to visit a holy shrine? Is it because of my criticism of U.S. policies on the multimedia website I run to raise awareness about injustices around the world? Maybe it’s all three. Federal officers have asked me about my writing and religion, both of which are protected by the First Amendment.

I’ve tried using DHS’s “redress” process. I’ve applied to TSA’s PreCheck program and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Global Entry program. And I’ve written to members of Congress. All my efforts have failed.

In response to my redress inquiry, DHS sent me a frustratingly unhelpful letter: “[We] can neither confirm nor deny any information about you which may be within federal watchlists or reveal any law enforcement sensitive information. However, we have made any corrections to records that our inquiries determined were necessary.”

It added: “We cannot ensure your travel will be delay-free.”

Now I have a routine every time I travel: Arrive at the airport more than three hours early. Explain to the airline agents at the help desk that they must call Washington to clear me for travel — a process that can take an hour. Try to be patient when TSA officers escort me from the boarding area to the gate for a private security check. Allow them to rummage through my things and grit my teeth as they pat me down multiple times. Don’t bother telling them about parts of my body that are sensitive from surgery, since they’ll be rough regardless. Run to the boarding area and don’t make a scene as they pat me down again, trying not to feel embarrassed as other passengers watch. Stay as brave as possible.

And above all, be prepared for something new. Once, they brought the explosives unit — several armed men — because of sticker residue on the back of my computer. Another time, they brought a team of dogs to search me. Once, they took my crying 2-year-old through the screening process by himself because he clung to my husband during a pat-down search. Recently, they took me to a private room and forced me to open my pants and show them my underwear. They hid their badges when I asked for their names.

My husband and I bonded over our love for travel when we got married, but now our adventures have been greatly diminished. What once was a dream to take our children around the United States and abroad has been reduced to short car trips. I’ve contemplated many times giving up my studies at Harvard because of the anxiety and humiliation that come with the inevitable harassment on my flights to and from Boston.

America is my home. It’s where I was raised, got married, had my children and built a life. Its greatest qualities of freedom, liberty and opportunity have undoubtedly shaped the person I am today. But these values are slowly diminishing, and those liberties are being taken away from us little by little. I fear one day we will be unable to recognize it as the place we called home.

Kätzchen

07-10-2025, 07:18 AM

I never fly or use airports but I went searching for a news report speaking to bad service at airports and other types of complaints. Not long ago, a jet plane flying over the PDX metro area lost its door over the west side of our metro area, and with summer only half way through the calendar and fall holidays coming up, I just wanted to see what has been recorded about airports, especially agencies like TSA who can cause you to miss a flight or other troubling things that can happen at airports. Here’s an article about airports with the worst TSA experiences…

Link: https://www.islands.com/1828244/airports-across-america-worst-tsa-security-experiences-complaints/

GeorgiaMa'am

07-11-2025, 12:16 AM

. . . Here’s an article about airports with the worst TSA experiences…

Link: https://www.islands.com/1828244/airports-across-america-worst-tsa-security-experiences-complaints/

In Good News

TSA is no longer requiring passengers to remove their shoes at check points, effective immediately.