Loren Pechtel

Yeah. Diminished mental capacity should not get Pre-check, GE or the like.

Loren Pechtel

But they have parents watching them.

Why should it?? PTSD isn't a diminished mental capacity.

Pesky Monkey

Are the parents watching for terrorist activity?

So what is?

gingersnaps

They are being treated differently based solely on a protected status.

cestmoi123

The likelihood that any person would commit a terrorist act is tiny. That said, if you look at the terrorist acts committed on US soil since 1990, I count 32 fatal attacks. Of those, seven were committed by US military veterans or service members (the OK City bombing, Olympic Park bombing, Rudolph's Birmingham bomb, the LA Jewish Center attack, the Ft Hood attack, the Sikh Temple attack, and the Overland Park attack). So, 7/32, or 22% of the attacks were committed by US veterans or service members.

There are 22 million veterans in the US, plus 2.2 million active duty or reserve military, so 24 million total. That's 7.5% of the population.

So, since 1990, military veterans or active duty are 3x as likely as the population as a whole to have engaged in a terrorist attack on US soil.

In both cases, the percentages are absolutely tiny, so I would never say that we should apply _closer_ screening to military veterans or personnel, since the difference between 99.99997% not terrorists and 99.99999% not terrorists is insignificant.

It is clear, though, that the data don't support giving preference to military active duty or veteran status when it comes to screening.

Boggie Dog

TSA employees get Pre Check for free. How many TSA employees have been involved in Pre Check disqualifying events? There are cases of murder, rape, child porn, prostitution, drug running, theft, and all manner of other crimes.

cestmoi123

No argument here. They shouldn't get it automatically either.

If it were up to me, PreCheck screening would be the standard for everyone starting immediately. Plus, abandon the liquids rule.

If we're going to have qualifications for PreCheck, though, there's no rationale for providing priority status to groups that aren't demonstrably lower risk than everybody else.

Boggie Dog

Pre status is being given to people who have [successfully] completed a background check. That would include TSA workers but I'm not sure if every member of the military has had some type of background check or not. If a Background Check is the #1 criteria then why wouldn't a clear background for a person with Diminished Capacity be just as qualifying.

Withholding Pre from someone with diminished capacity is just flat out questionable when there is no linkage to that condition(s) and the ability to take needed steps for screening. I think it is this point that should be brought to TSA for an explanation.

gingersnaps

The government has ZERO rational logic in denying Trusted Traveler status.

I met someone yesterday who said he was denied because he had a drunk driving charge from college.

This from 2014:

"A retired executive who lives in Boca Raton, Fla., and doesn't want her name used says she was tentatively approved for Pre-Check status earlier this year. During her interview, she revealed that 50 years ago, she'd been arrested on charges of stealing a $25 necklace at a store.

But it was. "I received a notification that my temporary approval had been revoked and that my application had been declined," she says. "My fingerprints had come back indicating I had been arrested for petty larceny.""



Government Logic:

Drunk driving = next in line to sign up with adversary
Pety larceny in 1960's = next in line to sign up with the adversary

Convicted and serve time for terrorism and 2nd degree murder = PRECHECK (Terrorist was cleared for [Precheck])

chollie

That same pax could, theoretically, get Pre via the famous 'vetting' that takes place every time a pax buys a ticket.

Boggie Dog

I believe that enough information is known about any person who purchases an airline ticket to make a security determination at the time of purchase. That determination should satisfy all Pre Check requirements. No application, no interview, no fee.

But TSA has to make it harder than it needs be.

t325

So, why not check income and credit too? Someone who doesn't make a lot of money or is in serious debt might be more willing to carry something through the checkpoint for a bad guy in exchange for money.

If that's the TSA's concern with respect to people with diminished mental capacity, they need to require a minimum yearly income and FICO score for Pre applicants.