Maybe someone should put a lock on the door at the computer facility and hire a real security guard, instead of protecting it by hassling amateur photographers at the adjacent airport.
The thefts were of the actual tractor trailers themselves, which can't be protected 100% of the time. Thieves, especially of this caliber, will do anything to exploit a weakness and take advantage of it. I do not see any wrong in stepping up to a photographer and starting a conversation. I definitely do not see it as harassment. To simply ignore all of them is not going to happen. To have this mindset that absolutely no one is out to do harm against the US, especially by mass transit, is dangerous. I don't agree with some of the policies the TSA has taken it to, but I also do not agree with this notion that you and pmocek have to leave everyone alone and cross your fingers.
Keeping stuff that can harm a flight off of planes. Sounds like mission accomplished.
TSA checkpoints leak like a sieve as it is. It's not like it's difficult to get bad stuff past them without probing already
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So it's ok to allow them to keep trying and trying until a weapon is finally on board? Sorry, not in agreement with this one.
You dodged the questions. Why do you think we should not put government checkpoints on our streets?
I didn't dodge the question. I feel it is unnecessary to ask questions you should already know the answer to. If you have read enough of my posts on this forum I am not 100% pro-government. I want to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures just as much as the next person. The difference between you and I is our definition of "unreasonable." You and others feel that airport checkpoints are unreasonable. I disagree. I do not see checkpoint as dragnets where TSA is getting their jollies off looking for anything and everything that is illegal. From my experience in dealing with TSA, most contraband that is discovered at the checkpoint by TSOs occur when secondary screening has been initiated because an item (or items)cannot be resolved on the xray. Now could TSA see a pipe on the xray and conduct a secondary screening just because of it? I'm sure they probably have, but from the amount of bags that go through versus those that are stopped, searched, and only contraband is discovered, the numbers are small. This leads me to believe they are looking for what they are supposed to be looking for.
My reading of the situation is that people here think that if checkpoints are neccessary for security and we choose to allow them for such then we should not allow them to be used for other purposes. Do you think they should be used for other purposes, such as checking everyone who flies for indication of completely unrelated legal violations?
I agree, but if a reasonable person knows that there is a high likelihood that they are going to be searched along with their belongings, why would they pack contraband? You are giving them a free pass and encouraging illegal behavior. If people know that law enforcement cannot take action against them if they carry illegal drugs or other contraband through a security checkpoint as long as it is not a threat to an aircraft, then you have just given the green light to everyone to use air travel to facilitate their criminal activity.
Why worry about local, state, or federal officers on the streets when we can just take our stuff through the checkpoint? It's an administrative search for weapons. They can't do anything to us and our drugs! wohooo! See where I am going with this? A line has to be drawn somewhere, but can it be from your point of view? On one side, you ask the federal government to keep checkpoint searches to a minimum for threats against aircraft and persons, but on the other side, you ask them to mind their own business when it comes to anything else illegal. I just don't see that there could ever be a compromise here.
Let's leave illegal items out of this. We're discussing mostly the cases where something that could be completely legal is found -- cash, pipes, pets, etc. Do you or do you not think that an airport checkpoints should be used to check people for ill-gotten gains, pipes that contain residue of controlled substances, un-vaccinated pets, pornography depicting 17.5-year-olds, digital media players with data obtained via copyright violation, etc.?
I think you're exaggerating a bit. Cash & pipes I will answer to, but as far as vaccinated pets and digital media, you must know something I don't. I can't recall any LEOs at my agency ever being called to the checkpoint for confirmation of vaccinated animals or computer-related crimes (copyright infringement).
As far as pipes go, you can't say "let's leave illegal items out of this." Specifically here in TN, drug paraphernalia has several definitions. Most states require drugs to accompany the paraphernalia or actual residue be present in order to deem it as "paraphernalia." TN has another stipulation about the instrument's common and accepted practice in the community. Now I have not always been a LEO. I have never smoked marijuana, but I was around it plenty in my high school and college days. I have yet to see anyone use marble, glass, and small wood pipes to smoke tobacco from. Hookah's are an exception, as many in the TN community use those to smoke flavored tobacco. I am not talking about the Sherlock Holmes pipes. I'm sure you know which one's I am referring to. I think the numbers would easily suggest that most reasonable people who have ever been around marijuana know which ones are used to smoke it in and which ones are not. In other words, a pipe in and of itself can be paraphernalia in my jurisdiction given its shape, size, and its accepted/common use in the community. Now that's not to say that we snatch up and arrest every person that comes through here with a pipe that we deem (based on our training, education, and experience) is drug paraphernalia. Actually my records (which are public record if you want to come by and get them
) indicate I let far more of them go and just take the pipe. And I am sure this is the same with most officers here. We tend to deal with more serious issues than someone coming through with a marijuana pipe, but I am not going to hound TSA for bringing it to my attention. As far as cash is concerned, that's where probably the biggest argument is going to be held (and hence why this thread has gone forever). I will simply say this. TSA sometimes calls LEOs to the checkpoint for large sums of cash. If it is a policy they have, then that's something you guys can write complaints about to your heart's content. As far as our interaction, from a simple (and very quick) conversation, we can usually get an idea of the legitimacy of the person carrying the money. If we feel it needs to go further, we make further notification to the appropriate folks. If the person refuses to talk anymore and I have not yet establised enough RS to detain, then I will allow them to catch their flight. Normally a tactic that is used by the drug mules is to get to the airport 30 min before flight time so they can use the "miss my flight" excuse if stopped & questioned. Even if they make the flight before interdiction can arrive and make a more thorough assessment, others are waiting on the other end of the trip.
Because, best I can tell, you support the idea that our government should search everyone just to find the few criminals. Do you or do you not support dragnet operations such as those conducted by TSA?
I don't support a dragnet, but it's common sense that during the screening process (and because of the thoroughness of the screening conducted), other items are going to be discovered that are illegal. Unlike you, I do not agree that we should give the person a free pass because it is not a weapon or an immediate threat to the aircraft. I do not agree that we should ask the TSO to put their morals aside and turn a blind eye to the illegal item. I do not agree that we should help criminals facilitate their activity by giving them a green light to do it on our aircraft. Although many policies have been added since TSA's inception, nothing has really changed with the hand-searched secondary screens and the items discovered during normal screening operations. This is nothing new, but for some reason I am hearing the "dragnet" speech more than ever.
If you see someone being mugged at the terminal, sure, offer assistance, and if you find a head in a bag, sure, have someone look into it, but when anything else catches your eye and turns out not to be a weapon, go back to doing your job."
In other words, put a score on crimes. If they are minor crimes (1 - 5), ignore it and allow the person and their bags to go on their way. If it is a more singificant crime (6 -10), notify law enforcement and let them handle it. Out of all these threads, you tend to forget about discretion. When illegal items are discovered by TSA, it is solely up to the jurisdictional LE agency to decide whether to pursue criminal prosecution. I think you and others here would be surprised at the amount of contraband found that the person is not arrested for. Far more than those who are actually prosecuted.