Originally Posted by
pmocek
Okay, now we're back to questioning why the police would be called in the event that TSA bag checkers see something concealed and believe that it was concealed in an artful manner. Is such a discovery grounds for arrest and prosecution? Do TSA simply call the police to intimidate passengers?
"artfully concealed" is a cute term that goes back to the FAA security days. It certainly lends weight to civil penalty actions, making it harder for the person to say "I forgot it was there."
But, "artfully concealed" isn't a criminal law term. The fact that an item merely restricted from being carried aboard an aircraft is "artfully concealed" doesn't make it a criminal matter. On the other hand, if the item is not merely restricted, but criminally prohibited, then "artfully concealed" takes its place in the narrative of the police report, serving the same anti-alibi purpose as it does for civil penalties.