Originally Posted by tom911

I read a CNN article yesterday where mention was made of police officers being bored with checkpoint duty. The author cited instances where they read books, check e-mail and use their cell phones, implying they could not give 100% attention to the checkpoint when their attention is distracted. I haven't seen a police officer at an SFO checkpoint in years, though they are very visible throughout the airport, including on segways and bicycles. Sounds like LAX has the same strategy in place.

I think we're looking at some new armed security branch within the TSA down the line. That branch will provide armed guards at the checkpoints in place of local law enforcement and be responsible to TSA management versus the airport manager/police chief. I don't think they'll go the police officer route because of the training involved at that level (minimum 15 week academy on the federal side, much more if you use a local/regional academy here in CA). Maybe just the security guard route with a few weeks of training to keep their costs down. They'll also cost a lot less than police officers and could be funded by the TSA.