While it may curb theft---when they used to do this at LAS it was a total cluster. People were already aggravated from the long wait for bags to arrive. Then they sometimes they had to wait for a "checker" at the turnstiles. And then they had a long wait while idiots in front of them rummaged through their possessions and pockets trying to locate their claim checks. Whenever I had to pick up visiting friends I could pretty much count on adding an hour to their landing time before I could expect to see them emerge from the terminal. I'm a glad I don't need to check bags (carry on only) because I suspect this could be ugly (again).