Originally Posted by
WillCAD
This contradiction can be easily explained by one of two possibilities (and I believe that both happen on a regular basis:
* Some TSOs don't know or don't care what the cremains policy is
* Some TSOs do not recognize cremains containers until they're opened and is simply treating them like any other container in checked bags that is flagged for hand inspection by the automated screening equipment
There are two axioms that one must keep in mind when discussing anything done by rank-and-file TSOs around the country:
1) Never attribute to malice that which can be as easily attributed to stupidity
2) All things being equal, the simplest explanation is usually correct
Seconded. Other than the retaliatory gropes I think most TSA issues are simple stupidity.
Cremation isn't exactly rare, but the vast majority of people in the US opt for burial, making it wholely possible for a person to go through life without encountering a single container of cremains, and not instantly recognizing one when they encounter it on the job.
And how does one instantly recognize them anyway? My mother's wishes were cremation & the ashes scattered--I didn't pay extra for a fancy container, I got a cardboard box with the paperwork attached. Show me another sans paperwork and I likely wouldn't recognize what it was.
What the TSO does once the container is opened, however, determines whether or not they veer into stoopid territory. Doing anything other than carefully re-sealing the container and replacing it in the luggage, then doing an ETD swab on their gloved hands, indicates a swerve, and putting the container away poorly sealed, or disturbing the contents in any way (including testing or stirring), is a major jerk of the wheel. If they did their jobs right - they way they were ostensibly trained to do them at the vaunted academy - then the traveler would never know that the container had been opened.
Agreed.
Originally Posted by
gsoltso
There are several "spy" cameras you can get to place in your luggage, they range from about $10-$25000 (depending upon you price range). There is one pesky problem about spy cameras, as we are seeing with some of the undercover filming done with investigative journalists - each location has their own laws about surreptitious recording (sometimes called 2 party recording).
Isn't that only an issue for audio recordings? Isn't video without audio safe everywhere?
The problem is the camera wouldn't be likely to record what you need to see.
Originally Posted by
petaluma1
Perhaps a simple solution to checked baggage rape would be for the TSA notice to require a legible signature and time stamp. That way, if TSA truly were interested in making sure that their screeners return luggage the way they found it, CCTV coverage of the baggage screening could be reviewed down to the specific screener.
Seems to be a simple solution. However.....
Requiring it wouldn't necessarily make it happen.
I do think video of anyplace the TSA opens bags should be required, and from two cameras fairly widely spaced so they won't end up with just a picture of the guy's back. Print an ID number in a few places on their uniform that's big enough the camera will see it.