[Bart]You honestly believe a screener workforce of 45,000 can be trained to make those judgments? Ambitious goal but hardly realistic. Look at how poorly we do at consistently following an SOP that's pretty straightforward with very little discretion for judgment calls.
They're making judgements now. I think they should be: 1. selected more carefully; 2. better trained; and 3. better supervised.
As far as random screenings go,...if you're talking about checked baggage screening, then I partially disagree. The EDS machine alerts on items that have the same physical properties and/or characteristics as explosives, and we have to check out each and every alert.
If the EDS machine alerts, then it's not a random screening. I'm not going to complain if you want to look in my checked suitcase if I've forgotten not to pack toothpaste in it (although I'd like to be there when you do it; fortunately, this is possible at my local airport). But once that case has passed that screening, I don't expect to find that it's been opened because of a further, random, screening.
Look, I don't want anyone smuggling weapons onto an airplane. It's in my interest for you to do a good job, and I try to be cooperative and pleasant with screeners. But the system is not perfect; the SOP, even if "pretty straightforward" could use some revision; there needs to be more consistency in applying the SOP; and some TSA screeners need more and/or better training to hone their screening skills and to improve their skills in dealing with the public (so that they can defuse, rather than escalate, tense situations).
It is neither disloyal nor uncooperative to point these things out. Please do not confuse (constructively intended) criticism with personal attack, nor attempts at humor with threats.