One of the recurrent themes from TSA personnel on this site is that the screener did not follow SOP and we only have the passenger's word that this is what happened. Two responses.

1) For all of the money budgeted to TSA, the hiring and training processes should result in standardization. Uniform policy and procedures was one of the reasons advanced for federalizing screeners at checkpoints. Between the shoe carnival, pat-downs, and searches, many screeners deviate widely from what is allegedly SOP. "The screener should not have done that..." sounds like a broken record to apologize for an organization that promises "World Class Service".

2) Video recording devices should be installed at passenger and luggage checkpoints to corroborate both screeners and passengers. Somehow, I doubt that this will happen for several reasons, such as fiscal constraints.