Caradoc

It makes one wonder if the "retraining" comment is a lie, or the "retraining" is carried out by the same incompetent "trainers" that failed to get the material across the first time, or if TSA employees are simply incapable of being trained in the first place.

Or all of the above.

Buster

I can't tell you how many times I've been told by TSO's that I shouldn't worry if I can't see my stuff because no one is going to steal anything with that much security around, or that it's not important that I see my stuff. At BUR just yesterday, there was a TSO pushing stuff through the scanner before anyone could walk through the WTMD. I complained, and she said "your stuff will be fine, I need to keep this moving."

Boggie Dog

I disagree. The whole checkpoint/baggage theft issue is a TSA failure.

TSA requires access to checked baggage yet refuses to protect that baggage after screening. Baggage is an easy way to introduce contraband to an aircraft, allows anyone easy access to pilfer the baggage if TSA doesn't get the good stuff first.

Passenger screening areas make if difficult for travelers to keep in contact with their property. This allows TSA employees opportunities to steal and they have proven to be willing to do so.

TSA is the responsible party and it is up to TSA to make changes correcting these deficiencies.

essxjay

Excellent. ^ And handy in other contexts.

YCTTSFM

Which bad guys? What "theft at checkpoint" reports? What lists are kept systematically by checkpoint/airport/enforcement agency for us to review?

Where is evidence that a majority of property missing after screening is even reported? If formal reports are only made for 10% of missing or stolen property, even a 100% resolution rate is worthless.

When was the number of stolen laptops "staggering" Cite? Location(s)?According to whom?

Again, what is the source of this data? What agency logs it, where is it tracked, where is it published?

While the thefts I've experienced have been from checked baggage rather than at screening, I have pointed out forgotten items, from smartphones to children's jackets, probably a dozen times in the past five years. In no instance did screeners either notice, or assist the owner reclaim their property.

Caradoc

It's been my experience that simply getting anyone at an airport - whether TSA or "airport police" - to take any sort of report about theft is an exercise in futility.

They always want to refer you to "lost and found," whether it's because they're artificially keeping the theft numbers low or they're simply too lazy to fill out the report.

PTravel

This is why you should call for a LEO if TSA separates you from your possessions and you can no longer keep them in sight.

cb1111

See my comments above. I'm taken aback by the hostility shown in this forum and the often times unreasonable expectations shown by some of the members here.

I'm not particularly fond of some TSA practices but I understand the kneejerk reaction that 9/11 caused.

The point of my post was to show that the majority of items stolen at the checkpoint are resolved immediately and the items returned. I'm sorry that you don't understand that and would rather continue with your TSA bashing.

BTW, every "how do I get xyz through screening" thread should be immediately locked as we really don't know who the poster is. I can guarantee you that terrorists are reading this forum and are laughing their heads off about our stupidity.

Rather than whining here about the big bad TSA, go do something about it. Write your elected leaders with some concrete proposals about how to fix things.

You don't think a terrorist would use an infant or a child to transport weapons? Of course they would, so our collective responsibility is to figure out a way to deter that and to keep the transportation industry moving. I think it is obvious to most of us that some TSA policies or overzealous screeners have failed miserably, but we need to remember the underlying intentions of those policies - and that is to keep us safe.

AmyJo

Can you back up any of your comments?

Hmm, I think asking for verifiable supporting evidence to back up one's
claims are not hostile or unreasonable. I have relatives that can make
arguments that sound totally reasonable but are completely BoguS.

PTravel

That statement is demonstrably incorrect:

1. TSA routinely fails 80% of Red Team tests.
2. TSA has failed to catch a single terrorist, though it is known that between 20 and 25 have traversed U.S. airports.
3. TSA procedures failed to detect the underwear bomber or the printer bombers.
4. TSA procedures are NOT designed to detect weapons or explosives but, instead, to detect some things that may or may not be weapons or explosives.

TSA's sole purpose is to put on a dog-and-pony show -- security theater that persuades its target audience, naive and casual fliers, that it is safe to fly commercial airlines.

Virtually nothing that TSA does keeps us safe, or was designed to keep us safe.

cb1111

Maybe we should just rename this section to "We hate TSA."

PTravel

Or, maybe we should stop blindly cheer-leading for an entity that has a political, rather than practical, goal and routinely treads on the 1st, 4th and 5th Amendments in pursuing it.

I have facts that back up every one of my assertions (and, if you'd spent any time at all around, you'd be familiar with them, too).

Saying, "Remember 9/11" which is, for all intents and purposes, what you said, is not any kind of rationalization for TSA's failures and abuses.

PTravel

I missed your other responses. You need to learn how to multi-quote.

The GAO does.

I know who it does not catch because various police agencies have identified known terrorists who have traversed U.S. airports, the most recent being the Times Square Bomber, who was neither detected nor stopped by TSA.

Yes. Both of those flights originated at international airports that, because they are in-bound to the U.S., must comply with, and are supervised by, TSA.

TSA admits it. The AIT detects "anomalies," not weapons. It cannot distinguish between a paperback book and a block of C4. The swab test detects certain kinds of chemical compounds that are found in explosives BUT also found such innocuous household items as hand lotion. The metal detector detects metal, not weapons or explosives.

Rather than just wading in here with your unsupported opinions, you might want to spend a little time reading this forum, where both fliers, airline employees and TSA representatives post. All of this has been explained (with links to source material provided) ad nauseum.

nachtnebel

This hostility has nothing to do with the requirement that we allow you to look under our clothing, our wives' clothing, and our childrens' clothing, strip searching them. It has nothing to do with the requirement that if we alarm an ETD test that yields 100% false positives you will give us, our wives, or our children invasive groin and chest massages. Or, if we forgo the visual strip search, our hostility has nothing to do with you caressing our buttocks, our groins, our chests, and those of our wives and children. I apologize to you for our hostility. There are entirely no grounds for it.

I guarantee you that terrorists are not wasting their time on this forum. They are are the airports watching you guys. Splitting a gut at the sight of you taking the pants off of a 95 year old lady in a wheelchair. I mean, off a potential 95 year old Al Quaida member in a wheelchair.

Been there, done, that, am still doing that. See the definition for P*ss*ng in the Wind
Surely you don't enjoy feeling men's testicles. You seem like a reasonable sort. Surely you would acknowledge this to be reasonably offensive....

Peering under and feeling our families' genitals is not the way. I would suggest using intelligence personnel (not TSA) to look at who is coming aboard the aircraft. Nearly everyone is known days, weeks, or months in advance. It won't be hard to rule out 95% of those people out of the gate then focus on the remaining 5%. Peering under genitalia is stone age, offensive, and as you are observing, is really starting to annoy us.

Yes, we need to remember that because it sure as h*ll won't be obvious at the time when you are hustling us to the private hut to feel and or visually inspect our women's sanitary pads. What you are doing now is a useless waste of time. With just a little thought, you can do better. Analyse the passenger manifests and be selective on who you flag for scrutiny. Better yet, let someone with experience do that part. Y'all just stick to screening bags--baggage, not our collective resistances.

Caradoc

Prove it. My experience has been that neither the TSA, the airline, or the airport even want to hear about stolen items, let alone "resolve" them.

I'm sorry that you don't understand the fundamental problems with the TSA.

I'm quite certain that the terrorists are laughing - but not for the reasons you think they are.

Already did. The complete elimination of the TSA is among those, as they contribute no more than the private pre-9/11 screenings, cost a lot more, and continue to perform more invasive procedures to little or no effect - like sticking their hands into the pants of six-year-olds and 95-year-olds.

How does that Kool-Aid taste?

The TSA has no problems finding "overzealous screeners" or unthinking automatons to carry out those policies that don't work, but no rational person thinks that the intention of all of those policies is to keep anyone safe from anything.