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Old Mar 23, 2009 | 8:42 am
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Behavior Detection in STL-article

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/new...5?OpenDocument
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Old Mar 23, 2009 | 9:36 am
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I wear sun glasses all the time. If some SPOT would ask me to lower them I would tell them to go .... themselves.
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Old Mar 23, 2009 | 9:44 am
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Those led to 807 arrests, many stemming from travelers being stopped with multiple IDs, bogus travel documents or drugs.
What's their definition of multiple ID's?
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Old Mar 23, 2009 | 9:59 am
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Originally Posted by mkt
What's their definition of multiple ID's?
I would assume they're talking about IDs with different names on them (aliases) - as I (and probably most other passengers) have multiple IDs with me all the time. Of course, all of mine have my picture and my name on them (passport, DL, other gov't IDs, etc.).
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Old Mar 23, 2009 | 10:36 am
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......Brooks, 59, politely asked a traveler in a black jogging suit to lower his dark sunglasses as he walked past. She glanced at his eyes and allowed him to proceed. Brooks and other behavior detection officers scoured checkpoints and terminals for people exhibiting suspicious behavior that might pose a security threat.
why in god's name didn't this sheep just keep on walking and ignore the spotter. that's what i would do, "plane" and simple. let spot run after me and see what happens.....
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Old Mar 23, 2009 | 10:52 am
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A TSA spokeswoman said the agency has received a total of five passenger complaints nationwide about the behavior detection program since it began about two years ago.
Yeah, surrreeee...

Mike
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Old Mar 23, 2009 | 10:54 am
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1,536,000,000 air travelers transit our airports in a 2-year period, 98,711 flagged for secondary screening and 807 arrests, not one of them a terrorist.

You do the math - I can't, but I can tell you it's a terrible waste of money.
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Old Mar 23, 2009 | 10:55 am
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Originally Posted by goalie
why in god's name didn't this sheep just keep on walking and ignore the spotter. that's what i would do, "plane" and simple. let spot run after me and see what happens.....
^^

When I wear sunglasses indoors, it's because I have a migraine and I'm sensitive to light. If someone asked me to take them off, I know what I would say (it's a TOS violation to post it).

Some of my favorite quotes from the article:

An October report by the National Research Council, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, concluded that there is "no scientific consensus" that behavioral surveillance techniques like those employed by the TSA are an effective way to combat terrorism. It found they have "enormous potential for privacy violations."
Nationally, more than 2,500 behavior detection officers work in 161 airports. They receive four days of classroom training and three days of training on the job. Last year, they flagged 98,711 people for secondary screening and wound up referring 9,836 of those to law enforcement.
And caught not one single terrorist. It's always easier to fight crime by checking anyone at any time for any reason. However, our Constitution prohibits it -- except at airports, apparently.

"For us to become involved and do more than just a casual conversation, we have to operate on reasonable suspicion and probable cause," said Lambert Police Chief Paul Mason said. "If they call us, we respond. The officer does what he thinks his training tells him to do and what our procedures are."
In other words, we understand and comply with the Constitution. We're not stopping someone because a BDO thinks they are acting "suspiciously."

Bill Switzer, the TSA's federal security director at Lambert, said the officers who volunteer to do behavior detection work have a background in security screening, and undergo a thorough assessment. Officers receive ongoing training.

"You can't just be anybody off the street," Switzer said.
No, indeed. Education through, at least, the 6th grade is an absolute requirement.

But Mason, who is president of Airport Law Enforcement Agencies Network, disagrees. He said behavior detection officers attend a week's worth of classes to perform tasks that intelligence officers take years to perfect.

And the very nature of airports makes it difficult to get an accurate read of people, he added.

"When people come to an airport, they're usually experiencing some emotion. Anxiety. Joy," Mason said. "And how they manifest that could easily be mistaken for furtive behavior of a suspicious person."
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Old Mar 23, 2009 | 12:17 pm
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Originally Posted by PTravel
.......
Bill Switzer, the TSA's federal security director at Lambert, said the officers who volunteer to do behavior detection work have a background in security screening, and undergo a thorough assessment. Officers receive ongoing training.

"You can't just be anybody off the street," Switzer said.
No, indeed. Education through, at least, the 6th grade is an absolute requirement.
but, but, but...that would mean jeff foxworthy will be out of a job
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Old Mar 23, 2009 | 2:31 pm
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Originally Posted by doober
1,536,000,000 air travelers transit our airports in a 2-year period, 98,711 flagged for secondary screening and 807 arrests, not one of them a terrorist.

You do the math - I can't, but I can tell you it's a terrible waste of money.
Yeah, it way too many people who put into the secondary screening at checkpoint. I think LEO will eventually to get arrested as charges of traveler fraudulent as identifiable theft. I'm sure they will spent in the prisons for a long time. I knows that I am never look like suspicious behaviors. The criminals will have to keep off the aircraft and they need to be more protections as real identify.
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Old Mar 23, 2009 | 3:53 pm
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Originally Posted by N830MH
Yeah, it way too many people who put into the secondary screening at checkpoint. I think LEO will eventually to get arrested as charges of traveler fraudulent as identifiable theft. I'm sure they will spent in the prisons for a long time. I knows that I am never look like suspicious behaviors. The criminals will have to keep off the aircraft and they need to be more protections as real identify.
Even babelfish can't do anything with above quote. Do you also talk like this??
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Old Mar 23, 2009 | 4:01 pm
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Originally Posted by avkillick
Even babelfish can't do anything with above quote. Do you also talk like this??
As indicated in the poster's signature line, he/she is a user of American Sign Language, which has different syntactical rules than English.
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Old Mar 23, 2009 | 4:51 pm
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Originally Posted by avkillick
Even babelfish can't do anything with above quote. Do you also talk like this??
How about an apology?
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Old Mar 23, 2009 | 5:00 pm
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Originally Posted by doober
How about an apology?
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Old Mar 23, 2009 | 7:53 pm
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The country is making progress-- or at least the readers of this particular article. The comments are almost all anti-TSA.
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