A TSA Solution?
 

What do you think of this as a possible solution to TSA:

Local Law Enforcement already provides police protection to airports. Why, then, can't they also provide screening staff.

Here is a program on which it can be modeled:

http://www.sacsheriff.com/organizati...g/security.cfm

* Note: I am just saying this is one program that could be used as a model. There are plenty others, and each is unique.*

While some here may not like it, because these officers would have actual authority, I think it would be much better because they would have:

1. Training - especially in constitutional and criminal law

2. A more public complaint system - ie. How many non FT'ers know how to complain on a TSO. How many people know what Internal Affairs is?

3. Genuine Oversight -- In a Sheriff's Office their boss would be directly answerable to the voters, and in a PD, their boss is answerable to the voters through the city council, mayor, and sometimes a Civilian Police Commission or Civilian Review Board.

4. An Incentive Not to Break the Law/Screw Up - People who would be attracted to these positions are people who want to get into Law Enforcement. Kind of hard to do that if you were arrested for stealing out of baggage, illegally touching pax etc...

5. A much better hiring process -- Departments often times subject these applicants to the same background check and interview process as an actual police officer. A few departments even make applicants for these positions take psychological exams.

and finally,

6. In the event that something DID happen at an airport, security staff who would actually be able to do something. Officers staffing these positions usually have at least some arrest authority, and carry everything an officer does except for the gun.

I appreciate anybody trying to come up with an alternative to the TSA, but I don’t think we need anybody with LEO authority working the checkpoint. Case in point, the actions of LEOs in STL recently.

Private sector firms running the checkpoints would be fine.

I would agree with you Vc8, except I've seen some police who are mind numbingly ignorant. A police officer stopped me on the Mn side of the Iowa/Mn boarder. Hand him the drivers license and insurance card.

PO Who are you?
AM AM.
PO Where you coming from?
AM Customer in Iowa.
PO What do you do?
AM Field service.
PO You do migrant farm work?
AM No, I work on machine tools.
PO In the farmer's field?

You get the gist of the conversation. Never did find out why he stopped me other than I was driving 65mph instead of 80mph in a 70mph zone.

You've got to have a workforce totally either dedicated and well trained or a well trained supervisor making sure that none of his staff are out of line. Problem is that TSA has some good people working there, but they are overwhelmed by the insanity coming from headquarters/coworkers/frontline managers. I asked to speak with the FSD at a couple different airports. The usual response was "what's an FSD" and this comes right out of the mouths of the blue shirters.

The airlines might consider running a secret shopper type test on TSA since the airlines has a financial incentive to improve customer relations with the flying public. They've got to be honest about the results and TSA must improve.

Last year I flew through Schiphol through Helsinki to a small airport in Finland. I was amazed at the way I was treated by both airline employees and government employees. No barkers, polite all the way around. My biggest question was "if an airport like Schiphol can do security as well as they do then why can't we do the same in the US?"

I miss Argenbright.

+1

a) Destroy TSA.

b) Bring back security from 09/10/2001. Use ETP and ETD.

That's all.

Sorry to point fingers, but the fact is that if everyone did what I did -- which was to stop flying in the USA altogether for about 5 - 6 years after the TSA was created, and then reduce it down to a minimum (eliminating 90% of my pre-TSA flying in the USA), then the problem would have been solved by now.

I also don't want to hear "I need to travel for my job" etc. I've already quit multiple jobs because I was asked to do something illogical/immoral, e.g., take a drug test. I do not compromise on these things, and I've found that irregardless of the short term pain, I've always ended in another job that was more interesting and better paying as a result of my refusal to compromise.

Instead, we have a travel policy that is driven by the irrational fears of the Kettles, who may make up 90% of the travelling public, but only 10% of the revenues. None of us may be able to acheive a total boycott, but most of us could do a lot more to hit the airlines where it hurts until the government comes to its senses.

Was thinking more of the airport authority running the security, with TSA oversight to ensure uniform policy and enforcement. So if someone fails, then the airport authority is in hot water.

These are some interesting suggestions ladies and gents. Some are even viable. Unexpected though that may be.

But I have heard the argument for putting LEO's into positions for which they are neither trained nor suited before. Putting a LEO on a checkpoint would be seen by the LEO as a punnishment. Not the best way to get a positive outcome from public interactions. Most police departments remove an officer from duty if they wish to punnish him/her, simply because they should not be in the public eye while upset or angry.

Finland and most other countries do not have the terrorist concerns that the US has. They are not the "Great Satin" that we see so often on the news reports coming out of the more radical portions of the world. Putting their system of airport security in place here is not practical.

Security pre-9/11 was ineffective. If it had been there would not have been a need for the TSA. The facts of 9/11 prove that beyond any doubt what-so-ever.

Reducing flying while possible is not all that practical. The flying public reduced its use of commercial air last year when gas/fuel was over $4.00 a gallon. The TSA didnt go anywhere. Cute idea though.

The idea of making the Airport Authorities responsible for screening is the most viable of the suggestions in this thread. More information would be needed first before I could even think about endorsing it.

Yes, but adopting their approach of not pissing off 40% of the world's people rather than trying to prevent them from evening the score once you have is eminently practical. No one is forcing the USA to be the "Great Satin" as you call it.

Training doesn't mean they won't violate your constitutional rights anyways.

People know what it is. Do you know how often that Internal Affairs ever does anything about blatant violations of rights? Not very.

Most citizens don't care about constitutional rights so long as there are aren't scary people out there. That's why Joe Arpaio keeps getting re-elected in Maricopa County, AZ. Civilian Review Boards are generally jokes with no power that the police force purposefully tries to minimize. In most cases there's zero oversight of their actions.

These I agree with, for the most part. But it's not a good idea because of 1-3.

Fun fact: Do you know that LEO work is one of the only places where you can have your application rejected for scoring too high on their IQ tests? True story.

Pol, Great Satin is not my term, I quoted it.

As for not POing that 40%, well that’s kind of inevitable now isn’t it. After all we are the last remaining superpower, we are the largest free society on the planet, we are the largest economy on the planet, and of course we have the largest sphere of influence anywhere. Kind of hard to avoid POing any number of people. Envy is a real bugger!

Huh? "Great Satin"? Is that anything like our "half breed muslin" President? We're a nation of fabrics, apparently.

Security on 9-10-01 was fine. The problem was following the orders of the hijackers and allowing them access to the cockpit.

Hmmm, I'm familiar with the term Great Satan, but am sadly lacking in what the term Great Satin means. Do we have people comparing the US to prom dress material?

/sarcasm

What absolute rubbish.

Security was just fine pre-9/11. Unfortunately, airline employees cooperated with terrorists and pilots opened cockpit doors.

And by the way, screw 9/11. It's a pathetic, overused excuse to destroy civil liberties. :td: