"Random" pat downs at SFO
 

So here's something interesting that was happening at SFO tonight. Some men were getting pat downs after going through the WTMD. It was only men and they did not set anything it off. Mr. firespirit got a pat down. He usually asks for a private screening but was tired and slightly confused when the TSO motioned for him to spread his arms out, since he had not set off the WTMD. We sat and watched for a few minutes and no women were patted down but about 2/3 of men were. So, my question is, since they didn't want to call for a female assist and where selecting males only for this secondary, how is this not profiling?

sorry, that informations is SSI

What's SSI?

Special Security Information. It's a made-up classification that lets TSA refuse to tell you about procedures and other stuff that might get them in trouble if it were to surface in front of a judge.

any relation to this nonsense?

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...right-now.html

Sorry, we can't tell you what SSI means. It's SSI.

Mike

Must be. Only difference being that they didn't call for a female assist when we were in the vicinity.

Profiling is not illegal for TSA.

However, I think they would have a hard time explaining the logic behind gender discrimination next time they testify on capitol hill.

This has happened to me the last two times I went through SFO. The first time I thought it was just random; when it happend again a couple of days ago, I started to wonder. :rolleyes:

Was pat down random, i.e. selectees were patted on parts of their body at random or were passengers selected using a criterion that TSA claims to be random?
I think you meant the latter. If it were the former, you would see passengers patted on their private parts as well, which would make it random petting. :D

If two thirds of the male passengers were selected, and no female passengers were selected, I don't see anything random about it. If the TSA claimed that the selectees were chosen in a random fashion, either they don;t now what random means, or they are lying, probably both.

Right. -100

Right. Why do they claim they do not profile? WHy do they claim during the secondary gate screening, they select passengers in a random fashion? :rolleyes:

I've gotten patted down almost every time that I've gone through SFO in the past few months, even as a "low risk, registered traveler" when Clear was in operation at SFO a couple months ago.

if i may ask, what color is your skin and what is your ethnic background? ;) :)
same question as above

Well ... almost. TSA rules require that a pat-down be conducted by a TSO of the same gender as the passenger. So, if no female TSOs were available for pat-downs at that particular instant in time, it wouldn't be possible to select any women for "random" pat-downs.

And I've argued for months that describing this process as "random" shows a lack of understanding of what the word means. But I know a little too much about mathematics for my own good ... ;)