Does this restore a teeny bit of faith in the TSA?
Usually the stories about getting contraband through security read something like this: “TSA fails to detect bombs in test.”
This tale is different:
At least seven people who said they worked for a TV crew were arrested at Newark Liberty International Airport Thursday, after they allegedly tried to film themselves going through a security checkpoint with a fake explosive device.
The Transportation Security Administration said Port Authority police arrested the group after officers detected a suspicious item in a carry-on bag…
The group covertly filmed the encounter, the TSA said.
The group did not make it past the checkpoint, because TSA officers caught the item inside the roller bag, the TSA said.
The TSA believes the group wanted to figure out if they could get through the security checkpoint with the item while filming themselves doing so. They did not, and they were arrested on multiple charges and fines by the TSA, the agency said.
Members of the group, supposedly from the aptly-named “Staten Island Hustle,” were probably mighty surprised that their device was caught on what seems to have been the very first pass. I’m a bit surprised at the repercussions for them, since it apparently wasn’t a real bomb. However, I believe that ultimately the charges will be dropped, or there will be a small fine.
Testing of the system is usually done by a government agency, not by private citizens or businesses. The results of government testing have usually been abysmal (from last November):
In recent undercover tests of multiple airport security checkpoints by the Department of Homeland Security, inspectors said screeners, their equipment or their procedures failed more than half the time, according to a source familiar with the classified report.
When ABC News asked the source if the failure rate was 80 percent, the response was, “You are in the ballpark.”…
The news of the failure comes two years after ABC News reported that secret teams from the DHS found that the TSA failed 95 percent of the time to stop inspectors from smuggling weapons or explosive materials through screening.
That report led to major changes ordered at the TSA by then”“Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson. The agency opened a training academy for transportation security officers and changed procedures to reduce long lines.
Although lawmakers described the TSA’s performance in this round of testing as poor, it was an improvement from two years ago, according to the source familiar with the report.
An improvement from a 95% failure rate is nothing to crow about.
I have mixed feelings about the TSA. But, there is this. My widowed younger sister went to work for them in the very early days. She did fine. On one occasion she was sent from Florida to New York, La Guardia, on a temporary assignment, and also worked security screening for an inauguration.
Then, on one of her recurrent testings after a few years on the job, she missed an item. I don’t know what it was. At any rate, that one failure was sufficient, and she was terminated.
I have no idea whether their standards are still as stringent; and if reports are accurate, I guess they are not. I suspect that they are now unionized and have hiring goals.
Blind hog finds acorn.
TSA…more bother than deterrent.
The US is not ready for real security in its air travel. So we put up with kabuki.
Possibly, a slap on the wrist. But the consequences of a “fake” attempt at bypassing security pose several problems:
Many real attempts perform “dry runs” before the actual event to train and prepare for the real attack. Yes, they could be innocent journalists with a fake bomb, or real terrorists with a training bomb.
The defense system can always use more examples to hang in the stockade. Parading reporters around serves as a warning just as adequately as real terrorists: we will catch you.
If video gets out about ways to circumvent the system, it provides real terrorists with clues and techniques.
That’s in addition to the political angle. It’s just good practice to crucify them.
Is the TSA now a religion that requires faith. Interesting.