TSA Response to "Pushy fliers may show up on TSA's radar"

You may have read or heard about a recent article on how fliers might end up in a TSA workplace violence database. The fact is, TSA screens nearly 2 million passengers each day at over 450 airports nationwide. Since we began the workplace violence program in 2007, we've screened over a billion air travelers and yet only about 30 passengers are included on this list.

Roughly 30 names out of the more than 1,000,000,000 passengers screened by TSA since 2007 made the cut.

So how did these 30 folks make the list? Two options:

• The police got involved.  In all but one incident, local police officers responded to assist in resolving the incident.

• They got arrested. In the majority of these cases, the individuals involved were arrested or issued summonses by local law enforcement officers for allegedly assaulting a Transportation Security Officer.

In short, to join this select group, a passenger has to commit an egregious act that harms, or threatens to harm, either passengers, airline personnel, or Transportation Security Officers.

Blogger Bob
TSA Blog Team

TSA Has Zero Tolerance for Workplace Violence and Inappropriate Comments

This week there was an incident involving workplace violence at Miami International Airport. We take this type of incident very seriously. TSA has zero tolerance for violence in the workplace and we’re moving swiftly to take appropriate action with respect to the security officer who has been charged with assault.

We’re also looking into alleged harassment during and after a training session and will determine if any procedures were violated or if any officers committed professional misconduct. Inappropriate comments are not acceptable and are dealt with swiftly. The training was internal and did not involve passengers at any time.

When using imaging technology, the privacy of passengers is always protected by our strict procedures. An officer who views the image never sees the passenger and once cleared, images are deleted forever. This isolated incident in no way reflects on, nor did it ever compromise the procedures put in place to screen passengers.

Blogger Bob on Behalf of TSA Public Affairs
TSA Blog Team