***Update 4-13-2011 7:07 PM*** Welcome Drudge readers and anyone else who’s new to the TSA Blog. Seeing that many of you have never been here before, I wanted to provide links to a couple of posts we've written on pat-downs. They will give you a better idea of why pat-downs are used and when.
Also, please note that we’re receiving many more comments than usual thanks to the Drudge link, so please bear with us as this is a moderated blog. Thanks! ***
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A video taken of one of our officers patting down a six year-old has attracted quite a bit of attention. Some folks are asking if the proper procedures were followed. Yes. TSA has reviewed the incident and the security officer in the video followed the current standard operating procedures.
With that said, you may have read recently that our Administrator is looking into ways to move past the cookie cutter approach to screening. Recognizing that terrorists are willing to manipulate societal norms to evade detection, TSA has been actively assessing less invasive screening methods for low-risk populations, such as younger passengers, while still maintaining a high level of security.
Also, you may have heard in the video that someone references a drug test.TSA does not test for drugs. It's possible those individuals are referring to the explosive trace detection test that can detect the smallest traces of explosives.
Blogger Bob
TSA Blog Team
If you’d like to comment on an unrelated topic you can do so in our Off Topic Comments post. You can also view our blog post archives or search our blog to find a related topic to comment in. If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact a Customer Support Manager at the airport you traveled, or will be traveling through by using Talk to TSA.
773 comments:
1 – 200 of 773 Newer› Newest»Thank you for clarifying that the Official TSA Policy for searching children includes the hands-down-the-pants shown on the video.
If the pat down was triggered by a explosive trace detection test, then one of several things occurred:
1. It was a false positive. What percentage of these test result in a false positive?
2. The child was smuggling explosives and the pat down did not discover them. The underwear bomber would have passed such a pat down
3. Because TSO's don't routinely change gloves, explosives entered the 'sterile' area earlier. TSA simply ignores this possibility in the name of 'security theater'
Anonymous
Your penchant for exaggeration is tiresome.
Thanks for confirming that groping 6 year old girls is SOP for TSA. Meanwhile, TSA is still an abysmal failure at detecting real threats.
Thank you for destroying the freedoms that our enemies supposedly hate us for.
Anonymous wrote: Your penchant for exaggeration is tiresome.
Not nearly as tiresome as the TSA's penchant for blatantly lying to the public. Pistole told CNN that only passengers who opt-out get the pat-downs. Blatant lie. Especially given that the girl in the video had already been through the scanner before having a stranger's hands run through her hair and down her pants.
TSA's fear mongering is a greater threat to the citizens of the United States than these terrorist that TSA can't find.
The fact that you claim to be looking into a better approach for security provides no solace. We have been protesting these patdowns as long as the have been around and here we are watching you touch little girls. The time for you all to fix things has long passed.
Thanks for the clarification. Now that it's been stated, specifically, by the TSA that the near sexual assault of young girls is TSA policy, I now know never to go anywhere near an airport with my daughter.
The actions depicted in that video are vile and obscene. Singling out a tiny girl for sexual assault is the "proper procedure"? A strange woman sticks her hands down a six-year-old girl's pants, rubs her bottom, rubs her crotch and breasts through her clothes, and you have the audacity to call that PROPER? On what planet is abusing little girls acceptable? I'm having a hard time imagining the conference room where this was proposed: "Well, we think parents will be okay with having their childrens' sexual parts touched by complete strangers in intimidating circumstances where all objections are ignored. I can't really see why anyone would call this pedophile grooming at all - it's just touching a child's sexual areas while telling her it's okay and threatening her if she doesn't want to go along with it, right?"
So that video is a good example of the 'modified pat down' you described before and the adult pat down is even more invasive
TSA officers are trained to work with parents to ensure a respectful screening process for the entire family, while providing the best possible security for all travelers. Children 12 years old and under who require extra screening will receive a modified pat down.
Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Anonymous. You're funny comments have caused me to OFFICIALLY "favorite" this Blog. :)
The idea that America is safer now that government actors can stick their fingers down the pants of a small child is absurd.
Somewhere in a cave in Pakistan, Osama bin Laden is laughing his head off seeing how easy it was to change America.
Look, Bob, the outrage is beginning to mount out there. We do not want you touching our genitals, putting your hands in our pants, or in our children's pants. Do it to my kid, I will summon law enforcement and press charges.
Also, think about this: many parents teach their children to scream and punch and kick and then run if they are touched in this fashion...I know I was taught this as a child. What will you do when that happens? Arrest the child?
Seriously, it's time to completely re-examine what you, as an organization, are doing. We the people are watching, and we are contacting our legislators.
Bob- from your 11-18 post entitled "TSA Myth or Fact: Leaked Images, Handcuffed Hosts, Religious Garb, and More!" You SPECIFICALLY state: "Children 12 years old and under who require extra screening will receive a modified pat down."
There is nothing modified about this! It is the exact same rubdown that adults go through.
So either you and the TSA were lying then about policies being adapted for children, or you are lying now when you say "the security officer in the video followed the current standard operating procedures".
Which one is it?
That's it?? I understand the agent may have followed procedures but how about an acknowledgement that this could have been traumatic for the child and you understand the paretns' concerns?? I work in PR too and understand you're limited on how far you can go with what you say, but this doesn't address the concerns of parents across the country.
I travel by plane quite frequently and am now wondering if I need to be concerned about my 2-year-old getting a patdown. And what is the timeline for these expected new procedures?
Thank goodness we're driving 12 hours on vacation this weekend versus flying.
Abolish the TSA. This has gone far enough.
Absolutely disgusting conduct by the TSA.
My stomach is physically ill after not only watching the video, but then to see you say that it is OKAY! I never thought I would live in a country where it is considered OKAY by my government to run their hands all over a 6-year old little girl...It's NOT okay; it's disgusting.
And is it okay to tell the little girl that her hair is "pretty"???!!!
If that's okay, where does it stop? The next time I'm getting groped, the TSA can tell me, "Oh, pretty hair. Oh, nice butt." Etc. Etc.
Disgusting.
I realize that my eyesight is getting weaker as I advance in years but I watched the video and DO NOT see any hands down the pants. Please, stop your ranting and allow reality to catch up. The agent put her finger inside the waistband of the kids pants- not HANDS down her pants. A lot of folks seem to love to yell about TSA but don't actually bother with reality.
Stop exaggerating and you might be worthy of being heard. I am in airports and security lines all the time and it is NOT a big deal. I'm sure the test was for explosives, not drugs and by the way- the agents do change their gloves regularly so give up that line of BS too. I find it wasteful as my tax dollars are paying for it but if you all knowing people will be satisfied it's worth the $.
I've been a cop for years so trust me when I say that search was not invasive and it was not sexual assault.
Numbskull who called Pistole a liar because he said the pat-down only comes if you opt out of the scanner. If the girl went through the scanner Pistole was talking about then he might be lying- but she obviously didn't. She went through a metal detector like most of us. I've been through both a lot and Pistole wasn't lying.
Now for the biggest bunch of hooie of all- Wimpie, why are you and so many other head in the sand types claiming that TSA is fear mongering? Are we afraid to admit that the terrorist actually do exist and do want to kill as many Americans as possible? Take off the rose colored glasses and look around, this ain't Mayberry. There are real bad guys out there and they are just hoping you win and TSA goes away so they can get back on planes without those pesky searches to slow them down.
If I caught anyone, government employee or not, touching my daughter in that manner on the street, and broke their wrists, I would be justified in stopping a sexual assault on a young child. What makes you people think it is supposedly OK to inappropriately touch young children in an airport?
It is also unfair for the TSA to ask its EMPLOYEES to have to pat down a child.
To the screener who did the pat down - Well done! You did an excellent job and need to be commended for your care to the child and attention give to the mother when asking her to move to a spot where she could watch you do your job. I've watched the video and you did everything right. For those that spend their time vacationing throughout the states and complaining about harsh treatment and incompetence of the TSA, come live overseas for a few years and get a real dose of reality. Thank you TSA, those Americans who do live and work outside candyland appreciate your efforts. DWM
perhaps the bloggers should spend less time complaining and more time suggesting real world solutions to end what is perceived as inappropriate security measures. I'm certain that would be better for everyone, TSA Officers, Parents, and most importantly, little boys and girls.
Bloggers: give us your suggestions, our ears are open!
a fan of TSA
Anonymous wrote: Numbskull who called Pistole a liar because he said the pat-down only comes if you opt out of the scanner. If the girl went through the scanner Pistole was talking about then he might be lying- but she obviously didn't.
Then why is her mother asking if she can be "re-scanned" instead of having a stranger put hands on her? Multiple reports have included the statement that the girl originally went through the body scanner, but required a pat-down to resolve an "anomaly." Many people have reported being "patted down" after walking through the scanner.
Pistole is an outright liar.
Americans,you must first call your senator and house representatives and complain.Secondly you must vote,the Republicans and Democrates installed this system that is setup to train our children to obey commands from federal agents.How many of our children have been found with explosives to bring a plane down since 9/11... answer is none,so if the answer is none,what is the purpose of this you must ask yourself.If we remove the monkey of the word terrorism,what would you of called these searches prior to 9/11.
TSA should use more of intelligence and stop scare tactics.
I would rather die free than live scared.
It's unfathomable that TSA can continue to miss the point over and over and over again. Nobody is questioning if the TSA agent in question disregarded the rules and went rouge in her assault on that child. People are furious that TSA rules allow and even mandate this sort of action in the first place. The arrogance shown by this agency is staggering, disgusting, and a bigger threat to Americans than terrorism.
TSA needs to review policy..PERIOD!
I try NOT to fly, but had to a month ago and was put in the porn machine. Why is it that innocent people must take the "under arrest" position just because we want to fly? Why are we guilty until proven innocent, when an actual criminal, caught in the act with witnesses is innocent until proven guilty.
The terrorists are saying things BECAUSE they know you will all react like idiots and take away more of the average flyer's rights and dignities. Just as they want without physically lifting a finger. Congrats!
Children only get pat-downs from what i seen is when he/she has things in their pockets when they go through the scanner, or if they moved during the scan, and if the alarm the metal detector! All these people keep complaining, just keep in mind the bad guys are out there watching, these holes you are causing in Security will come back to bite you in the rear sooner or later!
There is no amount of money, hunger, or saved lives that would make me volunteer to screen a 6 y/o. TSA Blog and TSA can chant all they want about Security and Safety, this will never be OK.
I'm calling my Senators and Reps in Washington. You people have gone too far. Seriously? A six-year-old?
The TSA needs to have some serious oversight. It needs a revolution. It also needs every single American who flies to reject this notion that this government agency, with its rude and arrogant agents, is keeping us even remotely safe. Think people!
My son has been taught to yell BAD TOUCH BAD TOUCH BAD TOUCH whenever anyone touches him inappropriately. If he's selected for a pat down, he will be screaming this at the top of his lungs in the middle of whatever airport we're in. The supervisors or law enforcement can tell him to shut up, but I won't let him. What you're doing is hurting children.
How dare you, TSA. How dare you.
"Recognizing that terrorists are willing to manipulate societal norms to evade detection..."
----------------------------------------
I am constantly amazed by the willingness of the TSA and (apparently) the majority of travelers to assume that there are a significant number of "terrorists" who are regularly attempting attacks on aviation. Your statement that "terrorists are willing to manipulate societal norms to evade detection" carries about as much weight as the claim "Unicorns are willing to gore people to defend their young..."
Seriously, guys... do you really think that there are hordes of terrorists who are constantly probing our security system just waiting for the TSA to let their guard down? Which is more likely-- 1) that there are significant number of terrorists who would like to attack commercial aviation targets but are unable or unwilling to attempt to do so because the screening procedures are so effective; or 2) that the magnitude of the terrorist threat has been vastly overstated?
Also, what's the deal with the creepy hair-touching. Has anyone ever attempted a terrorist attack in the United States by concealing a weapon in their hair? Is there any weapon or weapon component that could be concealed in one's hair but not in a body cavity?
No, the Little Girl’s Patdown was NOT “Proper”
http://tinyurl.com/6b6gtsz
You can hide Improvised Explosives Devices (IED) or handguns on children. The TSA is in the right here.
But they are in the wrong here and Congress just called them out -- today's Orange County Register:
http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/04/13/fired-oc-air-marshals-whistleblower-case-heats-up/80205/
"come live overseas for a few years and get a real dose of reality."
When I've traveled overseas, I've found airport security to be many times more professional and courteous than their slovenly, poorly trained American counterparts. They're also not obsessed with shoes the way TSA is, perhaps because they can do math.
Being in accordance with "current procedures" is not the same as being appropriate. Big shock that the TSA has determined that the TSA's procedures for groping young children are proper.
Here are a couple of thoughts:
1. I'm fairly certain that a child that small could not carry sufficient explosives to bring down a plane without drawing attention. Further, she would likely be exhibiting behavioral indicators.
2. The TSA says that they are now reviewing this policy. I find it curious that they only review policy after a citizen posts a picture or video online showing embarrasing activity of the TSA. It's not as if this is new or an isolated case. I would guess that at least 100 children will be exposed to the same treatment today. So, why does it take the public embarrasing the TSA for the TSA to "review policy"?
How many TSOs complain about performing such searches? Were policy reviews initiated then? Or just now when a parent films it and posts it online?
TSA needs to remove the randomizer option on the Mag or you will keeping getting negitive press when the MAG tones on children and airport employees.
To whoever wrote "this ain't Mayberry":
Your opinion is in the minority in this country, and I pray to god it always will be. The vast majority of people are repulsed by that video. Yes, there may be a few bad people in this world, but NO that does not grant government agents the right to treat everyone as prisoners. We supposedly have "freedom" and certain "inalienable rights." A free country comes with risks. If you are so scared of others having freedom, then move someplace else. I'd rather have my "inalienable rights" and live with the risks that come with that.
Once again the question remains - why is the TSA patting down US born children when all the attempted terrorists since November 2001 have been foreign born young single men?
And there have been only two: Richard Reid and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who borarded in non TSA screened airports.
Why is a 6 year old girl in New Orleans being robbed of her Fourth Amendment rights because of the actions of people not at all similar to her, at airports not under your authority.
Enough is enough.
This is an abomination. Everyone but TSA seems to understand that.
I don't want ANY more of my tax dollars going toward these dubious "security systems" if you can even call them that.
To the screener who did the pat down - Well done!
_________
Are you joking? This screener just felt up a 6-year old girl. In what fantasyland is that "well done?" How did the action of that TSA screener with that little girl make the flying public even one iota safer?
There is nothing "well done" about what is going on here.
Wake up. The entire population is "low-risk."
The TSA can't help but hit new lows on an increasingly frequent basis.
Keep up the great work, Blogger Bob.
I would consider that the glowing thanks to the TSA on the board probably comes from TSA agents.
This video was VILE, and as someone pointed out..either the explosives test had a false positivie, or the TSA agent failed to find the hidden explosives..which is it, TSA
Any government organization that considers the treatment of the little girl proper needs to be disbanded.
Now the TSA is defining deviancy as "proper." Amazing.
Like other posters I got a little queasy watching this- physically sick to my stomach. The terrorists have truly won. Shame on TSA.
Most of these comments are from people who have no clue what the search types are done for what types of people! You all would be the first to point fingers when some goof-ball packs a kid full of explosives and blows up a plane or to... you have no clue, no clue.
As a victim of sexual assault, if someone stuck their fingers in my pants like that or touch my sensitive areas like on this video, I'd jump back and call a cop.
I feel for this little girls and her parents.
Are you proud to be part of this organization? My conscience would have me looking for another job immediately. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night.
I'm driving 2800 miles round trip this summer because I WILL NOT allow the TSA to grope my child. As a parent, I could not watch that video in its entirety without nearly tossing my lunch. If a middle-aged man did that to a little girl in a public park, he would be arrested.
This behavior is unacceptable. The terrorists have won. We need to adopt the methods Isreal uses for screening passengers rather than forcing parents to watch a sexual assult on their children in an airport.
I was an unfortunate person forced to have a "pat down" in the Manchester NH airport because I dared to wear a "bulky" sweater when it was minus 20 degrees outside. I was given the option of disrobing in the line or standing in the glass "box of shame" while a female attendant came over and groped me. My luggage, and netbook were left unattended on the belt and it is only because I yelled to my husband, was he aware that I have been singled out. Meanwhile, items were taken out of my bag without my permission and re xrayed... most likely because I complained about the process. I can't imagine how my prescription sleeping pills needed a second xray but it happened. We were forced to run to our gate in our stocking feet to catch our flight that was already boarding. (the line was impossibly long for security)
"TSA Blog Team"? Our tax dollars at work!
The TSA is a stain on the values of this great country. No self-respecting and balanced person could condon these TSA practices.
DangerBoy said:
"Seriously, it's time to completely re-examine what you, as an organization, are doing. We the people are watching, and we are contacting our legislators."
Bob has about as much impact on the TSA as a toll taker does on the condition of the tollroad. Write your Congressman and Senators.
Seriously, where is the intelligence? Screening passengers does not require you to leave your intelligence and judgment at home.
How many terrorists do you know bring their spouse and children on a plane for a terrorist mission.
ZERO.
It's a waste of everyone's time for you to be groping and molesting children and a waste of your resources you could be using to find terrorists.
I'm sorry, but a 6 year old caucasian child doesn't fit the profile. Neither did the elderly man who was in front of me last month with an obvious case of gout. Yet he was made to remove his shoes and socks in his wheelchair.
We need less intrusive behavior on the side of Government and more profiling. Political correctness hasn't applied to the terrorists... in fact they clearly profile us.
What I can say though, is that the TSA Officer was professional and appeared to be quite sensitive to the childs puzzlement.
The video clearly shows the woman brushing her hands through the child´s hair, rubbing her whole body, lifting her shirt, putting her hands inside her pants and moving around the full circumference of her waistline.
A stranger touching a child in this manner anywhere else would be undoubtedly considered inappropriate.
This procedure, whether practiced on an adult or child, is certainly causing more mental distress than protection. Nobody should be intimately touched, including lifting and putting hands inside clothing, in order to fly.
If this is your policy, it is completely inappropriate, and must be changed immediately. You should be ashamed of yourselves.
Well, if that is your policy then the airlines can thank you for the loss of another customer. I don't need my children molested 'legally'.
Anonymous said:
"I've been a cop for years so trust me when I say that search was not invasive and it was not sexual assault."
So if you were on patrol and saw a person walk up to a child and do the repugnant "procedure" in the video, you would not see that as an assault? Either you are, in fact, not a cop or you are a very poor one.
Care to justify your comments?
In my opinion .....
When it comes to young children, the TSA should really rely on their Behavior Detection Officers for selection for enhanced pat-downs instead of some random sampling.
The TSA and their tactics is the reason I chose to DRIVE roundtrip from Huntsville, AL to Baltimore this weekend instead of flying.
Number of terrorists caught to date by the TSA? Zero.
Anonymous said:
"If I caught anyone, government employee or not, touching my daughter in that manner on the street, and broke their wrists, I would be justified in stopping a sexual assault on a young child. What makes you people think it is supposedly OK to inappropriately touch young children in an airport?"
If I were on the jury, you would have nothing to worry about.
Using your reasoning there is no limit to what you can subject us to in the name of "protecting" us.
No thanks, I have stopped flying because of you "people". And when you decide "protect" on the trains I will stop taking the train. And when you violate my rights and my person on the bus I will stop taking the bus. And when you stop my car and search wife and daughters on the highway I will walk. And when you stop me walking the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave will finally be ended.
It was a great 230 years but you have put an end to it in the name of "protecting" me.
"Recognizing that terrorists are willing to manipulate societal norms to evade detection,"
Hey well, if thats the case it seems like infiltrating the TSA or congress would be a perfect opportunity to manipulate a societal norm. When can we expect stringent pat downs of our congressmen and women and TSA members? Guarantee you if congressional members had to go throw this they would create a law against it.
So "Bob" you are hiding behind "company policy" and terrorists will "manipulate societal norms.." Tell me Bob, how many terrorist attacks, actions, etc have been performed by 6 year old white, black, muslim, etc girls?
Why can't you focus on who is doing the terrorist activities? you frisk little boys, girls, old men, old women, nuns, etc..do you really think any of these people pose a threat?
this is an appaling video and I would NEVER let any TSA employee do that to my children
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.
--- James Madison
The terrorists have won; they have our government violating our Constitution in the name of "protecting" us.
Those who sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither.
If I tell a girl in my workplace that her hair is pretty, the girl can go to another wonderful government agency called the EEOC and I can be investigated for and charged with sexual harassment.
The TSA is a bigger threat to Americans than any terrorist could ever be.
To the anonymous "cop".
What a joke. Not invasive. The LEO at my airport says he would never be able to do that kind of search unless there was probably cause. When all this came out they were amazed that this could be done.
If you don't think there is something wrong with searching a six year old like that then you need to have your head examined. As far as "whimpie" that seems like a true cop attitude these days. "do what I say or get arrested" Nice. You sound like you would have a spot with TSA. Right your telling people to give up there right to free speech now?
I’d still love for the TSA to justify this and how they can violate the 4th amendment; that restricts the government from unreasonable searches, when people have committed no crime? How are you allowed to pat down my genitalia; an unreasonable search, when I am an innocent person?
When policy trumps commonsense, this is the result. Pat down terrorists, not middle class little white girls that are obviously no threat. The TSA does NOT apply basic commonsense
This laser-like focus on airport security while our southern border leaks like a sieve makes no sense. Do you really think terrorists' only option is airports and airplanes? I'm still trying to figure our why it's made so easy for terrorists to waltz across the Mexican-US border, but everyday people need to be patted down and/or irradiated before boarding an airplane. As members of Homeland Security, perhaps someone can help me to understand this blatant contradiction.
Twice in my life I have come within minutes of being sent to meet my maker by terrorist bombs. And I can honestly say I am more frightened of my government than I am of Al Queda. I understand they hate me and want to kill me --- but they cannot make me cower in fear. You want to "protect" me and to do it you will take away my rights until I am afraid to leave my home.
Al Queda are laughing their backsides off at how eay it is to frighten our government into violating the Constitution.
Why don't you schmucks try profiling....IT WORKS.
This is so absorb in so many ways......American travelers need to stand up and get their rights back and put a stop this government stupidity.
If those are "proper procedures" then something is seriously wrong with the organization as a whole.
Care to address THAT part of the attention this video is receiving?
Wow, from the person claiming to be a "cop for years", why am I not surprised that you think this is perfectly fine and acceptable? Sorry copper, most of us are NOT criminals and we don't need you or any government agency frisking us, scanning us, or touching our children for our own "protection". The terrorists have clearly won. Jeez...hands down the pants? Really? Hands in the waistband IS in the pants, OFFICER. At least to us normal people. THIS IS A 6 YEAR OLD GIRL YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT.
You mention how many BAD guys there are out there and imply that we need to give up our rights not to be searched without cause to protect everyone. If this is true, then tell us all how many bad guys the TSA has nabbed and protected us from? Oh yeah, that's right, you can't. Because we don't know and they won't tell us. Why is that? For our own protection too? How about all the guns, knives, and other stuff that gets through that I've read stories about? With what they do, I would expect ZERO occurances of that kind of stuff, yet it seems to happen quite a bit.
I deal with software security, and the most obvious rule of security (all types) is that you are only as secure as your weakest link. Did you know baggage handlers and other airport workers are not screened and just need a magnetic badge to access secure areas? So what good is all this passenger security if one of the badges gets stolen or acquired through some other means? ZERO.
We have given up our freedom to travel by plane without an undue search by our own government. Next up, trains, buses, and who knows what else. That is not what this country is about.
With this trend, in 20-50 years all of our movements will be monitored (and eventually needing approval in advance).
To the anonymous who said that many parents teach their kids to kick and bite ... well, although that is great advice I'm sure the TSA will then slap those kids with $10,000 fines and press charges for "assaulting a government official."
I would not put it past the TSA to recommend those 6 year old kids get sent to federal prison for said assault.
That said, I'm also training my kid to kick, scratch, bite, scream, and in general invite me to defend my kid in the event anyone ever tries to touch my kid in the way that TSO did to that little girl.
The anger is brewing in the land. It's not just about the TSA, but they keep throwing fuel on the fire.
Fail.
Don't tell me that all this is necessary to check a 6 year old girl for explosives, she doesn't have baggy clothes on and she's 3 feet tall, not too many places to hide bomb components, a wand would've been sufficient. The tsa and the powers that be want you to believe that these measures and the radiation scanners are necessary or else the terrorist boogymen are gonna gitcha. You have a better chance of being killed by a shark attack, bee sting or car accident than by an act of terrorism. When was the last time a child strapped with a bomb blew up a plane in this country? And if we NEED these scanners to keep us safe then why when the opt out day protest was going to happen over thanksgiving did they shut them down and move everyone through to avoid the scene it may have caused, on one of the busiest travel days of the year?
This is really a waste of our tax money. We need to vote someone who can terminate the entire agency and its silliness.
You've got to be kidding me. What's wrong with this country that this is being defended? Can't you just admit fault here and that your policies are crap. Have they actually stopped any terrorists? No,the most recent terrorist threats have been stopped by the passengers, the very one's you are molesting.
Look, don't get me wrong, I am thankful that the TSA helps keep us safe. That said though, there were Catholic priests brought up on abuse charges for the kind of stuff that is going on in said video. You guys need to REALLY need to think through what you are doing and how far you are going.
IMO, the only folks that should be allowed to handle kids like that are their parents/known caregivers giving routine care and doctors...Comeon - you KNOW this to ring true.
If the video of the TSA screening of the 6 year old little girl is standard TSA procedure - God help us all. This is no way to treat a child and is totally disgusting! I would certainly refuse to allow it to happen to a child of mine - even if I ended up in jail for the refusal. I would not fly if I knew it could happen.
Obviously this little girl was a threat to American safety. She absolutely fits the profile of a terrorist.
Don't touch my junk, bro, and don't touch my child's junk, either. When we do this to our children, we prove that we've already lost the war on terror because we are now being terrorized by our own government.
Also - if you think anyone believes that some of those anonymous comments are not coming from the TSA I've got a bridge to sell them in Libya.
Terrorists have already manipulated and violated societal norms and they are using TSA to do it.
Why can hundreds of airport employees and delivery persons enter the sterile area with absolutely no screening what so ever? Why are the TSA agents exempt. If security is of such great importance, then no one should be exempt. If even one person enters the sterile area with out being screened, then the entire program is flawed. I see that you did a terminal dump at CLE when the screener could not even recognize that the x-ray screen had become static. Why the caution there, but huge gaping holes elsewhere. Is it really all about convenience and putting on a show, instead of actual well though out security? The TSA has had many suggestions for improving the ordeal at the checkpoint and beyond, yet it falls on deaf ears.
It is very interesting to see the logics in these comments used by people who can justify treating a child like the video shows she was treated, and who can also congratulate the TSA officers for following the orders they were given.
I would like to vote to accept the risk for myself and my family that a terrorist will not use a small child as a bomb on an airplane. If you don't want to accept that risk, don't fly.
I am not saying no security. i am saying no security like this. it is wrong.
"Give me liberty or give me death" has been replaced by "take off your shoes and belts and give us your children because there is a non-zero chance that something bad might happen if you don't."
Does the TSA do a background screen of its employees that includes not hiring pedophiles and psychological screening to ensure that the people performing these enhanced pat-downs aren't perverts? If not then this procedure is completely unacceptable. Even if they are it's still pretty awful. They talk about all the ways they need to keep us safe from terrorists but no one ever mentions how we're going to keep ourselves safe from sexual predators who will seek out this job.
A blonde hair little girl is not a terrorist!!!! Until you use profiling this stupidity will continue or get worse. We all know what terrorists look like so start screening them and leave the rest of us alone!
The problem is not that people "who should not be searched" are being searched.
The problem is that we have an unchecked, self-serving bureaucratic agency, the TSA, which will continually push the envelope with more invasive searches, under the color of accomplishing their mission, until such time as other institutions push back and say "enough." Right no there is no political courage to do so because politicians are afraid of being portrayed as soft on terrorism.
TSA's mission needs to be properly balanced with respect for basic individual rights. The threat of terrorism, no matter how real, is no excuse for suspending that balance.
The basic goals of terrorism are the same as other forms of insurgent warfare; to provoke the target regime into draconian measures which alienate its subjects, so that they end up supporting the terrorists' goals. With regard to air travel, the terrorists are winning, and have continued to win since 9/11, and this has impacted the economy and freedoms of our nations and allies. The terrorists' main weapon in this victory has been our own fears, embodied in the TSA.
Every terrorist in the world is laughing and giving each other high fives this very moment. Disgusting.
The TSA says the same thing every time they violate a person's dignity or constitutional rights: "policies were followed correctly".
It's high time the TSA's policies got some oversight so that they are more realistic instead of inane, rote actions that accomplish nothing and violate the dignity and constitutional rights of Americans.
The TSA says the same thing every time they violate a person's dignity or constitutional rights: "policies were followed correctly".
It's high time the TSA's policies got some oversight so that they are more realistic instead of inane, rote actions that accomplish nothing and violate the dignity and constitutional rights of Americans.
TSA and staff have no shame and no sense. I recall when others where "just following orders".
Anonymous said…
Pistole told CNN that only passengers who opt-out get the pat-downs. Blatant lie.
====================
Anon, you need to pay closer attention. Anyone can get a pat down, no exceptions. Passengers who opt out of AIT screening WILL get a pat down, as will those who opt out of WTMD screening and those who cause an alarm from one of our systems. The lie here is not coming from Director Pistole.
"our Administrator is looking into ways to move past the cookie cutter approach to screening."
Yes, it's called profiling and let's get it started for crying out loud.
How far are we going to go in letting the government violate the constitution and common law in trying to protect us from an event that has less of a chance of occurring than being hit by lightning?
I guess as far as feeling up a 6 year old girl who at worst might be hiding something about as big as the size of a pretzel on her body. She wasn't even wearing anything that could hide a bomb that could do any significant damage to a plane.
I have yet to witness any "standardized" search procedures as they vary at different airports.
I was at Columbus, OH two weeks prior to the official announcement of the use of the scanners and was not given an option to "opt-out". I was told it was mandatory to use the scanners...and then was patted down afterwards anyway. No reason cited.
One week later I flew out of Los Angeles, CA and didn't have to go through a scanner...I was just patted down anyway.
After watching several people of "Middle-Eastern" dress and obvious origin walk through security without any real notice by the TSA.
I've actually witnessed Middle-Eastern men, without luggage, sitting reading their religious material...pretty much walk through security while business men and U.S. Military (in uniform) get searched at intial entry, and again at "random checks", and then again prior to boarding an aircraft.
I for one don't feel any "safer" after the establishment of the TSA...especially when I read too many reports involving theft that can only occur when materials are under TSA control.
Am I the only one who feels hesitant posting on big brother's blog? Job well done Osama! You've completely turned the American ideal of freedom from governmental intrusion on it's head in the quest for an illusory feeling of 'security.'
If the government can mandate it's hands down your child's pants in the pursuit of security, what can't it do? Oh, that's right, you don't have to travel by air...but oh wait, isn't the TSA discussing expanding this program to public areas like Times Square and the like? Oh, that's right, you don't have to go outside. It seems freedom only extends to your four walls...
Under the circumstances that the screeners have to deal with, she did her job professionally. Where I have the problem is the lack of transparency in the TSA itself.
Why can't the agency give the American public an idea of what to expect in a security screening BEFORE one arrives in a so-called sterile area? As far as I'm concerned, I've not entered a sterile area until AFTER I'm cleared by TSA, e.g. having been properly screened to the agent's satisfaction and allowed to proceed.
To be subject to something obscenely objectionable, yet are helpless to do anything about it before allowed to turn away from your flight is extremely unfair and stinks of selective enforcement. It will only further enrage the public and our resolve to have your agency disempowered, even if we have to vote out all of Congress to do it, and that's my final answer!
How many attacks has the TSA successfully detected and averted since 9/11?
NONE. NOT ONE. NOT A SINGLE EVENT.
These tactics are designed to create a SHOW so people think they are safer, and not to actually prevent an attack from occurring.
Another presentation brought to you by the degenerates at the THEATRICAL Security Administration.
Upon viewing this video I feel - as many others - that the TSA clearly has overstepped it's bounds. This goes way beyond what many of us, who sincerely support our government's role in making air travel safe, expect or desire. Best video argument I've seen for profiling...assume the position!
6 year olds getting patted down at airports by TSA. In other news, we still haven't found Bin Laden...
We have lost.
Does Israel "pat down" or "feel up" 6 year old children?
Thanks for clarifying the policy. I think most Americans who can think for themselves would agree that the TSA mindset is probably the biggest threat to our freedoms.
The TSA then tries to dictate policy around the world how other countries should run their security or face fines.
You are a disgrace to the name United States.
Only two countries in history actively promoted the word Homeland. These were USSR and Germany.
Is this where you are taking us??
Welcome to the Police State 2011.
I continually think that I've seen everything shocking and horrifying and deplorable, but I'm continually amazed.
The TSA is an abomination and I am finding it hard to believe that a six-year-old white girl, a child of U.S. citizens in good standing with the country, is enough of a threat to national security that you had to touch her inappropriately.
I anxiously await the day that the TSA is abolished for being an ineffective stop to "terrorism hurr" and for violating the privacy and dignity of U.S. citizens.
I travel internationally, and in no country I've been to is airport security as invasive and rude as in the US.
"terrorists are willing to manipulate societal norms to evade detection"
Putting your hand down the pants of a 6 year old violates societal norms.
I've got a question for you Bob.
Do you know what a single point of failure is?
I would like to see a post on how the TSA compares the SOP for 6 year old girls going through security with the abysmal weapon detection rates of the X-Ray scanners and relate those findings to the single point of failure concept.
Thanks!
"Recognizing that terrorists are willing to manipulate societal norms"
From all indications this TSA official just indicated that TSA is a terrorist operation.
Never before did societal norms allow for the deliberate and offensive groping as displayed to occur in public, particularly on children.
Our government labeling an act of improper touching as a "procedure" does not somehow make it right. The fact is, this level of government intrusion is not justified, it is common senseless, and it certainly does not make us safer. This is exactly why I refuse to fly anymore with my family. They would not be searching my wife or my daughter unless they first took me to jail. I understand that TSA officials need jobs just like anyone else, but some of the things they require you to do--like this event with the little girl are just flat wrong, and YOU KNOW IT'S WRONG. Stop with your stupid methods of focusing entirely on objects and start focusing on the people. Once you do that, you'll stop bothering with little girls and other people who are obviously simply trying to fly from one city to another and are no threat to anyone.
Why can't we use dogs? Can't they detect explosives and drugs?
Walk through metal detector, walk past the dogs, collect your bag, move on. Dogs can even detect latent smells, like if you were to sew a bomb into someone. They can smell that a bomb was on this person.
Am I missing something?
The post by the "Cop" makes it clear how confused TSA and their procedures are. The little girl is not a drunk that the cop or TSA has a right to grope for contraband. We American's are given by our constitution the right to protection against "unreasonable searches" and must be based on "probable cause." I work in a Classified environment and understand the need for security. But for the security processes to ignore human dignity is not "secure" but damaging to society. In particular, the parents had a fantastic point, that they work hard to teach their children not to accept sexual touching of private parts by a stranger. Then here they are watching a stranger grope their child. It is disgusting and absurd. Please check your eyesight Mr. Cop, but I think it is your thinking that needs the greater examination. This is such a low probability target that it does not justify the screening process. If the Cop wants to be touched by the TSA, then that can be his decision, but don't include innocent little kids. A real man would rather take greater risk than succumb to fear of terrorists. This is just what the terrorists want us to be doing: Destroying our civil liberties.
To the previous poster - I have traveled outside the US a number of times, been to both Asia and Europe, will go again next month. I have never had a hard time entering these countries or leaving them. The biggest stress point is what kind of headaches I'll have coming home, and what kind of stress I'll encounter trying to leave home.
If the terrorist's goal is to curtail our freedom, they are winning. Our countermeasures need to adopt a more risk-based approach, erring towards less invasiveness in the travel process. The odds of you getting killed by a terrorist are less than you dying in a car crash, and by this measure risk is very, very low. Our screening should be commensurate with this.
How many 6 year olds have attempted a terrorist act so far?
Bob,
You stated that "terrorists are willing to manipulate societal norms to evade detection".
Many Americans feel very uncomfortable that the TSA is willing to manipulate societal norms to achieve their goals.
Sorry, but it is our societal norm that strangers are just plain not allowed to touch children.
Disgusting. You and the Airport Security Screener that scared that little girl should be ashamed of yourselves. How do you look your children in the eye?
To the person who said " ..come live overseas for a few years and get a real dose of reality." No thanks! That's why we choose to live in this great country not overseas. We do get to critize out gov't. without fear of midnight disappearances. It is part of being an American. The TSA can and must do better! Stop molesting children, harassing travellers and start profiling so that your organization can actually do something of value, like stop a terrorist!
Completely unnecessary (possible illegal). Yes, flying may be a privileged but there are alternatives for screening passengers at airports. X-ray machines, thermal imaging, explosive trace-detection portal machines (Puffer machines), metal detectors etc. There is also the option of secure or sterile rooms where one can be escorted away from public view. The TSA has gone to far. Saying that something is a privilege do not give them or anyone else the right to touch our children in this manner. Folks, she was 6 years old. So I will ask, were the parents on some drug or terrorist watch list? Were they carrying a million dollars through the airport?
Someone please stop the insanity. This is AMERICA is it not?
Has anyone bothered to notice that TSA has not stopped a single terrorist attack. All "failed" terrorist attacks have been stopped by American citizens.
The underwear bomber, shoe bomber, and yes, the heroes from the flight 93 were all efforts by common American citizens. All recently developed TSA procedures are purely reactionary and add no significant value to the safety of flying by plane in the US or out of it.
TSA DEFENDS: Terrorists will 'manipulate societal norms to evade detection'...
I'd say the TSA is doing a better job of "manipulating societal norms" than the terrorists ever will...
Groping children and sexual assalt patdowns and feelups are the TSA's way of protecting our societal norms? It's simply perverted 1984 double-speak. End the maddness. Disband the TSA!
If we were in the street working or working at an arena and did this to a six year old girl, we would be charged with sexual assault. How could this be alright? If in fact 9/11 is as reported, than the terrorists have won and we have lost. We can't change the fundamental nature of who we are, and by allowing this to be done in airports, train stations and bus terminals we become the very society that we as Americans loath.
I can understand adults, which is a stretch but children?
Well gee, just how many big bad terrorists has the 100 BILLION a year TSA caught? Is Janet still having her brother-in-law buy stock in the scanner companies?
The sad part is that the 6 year old is probably smarter than half the TSA gropers.
Wow... where to start. First, the couple commenters here who really think this sort of thing is necessary to "keep us safe" are the type of people who have allowed this country to slowly become a horrific Orwelian characature of its former self. The TSA is made up of poorly trained, poorly screened, non-security-based, and unprofessional people. The slew of youtube vids is more than enough proof of this. If a teacher had touched this child in such away there would have been people in the street with torches, but this laughable attempt at a security agency has fooled everyone into beleiving they could actually stop a terrorist by feeling up a child. The cherry on top is this blog entry. Basically the DHS and TSA are telling the citizens tough... we're doing whatever we want and we don't owe you an apology or even a rational explanation for our actions. This department is a snapshot of everything wrong with the federal government.
Coming from a recent graduate of a top-20 University,
The issue we all have with this centers on the debate between freedom v. security. The lady in the video did her job and talked through the procedure she was instructed to do.
TSA is right about terrorists manipulating the system. Female suicide bombers in Iraq, child militias in Africa, and child suicide bombers in Vietnam all support this. It is highly unlikely a terrorist would walk into JFK with a turban and a bomb, they aren't stupid, they know we profile. I am a white 22 yr old male, I have no trouble going through security. It would be UN-AMERICAN and stupid to continue to profile and let "less risk" individuals through easier.
Yes it's a bit*h and annoying,even sometimes riduculous. But I would rather have that than another September 11th.
No more TSA. That is sexual assault on a minor. I am personally starting a campaign to shut down the TSA. If you get touched by any TSA security press assault charges, and leave the airport, do not submit to any pat-down. We the people have the power not TSA.
P.S. If no one flew for a week they would listen, if you keep flying, stop bitching.
P.S.S
Comment moderation has been enabled. All comments must be approved by the blog author.
Can we say censorship!!!
Thank you for providing yet another reason that I will NOT be flying your super duper extra friendly skies with my family this summer.
I'll be staying in Canada with my money and you can pull your country further into economic oblivion.
Anyone supporting the TSA should go live somewhere else. They don't get what freedoms Americans have had in the past, because Americas have always fought the Goverment over BS pretending to be 'good for the peoople'.
Go away if you don't freedom should exist for Americans. Even with the risks.
The goverment wants control. Period. If you are so naive to believe TSA is good. Please move. Fidel wants you.
To TSA: I don't care how you rationalize it - you will NOT pat down my young kids, or any other kids I may see. I will not allow it, nor will millions of other Americans.
Your rationale does NOT stand up, and I must remind you that this is NOT Germany of the 1930's-40's. You are NOT the SS nor do you have the RIGHT to do what you are doing. I am seriously WAITING for one of your officers to harass me. Then I WILL take you to court, and I will do EVERYTHING in my power to make sure that you as an organization is torn down. I will hold all officers and supervisory personal accountable. Your time as a terrorist organization YOURSELVES is coming to a quick end.
PS - I know you won't post this, but you have been notified. Government sponsored terrorists are no different than any other.
To the anonymous cop that posted about reality... If you are really a cop, then you should also have a firm understanding of phrases like "probable cause" and "search warrants" and "Constitutional Rights". Do you sincerely think that this is justified or even at all effective?? As a person that alwo works in the criminal justice system, I am quite aware, as you should be, that this search is psuedosearching at best. Real security would require cavity searches, not this BS pat down designed to make people THINK they are safer. Criminals know how to hide thigs quite effectively and this search is a joke to real terrorists and criminals.
Frankly, I am far more afraid of what our government is doing than I am of any lousy terrorist. I would rather die in a terrorist attack than give up my Constitutional Rights.
Screening Protocols for Children Must Be Reviewed
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
April 13, 2011 (WASHINGTON) – Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement regarding the incident in New Orleans where a child was subjected to a pat down at an airport security checkpoint:
“I understand that TSA has an important job to do; however, subjecting our children to pat downs must be a last resort. We need common sense procedures for screening our children. After speaking with Administrator Pistole today, I have been reassured that reviewing current pat down procedures for children is a top priority. I look forward to working with TSA on a protocol being established that would not subject children to the invasive and unnecessary pat downs like the one that occurred in New Orleans.”
If this is where we are as a nation, then terrorism has already succeeded and we have lost.
Gentlemen,
Unless you are doing full body cavity searchs, you are not searching properly and these measures are just to make people believe you are actuallly doing something usefull and keep your jobs.
Check the news! Sept 2009, Saudi prince almost killed by AQ bomber with a bomb hidden in his anal cavity. The determined attacker is hard to prevent unless you spot them early.
If you want to actually make us safer! Profile! Like the Isrealis do!!!!
This is a disgrace and it is sexual assault whether perpetrated against a child or an adult. TSA will bring down the airline industry if this continues. No one is admitting how much business the airlines have lost...but it is a lot. Perhaps thee government doesn't want the people (I mean slaves of the state) moving about?
I am disgusted by the tactics employed by the TSA. And I have had enough. As of today my company has removed all funding for U.S. products, exports and out-sourcing. We will not resume business relations again.
Anonymous...evidently you have not been through Denver International where everyone goes through the backscatter and then gets patted down...Pistole has no idea what goes on at invidual airports and neither do you.
ahh brings me back to my trip to hawaii where my wife passed through the RADIATION blaster machine in with her bikini top on... only to be groped and molested in front of everyone because her top was tied in a bow and looked "suspicious"
Now the same for kids... good times TSA... after watching today's deficit news conference, I can quickly see where we can instantly save a ton of wasted cash...
I have lived overseas, been through the airports in Dubai, Kabul, Europe and never have I had such a search. You are obviously a member of TSA staff trying to cover your reprehensible behavior. TSA needs to be unfunded and disbanded and responsible security with a clue without activist ties put in their place.
I never thought I'd see such a thing happen in America! Do you actually think conducting a near-strip-search of little children or elderly indvidiuals actually makes air travel safer? Do actually think that everyone is equally likely to be a terrorist? Do you actually not know that the most likely individuals to be terrorists are males between the ages of 18 and 40 who either look middle eastern or have middle eastern surnames? Are you so craven as to be more afraid of being called racists than you are willing to actually screen for terrorists instead of things?
SO, Do I understand it correctly? Did the father really stand there and FILM his daughter be sexually assaulted? Did he really knowingly watch his child be MOLESTED and he just stood there and filmed it? He filmed it why? For some cheap publicity? If he really felt his child was being assaulted and used that event to get attention for himself he is the lowest form of life ever! He should be arrested for Child Pornography! We should demand his arrest! Obviously he did not feel his child was being "molested" or he would have stopped it. He could have refused. Yes, they may not have flown. SO what? No reason of any kind would be sufficient for me to do NOTHING as my child was being "molested".. So clearly he was using his child to garner some publicity. If you ask me that's more abusive than anything the TSA did. ~M
If you're going to be serious about security then you need to screen everyone the same. Random screening just doesn't cut it. It's a farce and an insult to intelligent Americans.
It's ridiculous that 6 year-olds are being groped because they might be a terrorist when, on the other hand, the government can't seem to find OBL - one single person who definitely is a terrorist.
If OBL walked into an airport and tried to get on a plane, he would have a random chance of getting screened. LOL.
The comment that the agent followed proper procedure is the most troubling statement I have heard since I watched the video. To release such a statement after an obvious abuse of power is insulting. Children should not be subjected to this level of screening. Did you see the fear in that little girl's eyes when she was getting groped, I mean, when she was put through the proper government screening process? To say that it is parents' responsibility to explain the process before they get to the airport, is silly on it's face. Have you ever tried to keep the attention of a 6-year-old for 5 minutes put together? And, if you do, you now have to tell them to dismiss everything Mommy and Daddy told them about strangers and keeping their private bits private because now, a stranger Will touch their private areas. And that's OKAY?
One word will answer this whole debate : "PROFILING". Israel does it, why not the U.S. ?
That's right, let's not OFFEND anyone,and instead trample the rights of everyone, so we don't offend a few.
Can the TSA explain the "true" risk of a six year old white girl, from Kentucky with white parents, and the father is a doctor ?
RISK, people, RISK. Cannot anyone in the government understand how to determine risks !
I would like to know how many terrorists have been stopped by TSA. as we ask our teachers and everyone else to be accountable I think it's only fair that TSA be accountable as well. I believe the answer is none, but if I am wrong can someone please post the info?
@DWM:
Thank you TSA, those Americans who do live and work outside candyland appreciate your efforts.
If you live outside of 'candyland' and are subject to worse, why are you commending the slippery slope here at home. Get a job back in 'candyland', stop pushing your agenda, and let people get back to suggesting that groping young children is abuse regardless of the conditions outside the country...
SHAME ON YOU! SHAME ON YOU ! WOULD YOU WANT YOUR CHILD TO GO THROUGH THIS HUMILIATING SO CALLED PROCEDURE! THIS IS UTTERLY DISGUSTING!! THERE ARE NO OTHER WORDS FOR THIS!!!
Quoted from the post time stamped April 13 @11:12 A.M: "Numbskull who called Pistole a liar because he said the pat-down only comes if you opt out of the scanner. If the girl went through the scanner Pistole was talking about then he might be lying- but she obviously didn't. She went through a metal detector like most of us. I've been through both a lot and Pistole wasn't lying."
The little girl did not go through the metal detector in New Orleans. She was sent through the scanner.
On the YouTube video you can clearly hear the mom question TSA why her child can't be RE-SCANNED instead of be subjected to a pat-down.
When the mom was interviewed on Good Morning America she confirmed her little girl had gone through the scanner and then was subjected to the pat-down.
Insanity results in insane results
This is nothing else but the result of an insane Middle east policy that makes everyone angry at us. We pay the price for meddling in two thousand year old conflicts that will still be there in the next two thousand years
I've been a cop for years so trust me...
Your being a policeman does not engender trust.
admit that the terrorist actually do exist...
Certainly they exist. And the cure is worse than the disease.
When the "cookies" that blow up the planes tend to be of the same gender and age-range, why re-invent the cookie cutter?
Political correctness run amok.
How many terrorist plots has the TSA thwarted? NONE. ZIPPY. ZERO.
How many civil rights violations has the TSA committed? 10's possibly hundreds of thousands? Millions?
How many children has the TSA emotionally scarred in the interest of training Americans to behave like prisoners? 10's possibly hundreds of thousands? Millions?
You should all be ashamed of yourselves. But you're not. And that is exactly the purpose of this TSA exercise. To dehumanize and recondition you to behave like consciousl-less prison wardens.
Google Stanford Prison Experiment.
The Fourth Amendment states: The right of the people to be secure in their persons...against unreasonable search and seizure shall not be violated...but upon probable cause supported by oath or affirmation.
The legal definition of probable cause I learned when I was a Naval Police officer is: A set of facts and circumstances that would lead a reasonable and prudent person to believe a crime is being or has been committed and that the person in question committed the crime. Exactly why purchasing an airline ticket gives probable cause for search is beyond me. Anybody who violates the Fourth Amendment for a job is a bad American.
So TSA does not find anything unusual about the way it agent handled the pat down of the 6-year-old girl at the airport in New Orleans? Frankly, I think that is the conclusion TSA can be expected to reach whenever anyone lodges a complain against the agency. You people are frauds.
If searching for weapons or explosives on airline passengers is the proverbial search for a needle in a haystack, then TSA's robotic screening procedures ensure that the haystack is as large as possible,
The author of the "candy land" comment obviously doesn't travel by air and has no young children (or grandchildren who may.
The TSA needs far more oversight on their policies and much better screening and training of employees.
The practice of the policies that led to this incident are undermining those very purposes.
This is why I'm currently boycotting the airline industry. As long as the TSA exists to curb our freedom and treat American citizens as potential terrorists, I will not step foot in an airline.
I say we keep posting outrageous videos like this until the people of America rise up and exercise our democratic rights to kick the TSA out of our lives.
When 6 year-old terrorists traveling with their entire family actually try blowing up an airplane I'll admit this sort of thing is justified. Until then it's utter nonsense, especially since TSA firmly refuses to use profiling techniques to look for people actually trying to harm Americans preferring to waste time publicly groping children.
Stop with the "terrorist" threats. The TSA has not stopped or detected a single terrorist.
This type of unwarranted search does nothing to protect anyone.....all it does is condition the citizenry to tolerate even greater encroachments upon their liberty. The TSA along with the DHS needs to be abolished.
"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Thomas Jefferson
U.S. Constitution, Amendment IV
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
Any questions?
I feel that the name of the TSA's blog, 'Evolution of Security,' is quite accurate. America is being 'evolved,' into a police-state under the guise of the need for such extreme (and clearly unnecessary,) security precautions.
'Those who compromise liberty for security deserve neither.'
-Benjamin Franklin
I think the TSA has forgotten they work for the American people. You don't have any authority other than what we decide to give you. There is absolutely no doubt that your bosses do not support what you did with this girl. I hope our representatives in Congress force you to start doing what the people of this country want you to do. Clearly, common sense is lacking at TSA.
There is no magic about an airplane as a terrorist target: it is useful only because it contains a large number of people and is essential to our economic system. Any assemblage of 150 or more people associated with commercial aviation would be a similarly attractive target.
These days, that is the screening lines themselves! Any martyr minded jihadi could readily further cripple commercial aviation by simply detonating themselves in one of the many interminable lines. That they don't cannot be due to TSA screening and so is an indicator that indeed our government is once again preparing for the last threat, not the next.
(BTW, to the anon cop: a Terry search or a probable cause search is a very different matter from what TSA does and cannot be compared.. You should know that. And as to the changing of their gloves, it simply isn't true that they change them frequently. Until six months ago or so, requesting that they reglove was often met with a passive aggressive attitude. Even now I have never had one of them re-glove before going through my things without being asked nor have I seen them re-glove when searching bags unless the owner asked them to do so.
I didn't think that TSA used Eplosive Trace Detectors anymore.
Shame on the TSA for justifying this search of a child and numerous similar acts. This is unacceptable behavior by government employees. Further, it is unethical and probably illegal. Please stop. Thank you for allowing our comments.
<
Recognizing that terrorists are willing to manipulate societal norms to evade detection
>
Has there even been a case in the history of the US where someone has used a child as a bomb mule? What about the history of civilization?
This continues to the worst kind of security theater. I have flown over 50K miles thus far this year and TSA continues to be laughable - if you are an attractive woman you are so much more likely to get the naked body scan and pat down over an older/uglier person. That is if TSA is even pretending to care about security - those folks that work DCA are more concerned with talking about what happened last night at the bar than helping move passengers through.
*** Buying an airplane ticket DOES NOT make you a terrorist suspect ***
This whole video makes me sick. For this to be policy is a prime example of government gone wild and uncontrolled. You should be ashamed of your policies.
Sounds like it is time to take the train.
While flying out of Memphis on 12/23/10 the TSA agent manning the metal detector would not allow me to pass until he inspected my ball cap. I handed it to him and asked what he was looking for in my hat. He replied that he was "looking for marijuana or pills." I reminded him that this not within the TSA mandate, and that he is supposed to be looking for terrorists. He replied "I don't know what a terrorist looks like."
While TSA policy may not support this agents actions, we all know that often "policy" is overlooked. TSA needs to rein in their officers, and start applying logic to their security measures. Otherwise we have security theater, not real security.
It seems that TSA likes to make procedures up as they go along. Procedures were not followed. Before flying with my 6 year old in January of this year, I visited my airport to personally ask the head of TSA what is the procedure for the "modified" pat down on a child after repeated phone calls and messages were left unreturned by TSA headquarters.
I was told the following at my ariport: The modified pat down involved no touching of areas near the genitals and no fingers are placed inside the waistband. Additionally, any areas touched that may be near the gential area would be touched with the back of the screeners hand.
the TSA are the terrorists who are manipulating the social norms. Touch my family and the revolution is "on"
TSA finally admits that they do not employ drug testing. What they left out was the part where they were referring to their employees. Any sober person would not want to violate a child.
Children & disabled elderly, yeah, that's our problem alright...what a joke this is!
We need profiling now!!
I am a respectable taxing paying, law abiding citizen in the greatest country in the world. However, if the TSA takes my child aside for a search we are going to have a problem.
Until TSA focuses searches based on the known demographics of who wants to hurt us, they are going to raise the ire of Americans who now understand that TSA has become a bunch of politically correct beaurocrats unable to actually defend us.
Time to get mad.
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
— Benjamin Franklin
(Founding Father of the United States of America)
"I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it."
-Thomas Jefferson
"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
-Benjamin Franklin
These men now weep for their once great country.
We should be ashamed for letting it happen.
I do not see anything remotely resembling a "sexual assualt" in this video. Suggesting so is extremely insulting and insensitive to those true victims who have suffered this during their life. Also grow up and learn the definition of "groping".
Wow, the ignorance in this country is just amazing. No wonder the rest of the world hates us. I guess being 45th in the world for literacy would explain it....
to the ex-police officer who is worried about terrorist on every corner... get your numbers right. seance the Oklahoma city bombing only 2,752 people have died from terrorism in the U.S. and guess what, it all happened on 9/11.
I guess this is a much bigger threat then the 1.2 mill that die every year in car accidents, 430k from being fat and lazy, the 400k from ciggs, and don't forget the 11,000 people who die from firearms, a 9/11 every 3 months. 20k a year from legal drugs, 2k from aspirin, or 500 from caffeine.
sooo, the loss of freedoms and civil liberties is totally worth potentially stopping terrorist attacks. I mean, terrorist are not smart enough to switch tactics are they? Who would ever think of blowing up a bus, or releasing poison in a subway. OMG!!! We need to get TSA at every bus stop, and subway entrance.........
"terrorists are willing to manipulate societal norms to evade detection"
So are serial killers, and there are a lot more people people being killed by every of danger in life than by terrorists. This is nothing but a dog and pony show. I have not flown since this policy was put into place, and will not fly until it's been abolished.
What do all these anonymous people do when they have to take their children to a peditrician?
Glad to see that our quality of life in the USA has degraded to this.
The fact that TSA has yet to prevent any bomb or terrorist attack is telling. They have conficated "contraban" such as bobby pins and water bottles though. The agent just got stimulated by a little girl and our government said it is for our own good. The arabs are laughing. Surender does save a lot of lives. How embarassing it is to be an american.
As a white female executive for a major corporation who travels extensively, I am convinced that I am being singled out for some sick reason by TSA for a pat down on a nearly regular basis to make an example of "not profiling". I am usually wearing a dark conservative business suit and it seems that the underwire in my bra is a big problem. Interestingly, the metal in men's zippers does not cause the same amount of commotion. I would like to see every man's zipper set off off the metal detector like they claim my underwire does since that is where the goons focus their attention every time. OR, they expect me to remove my Rolex (fat chance) and watch it disappear into their black box. We are so screwed up. While TSA is molesting little girls we read about people getting through screening carrying enormous weapons.
The fact that your current standard operating procedures were followed doesn't make this any less of an outrage. It is just further proof that your standard operating procedures are nonsense.
"Recognizing that terrorists are willing to manipulate societal norms to evade detection"
Recognizing that perverts are willing to manipulate societal norms to evade detection...how good is your employee screening?
How does this make the United States safer? I have talked to many Pilots and Flight attendants that have told me that the Cargo and the Food Service workers(Who are Foreign Nationals from Somalia, Yemen and Ethiopia) aren't even screened? Do these workers on the Tarmac go through an OPM Security Clearance Investigations? It would be much easier to hide Bombs on Food carts or the Commercial Cargo than Hiding it on children.
Isn't this a Gross Violation of the 4th amendment? What probable cause does a child present for an Inspection of her persons? How can this Pat down be legal when only a Judge with a signed Warrant can authorize this Search? I understand that what is "reasonable Search" to some people may not be "reasonable" to others. Every Non-partisan Poll that I have read states that the majority of the American people believe that this is an "Unreasonable" Search.
What Law authorizes the TSA to supersede the Supreme Law of the Land which is the US Constitution?
Sorry... I would rather be bombed daily by terrorists than allow this sort of BULL KRAP to go on...
If we really wanted to guard against terrorists we would have dog teams all over the airports instead of the expensive raping of our common decency we have now.
Dogs are 10,000 times better than any 10 billion dollar machine and incompetent gropers.
Using Dogs would allow us to keep our dignity and freedoms intact. PERIOD!
Considering hand lotion has been shown to cause false-positives for your explosive residue tests, I would assume there would be more pat-downs.
Still, I find it ridiculous that your TSA agents have time to pat down children, while letting people bring box-cutters through security at JFK, and walk past abandoned security checkpoints at other airports.
I am concerned about where those TSA gloves have been before being put down MY pants. Do they change gloves between patdowns? They should, that's gross. I think they should have to put on clean gloves before feeling me.
Recognizing that TSA are willing to manipulate societal norms
let's start telling it like it is...profiling is the only answer if we can ever get over this PC crap. if it looks like a snake, etc. then there is a good chance it is one.
“Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”
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