I Have a Question
I wonder—how much of TSA’s job is protecting us from terrorism and how much is fighting drugs?
I don’t have an answer, but I do have suspicions.
Frankly, I am willing to go through all the indignities of boarding an airplane—removing shoes, computers, and little bottles of lotion—to fight terrorism, but not to further advance our failed “war” on drugs.
TSA was sold to us as an antiterrorist organization. It cost a fortune in time, money, and hassle. It collects massive amounts of information about citizens. It extends the power of guvmint over citizens. To what extent is it antiterrorist and to what extent antidrug?
I would love to get the answer to my question, but frankly don’t know where to search for the answer. Some have told me to ask the guvmint. Hey, that’s the group I suspect of overstepping its bounds in the first place. Why would they tell me the truth?
“But Ralph,” some say, “don’t you trust the guvmint?”
Nope.
Do any of you know the answer to my question?
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Jim Hackman–
What a horror story is the ORD/TSA fiasco. If this story is only half true it is awful.
Thanks for writing,
Ralph Hood
I wonder if Screener Bob had the class on using the OAT and Angle of Attack probes to gain access to the cockpits? This latest TSA fiasco at ORD is just very frightening! Pitot tubes, static wicks, and lots of other great handholds..
Rex–
I tend to agree with you. Back when I was a kid we relied to a great extent on the police officer’s experience. Mistakes were made, but, overall, it was a good precaution. I’d like to see it come back, with limits.
Thanks for writing,
Ralph Hood
Professor Hood,
I’ve been almost burstin’ to give my two cents worth about profiling, being well educated on S.T.U.F.F. I think I have an opinion.
Probable Cause: “Anything that would lead a reasonable and prudent person to believe a crime is being committed or is going to be committed is PC (not Politically Correct but Probable Cause).” Or the “something just aint right here” Law.
Probable Cause is profiling, just a fact…Remove profiling and you cast ter ate probable cause from Law Enforcement as a tool.
Unfortunately, we’ve lost the basic principle of Law Enforcement as it is separated from the Judicial system. COPS aint LAWYERS or JUDGES. Basically speaking COPS have exactly the same authority and responsibility as the individual citizen, after all we loan the Police their authority and that authority is limited (Honest, it really is limited, even in the South).
As a practical application of Law, PC changes definition and weight as it rises in the system (hot air up). PC on the street as applied by a Cop is above mere suspicion and below actually seeing a crime in progress.
In front of the Desk Sgt PC is elevated slightly (very little) as administrators have the time to review the facts and again elevated before a Judge with increasing scrut ney as it goes up the system. Some PC hearings take days or even weeks to reach a legal opinion.
What the problem is we expect the COP to be a Supreme Court Justice and apply 200 plus years of American LAW in a few seconds. After all with 8 weeks of training, 6 months OJT and MAYBE a GED they should know the Law.
I vote for good common sense on the street (screening booth) and a good Yankee lawyer at the courthouse. If Cops abuse the authority we loan them then they should be banned from Law Enforcement for life.
Rex
PS: Got your message from George
Answers to All:
Well, thanks to your comments and a little side research on my part, I am now convinced that–as Screener Bob said–TSA hunts explosives, not drugs. If they find drugs during the process, arrests are made and that gets publicity. In this case, I am glad to be wrong in my suspicions.
Thanks for keeping me straight.
Ralph Hood
Thanks Screener Bob for your comments; I think everyone in the aviation industry appreciates the screener working with the public. I am amazed at the Dulles checkpoints with the screeners at working with foreigners that know zero English and are not familiar with the screening process. There is a job I couldn’t do. I think Ralph does bring up a good question as TSA has the largest budget within the DHS which has the largest budget of all agencies in the world. When reviewing TSA’s budget (over 200 pages) there is provisions for bomb sniffing dogs, hand held bomb detection equipment (both of which can also be trained or designed for drug detection), and several other items that can be used for the war on drugs. The TSA website has news articles noting drug busts by the TSA. Also the inspectors and the Federal Security Director do have arrest authority - they do carry badges although they can’t show you as they are afraid they will be duplicated. As this Department of the agency that is connected to customs, secret service, coast guard, etc grows it is our job to question the gvm’t and the reasons for their existance with regards to the reasons they told us for their creation. Personally I believe there is too many agencies/administrations/divisions/departments such as FBI, ATF, CIA, US Marshals, Customs, SS, Coast Guard, DOD, Defense Security Service, DEJ, DEA, National Drug intelligence center, NSA, etc that may be duplicating services.
Drugs, Terrorists, whatever, Ralph. I just wish they’d quit with this politically correct “non-profiling.” I’m a pilot,regularly dropping off and picking up aircraft from maintenance bases, hence, one way airline tickets that get the “S’s” on the bottom of my ticket. I wear an Airport picture ID which means I’ve been through the FBI fingerprint deal. I’m light skinned with blonde hair. Whilst my body cavities are being invaded, some spooky people walk by, totally unmolested, a few cases with turbans on. Profiling, my butt. Call it “Statistical Evidence” and quit “pussyfooting” around. Or is it really all smoke and mirrors….drugs OR terrorists ?
I am a TSA officer and I must have missed the training on finding drugs. I only seemed to have training on finding explosives. The machines we use to detect explosives can be set up to detect drugs from what I read, but only one at a time. Every machine I have seen has been set up for explosives. If in doing our job, we come across drugs, we notify the authorities. The authorities who have jusristiction for the airport we are at then makes a decision as what to do with the person. If you are trying to sneak it in through a checkpoint, it isn’t the fact it is drugs, but you are trying to sneak in something hidden, (if it is on your body). We do not have arrest authority. We are not drug agents. We are trying to keep planes from being brought down Ralph, regardless of what you think.
The ramifications of a explosive device getting through check point and or on the plane would be to say the least devastating. The TSA is like the Rodney Dangerfield fo the industry. They are there to do a job. Just let them! Read the TSA web site on the Do’s and Don’ts.
Good question; I don’t have any clear cut answer but I googled for news stories regarding TSA & drugs and found several instances of drug smuggling arrests. On TSA website news they have a story of drug smuggling arrests. Regardles of TSA objectives, we need to remember the gvm’t has declared drugs and terrorism are related therefore fighting drugs is fighting terrorism. Regarding stats I didn’t find any on TSA website or googled but I didn’t check the DHS website. Please also remember DHS controls customs, secret service (SS), immigration, coast guard, FEMA, etc - which agency does DHS have that is even 25% transparent?
I would like to know how the screener is trained and how TSA is going to affect GA? I guess furloughed pilots need to work somewhere…
Sir Ralfus - re “TSA…..some say, “don’t you trust the guvmint? Nope”
Golly-Molly Ralph, can’t'cha just cut’em a tad of slack ? Lawdy-lawdy, they got a LOT of things to do and duties, why I’d allow as to how they prolly spent a lotta time, meb’be 3-4 seconds researching her employmnet records and deliberating about whether or not to hire Ms S. Pitt in their agency (earlier disgraced/fired/indicted/whatever here at our MNDOT).
best, randy