Israel Matzav

After they grope your junk, TSA steals your stuff

Once upon a time, we used to use twist ties to close our bags so that airport security wouldn't break our bags but thieves wouldn't break into them. Now, airport security (known as TSA) has become the thief, and you're not allowed to lock your bags - even with twist ties - anymore.

And even Brown represents just the tip of the iceberg. According to TSA records, press reports, and court documents, Brown is just one of some 500 TSA officers who have been fired or suspended for stealing from passenger luggage since the agency’s creation in November of 2001. The airports servicing New York City—John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia, and Newark Liberty—harbor the most flagrant offenders, but virtually no city in the nation is safe from the TSA’s sticky fingers.

In 2009, a half dozen TSA agents at Miami International Airport were charged with grand theft after boosting an iPod, bottles of perfume, cameras, a GPS system, a Coach purse, and a Hewlett Packard Mini Notebook from passengers’ luggage. Travelers passing through the airport’s checkpoints reported as many as 1,500 items stolen, the majority of which were never recovered.

In May of this year alone, TSA agents were arrested on the suspicion of theft at airports in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Chicago.

So what’s the TSA’s response? That the ratio of crooks to non-crooks within the agency is minuscule—less than one half of one percent. The agency’s blog even assigns concrete numbers: Out of more than 110,000 employees, 200 have been accused of stealing. Assuming (big assumption!) that 200 is the absolute number of thieves within the agency’s ranks, that’s still 200 chances to pass through airport security and come out on the other side minus your valuables. In the meantime, you can look forward to invasive pat-downs, potentially dangerous irradiation from scanners, and the knowledge that the agency has an iffy record when it comes to detecting legitimate threats. If that doesn’t make you feel all warm and cuddly when you fly, nothing will.

Let's put this in perspective. When I arrive in the US, I arrive with one half-filled bag which includes an empty duffle bag inside. When I leave, I leave with the bag and the duffle full of purchases.

What could go wrong?

Labels: airport security, strip or grope, TSA

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:30 AM