Jaunted

Fourth Amendment Travel: TSA Fingermen Patrolling Airports

12/27/2007 at 4:30 PM
Tags: Security, Airport Security, TSA (all tags)

Turns out the TSA is doing more than returning expensive watches and pestering Jaunted contributing editor egw. Specially trained agents are patrolling more than 50 airports, on the lookout for any facial ticks and body language that might indicate you're up to no good.

Carl Maccario, who helped the TSA implement the program, told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

In the SPOT (Screening Passengers by Observation Technique) program, we have a conversation with (passengers) and we ask them about their trip. When someone lies or tries to be deceptive, there are behavior cues that show it.

So how effective are these super agents? Since January of 2006, the TSA has flagged about 70,000 travelers for secondary screening and arrested about 650 on charges ranging from drug possession to weapons violations. That means less than one percent of the people hassled were even charged with a crime. Simply outstanding work, Kip!

Related Stories:
· Airport Profilers: They're Watching Your Expressions [Seattle PI]
· The TSA: Moving Beyond Myspace Stalker Stage [Jaunted]
· The TSA Knows You Like the Aisle Seat [Jaunted]

[Photo: Mark Demeny]