Okay, I hate to do TSA blogs back to back, but I’m gonna.
The AP had this story today. The TSA has something called the SPOT program. Agents look for behaviors that signal a person might be a terrorist (problem No. 1, in my opinion; I mean, what constitutes terroristlike behavior? Other than having a bomb strapped to your chest, I mean. Or trying to bring your own liquids on a plane.).
"In the four years since the program was launched, the TSA has yet to encounter any would-be suicide bombers. The most common catches have been people carrying fake IDs.
Of the more than 104,000 air travelers who were plucked out of security lines and subjected to a more intense level of screening because of something suspicious in their demeanor, fewer than 700 were ultimately arrested, officials said.
Many more — about 9,300 — revealed something during the screening process that caused the TSA to call in law enforcement for a more thorough investigation.
About half of those passengers weren’t suspected of any particular crime, but behaved suspiciously enough that screeners thought police should be called anyway. More than half of the other referrals involved people carrying fraudulent documents, the TSA said.
Dubbed the SPOT program, for Screening Passengers by Observation Techniques, the effort is shrouded in some secrecy that makes it difficult to evaluate its worth."
Here’s what’s great (emphasis is mine):
"TSA officials refuse to say exactly what sort of behavior can make them suspicious, but part of the effort relies on watching for FLEETING FACIAL EXPRESSIONS THAT INDIDCATE A PERSON IS UNDER STRESS and has something to hide. Behavior agents also casually question people about where they are headed and look for clues in their responses."
Right. Because I’m NEVER under stress when I travel. Are you?
Granted, many people are coming from / going on vacations and aren’t stressed. But business travelers? Holiday travelers? People whose flights have been delayed six times because of airliner inspections? Talk about stress!
Guess we’ll all just have to wear face masks so we don’t show emotion.
But then they’ll KNOW we’re hiding something...
Maybe pre-flight botox....
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