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Government Study Finds TSA Misconduct Up 26% In 3 Years
rullywowr writes "CNN reports that a recent government study found TSA misconduct has risen sharply in three years. Most have heard of the problems such as stealing, but the report also notes that some employees are sleeping on the job, taking bribes, and letting friends/family through the checkpoints without screening."
I'm conducting a "highly" scientific study of my own.
Please reply here if you are surprised by these news...
morcego
While not specifically mentioned in the report, notable cases of theft by TSA agents include a 2012 case in which two former employees pleaded guilty to stealing $40,000 from a checked bag at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport, and a 2011 guilty plea from an officer who admitted stealing between $10,000 and $30,000 from travelers at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.
And what does the poor schmoe who had his travel money stolen? Did the TSA make all those people whole?
Doubt it.
More then likely the local agent supervisor threw a from at them and told them to fill it out and mail it in and if they objected further, they would be threatened or at the very least, their balls busted by being "detained" and missing their flight. And for those who haven't flown in the last decade, flights are always booked to the max so good luck getting on the next flight - or the next - or the next - or the....
They are not all bad. It's just the 99% of them who make the other 1% look bad, is all.
I think we could probably just say this across the board in our government...
In SOVIET RUSSIA... erm...NSA AMERICA, the Internet logs onto YOU!
You mean the US Government's attempt to corner the market in minimum wage, untrained rent-a-cops in airports is a spectacular cluster-fuck? ...
But look at all the good they've done!
Like the economy!
Oops!
Err...Like the budget!
Uhh...
Social Security!
Yeah. I'll just shut up now...
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
I traveled via plan; I went through the security checkpoint..
. It was the typical experience that everyone has come to expect. But once it is over, you're free to roam the "Secured" area of the airport. I don;t know how often this happens, but as we were getting ready to board the airplane, Three TSA agents showed up in their hands of blue, (One too many for a good firefly reference.)
Anyway, it was announced that the TSA would be doing random luggage checks as we boarded the plane. I watched what was happening and the "random" checks were that they stopped everyone with a backpack and/or large purse. No one with a regular wheely-carry on luggage was randomly checked. I observed about 30 people board the plane and "predicted which people ahead of me were randomly selected. As my turn to board the plane approached, I stepped in line and said to the agent, "Some back at the regular checkpoint not doing his job and taking a nap?" The TSA guys scowled at me, physically pulled me aside, and went through every article of clothing and compartment of my regular luggage carry-on. At least he attempted to fold everything back and put it in the way it came out.
I should have asked him for a piece of paper saying my luggage was checked by the TSA,
I wonder if they are trying to police up their "faults" by doing even more checks past where we are used to them happening?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"First things first -- but not necessarily in that order"
-- The Doctor, "Doctor
TSA is the main reason I have been refusing to fly to and within the US for years now. Colleagues, friends and acquaintances reporting the same. The security craze is costing the US money.
Religous speak to God. Insane are spoken to by God. When all shut up, one can finally hear Shostakovich in peace
Seriously.
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
I found this piece ridiculous and am hoping there simply was more to these than the article summarized...
"The report details one case of a TSA agent suspended for seven days after trying to carry a relative's bag past security without screening. A supervisor interceded and the bag was found to contain "numerous prohibited items," according to the GAO report. It didn't say what the items were.
In another case, a TSA agent was suspended for 30 days after a closed-circuit camera caught the officer failing to individually examine X-ray images of passenger items, as required by agency policy."
So failing to look the xrays gets you 30 days, but knowingly trying to smuggle prohibited items through security gets you 7 days suspension? Am I missing something here or is that insane?
What did they expect when they replaced private security agents with government workers? When security was run by private companies, the government could make surprise inspections and fine the companies for violations -- who in turn would fire the employees responsible because fines eat into profits.
When the government employs the workers *and* does the inspections, everyone knows what happens when you let the fox guard the hen-house.
they're ALL bad, they just aren't all thieves!
one thing I've always wondered - what do their family/"friends" say about them? I'd be less ashamed of my kids if they were in prison - hell, I'd be less ashamed of them if they joined AQ (at least they'd be motivated & have principles, even if horribly misguided)...
The glaring fault that I found in scanning the GAO report is that there is no plan to follow-up on any of the cases where TSA employees are reprimanded. So they can issue letters of reprimand or whatever and there is no review process to make sure that the agent does their job correctly. And their job is to provide security?
When I travel, I like to have cash on me and cash in the bag.
Why?
Just in case.
Get pick pocketed - got your cash in the bag.
Lose your bag? Got it on you.
And travel sometime to places Latin America. NO CASH MACHINES.
Geeze!
AND in regards to the $10,000 in the bag - IF that happened that was stupid in many ways. For one, it raises immediate suspicion with the gun carrying and badge wearing grunts. You WILL be detained.
Secondly, just losing it.
Third, wire it.
You carry cash for cabs, food, and the little things. Not everyone in the World has a card reader on their person or have it in their business.
Misconduct cases involving TSA employees -- everything from being late to skipping crucial security protocols -- rose from 2,691 a year in 2010 to 3,408 in 2012.
I would bet that any company as large as the TSA would be happy to have only 3,408 misconduct cases. There are about 55,600 TSA employees.
About a third of the cases involved being late or not reporting for work, the largest single category of offenses.
That would be about 1100 shift late or missed. Considering that there are 55,000 employees * 5 shifts per week * 48 working weeks/year = 1.32M shifts per year that would mean that the late/absentee rate was 0.008%. Any company would love that late/absentee rate. Most companies have rates upwards of 10%.
About a quarter involved screening and security failures -- including sleeping on the job -- or neglect of duty offenses that resulted in losses or careless inspections.
So about 852 incidents are security related. That would be 1 incident for every 64 employees. Considering that most offenders will repeat and some of the incidents are mistakes rather than willful that is less that 1% of employees being an issue.
TSA employees are humans not robots ans they screw up some times; give them a break.
The numbers rose from 2,691 a year in 2010 to 3,408 in 2012. That is an increase of 717 incidents. That is about 2 more incidents per day. Not bad for a company that has 55,000 employees covering hundreds of locations. That's the problem with small numbers; even small increases seem big.
I don't like the actors in this production of security theater.
It is an army of mall security guards given real power without real training.
They told me if I voted for John McCain we would see this kind of escalating government abuse. And they were right!
That is all.
Well, it keeps bloggers like http://www.shinybadge.com/ (Tracking TSA Abuses) in business!
Yeah, all 10000 of them, you fucking dumbass.
There is a war going on for your mind.
From TFA:
"I think John Q. Traveler should not so much be concerned, but take an active role in security," he said. "As they are willing to point out things we do wrong, we should be ready to report on the failure in their security operations, as well."
Yeah, that'll work out well...
-- "Oh. This guy again."
Available here.
A quick scan indicates it does not say exactly what news reports are claiming it does. The title gives a hint: "TSA Could Strengthen Monitoring of Allegations of Employee Misconduct".
The media (including /.) has seized on one fact out of the report, that the number of misconduct investigations has increased about 27% (not 26% as reported), and erroneously concluded that the rate of misconduct at the agency has increased by 26% (e.g. the title of this /. piece). This conclusion is not necessarily *wrong*, mind you, but the data in the report simply doesn't give us any basis for drawing it. For one thing, one of the main criticisms of the report is that the TSA is not tracking the *outcome* of investigations. For all we know the increase is the result of a higher rate of investigation, or even the increase in the agency's head count.
The whole point of the report is that the TSA has been so slapdash at tracking investigations of employee misconduct it doesn't know the degree which employees are violating policies or even the law. Consequently nobody really knows whether the rate of misconduct has gone up or down. That's damning enough to be going on with.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
while I'm not defending the pre-tsa private rent-a-cops 9/11 wasn't their fault - as has been noted gazillions of times the hijackers did not smuggle any contraband through security. the fault lies with 1. the airlines for refusing to that point to lock the cockpits & 2. government at all levels for imparting the sheep mentality. the former was fixed in a matter of months & the later self-corrected on the 4th plane...
I'm among the agency's biggest critics but I do acknowledge the need for their existence. my position is that they've done exactly ZERO to earn any credibility (quite the opposite) so any/all policies/procedures should be vetted by financially independent experts (!=Chertoff) who should have veto power. this "we can't tell you why we do anything b/c that would jeopardize security!" is BS of the Diebold variety!
Obama has declared the war on terror to be over. Since the TSA was created to fight that same war on terror, why is it still in existence? Should the USA still be hiring pirates to fight the war of independence?
How much is he spending to fight a war that he has declared to be finished?
Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
normally i don't comment on transportation security administration but -
letting friends/family through the checkpoints without screening is a security hazard. wow.
They see Obama, Holder, & co. getting away with everything. Why wouldn't they think they're untouchable?
what about all of the stolen...er...confiscated pocket knives and multitools that are for sale on eBay as TSA seazures? Sorry, but if someone with a 3.5 inch or smaller pocket knife can hijack a plane, something is very very wrong, just as it was on 9/11 when planes were hijacked with boxcutters! Also, people have managed to get much larger knives, hatchets, and even M-80s past the TSA!!
I think dogs trained to sniff out explosives in addition to ordinary metal detecters and luggage x-rays should be sufficient. No one should have to be groped or irradiated for nude x-ray pictures. This says all something that we all need to remember.
"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Benjamin Franklin (1818).
Funny, I would classify the TSA's very existence as "misconduct."
What's the diff between a Snowden-level Booze employee and TSA employees? The fact is, once your security state is big enough, it's hard to find quality help to staff it. I can guarantee you that lots of sociopaths-with-ambition are studying to become NSA contractors right now. They're going to get hired and they're going to get access. Are we supposed to just conveniently forget everything we've learned about human nature ??
Creating a gigantic security apparatus with unlimited power staffed by contractors is the national security equivalent to programming while only thinking about the happy path of execution. It's a joke and a time bomb waiting to go off.
Just look at you fucking response, "It has I'm a shithead, asking for a full body-cavity search written all over it."
I hope you enjoy your gropings!
Except for one year, when I worked for seven months in NC, I *may* fly 1-2 times a year. In the last 12 years, I've had a) a pocket knife stolen from a checked bag, and b) a bottle of booze and candles, both intended as presents, stolen from a checked bag.
Anectdotal, yes. But I have *zero* expectation that I'm unique, and if I've had this much stolen, well, how many things have others here had stolen out of checked bags? I'll wager it's a pretty damn high percentage, since the TSA got in.
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