Transportation Security Administration ( TSA ) is an agent of the US Department of Homeland Security who has authority over the safety of people traveling in the United States. It was made in response to the September 11 attacks.
Particularly concerned with air travel, TSA employs screening officers at airports, Federal Air Marshals aircraft armed on planes, and dog handlers and explosives specialist teams.
Video Transportation Security Administration
Constitution
TSA was created as part of the Aviation and Transport Security Act, sponsored by Don Young in the United States House of Representatives and Ernest Hollings in the Senate, endorsed by the 107th US Congress, and signed by President George W Bush on November 19, 2001 . Originally part of the US Department of Transportation, TSA was transferred to the Department of Homeland Security on March 9, 2003 .
Maps Transportation Security Administration
History and organization
TSA was created in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks. His first administrator, John Magaw, was nominated by President Bush on December 10, 2001, and confirmed by the Senate in January next. Supporters of the agency, including Transport Minister Norman Mineta, argue that only one federal agency better protects air travel than private companies operating under contract to a single airline or group of airlines using a particular terminal facility.
Prior to its creation, private security firms managed the security of air travel.
The organization is accused of developing policies to protect US transport, particularly in airport security and aircraft piracy prevention.
TSA Screeners represents the case of large-scale staff projects completed in a short time. The only attempt in US history to approach it was the recruitment test for the armed forces in the Second World War. TSA Filters, during the period from February to December 2002, 1.7 million applicants were assessed for 55,000 positions.
With state, local, and regional partners, TSA oversees security for highways, trains, buses, mass transit systems, pipelines and ports. However, most of TSA's efforts are in aviation security. TSA is responsible for checking passengers and luggage at more than 450 US airports.
Personal investigations are not lost under TSA, which allows the airport to opt out of federal screening and hire a company to do work instead. Such companies still have to obtain TSA approval under the Screening Partnership Program (SPP) and follow the TSA procedures. Among US airports with privately operated checkpoints are San Francisco International Airport; Kansas City International Airport; Greater Rochester International Airport; Tupelo Regional Airport; Key West International Airport; Charles M. Schulz - Sonoma County Airport; and Jackson Hole Airport.
New headquarters
In August 2017, the General Services Administration announced a new headquarters will be built in Springfield, Virginia. The new 625,000 square foot base will be a short distance from Franconia-Springfield Metro Station and is projected to cost $ 316 million for a 15-year lease. The facility is expected to open in mid 2020.
Administration
When TSA was established by the Aviation and Transportation Security Act at the Department of Transportation, this position was referred to as Under the Secretary of Transportation for Security . After the transfer of TSA to the Department of Homeland Security, the position was reclassified as Transportation Security Administration Administrator . This position has also been referred to as Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Transportation Security Administration .
There are seven administrators and six administrators acting in the history of 15 years of TSA.
Organizational structure
- Administrator
- Vice Administrator
- Company Performance and Risk Office
- Main Advisory Office
- Office of Civil Rights and Freedom, Ombudsman, and Tourist Involvement
- Office of Finance and Administration
- Chief of Staff
- Office of Legislative Affairs
- Office of Strategic Communication and Public Affairs
- Head of Operations
- Global Strategy Office
- Intelligence and Analysis Offices
- Federal Air Marshal Law Enforcement/Service Office
- Office of Requirements and Capabilities Analysis
- Office Security Operations
- Office of Security Policy and Industrial Involvement
- Heads of Mission Support
- Office of Acquisition Program Manangement
- Contract and Procurement Office
- Human Resources Office
- Office of Information Technology
- Inspection Office
- Professional Responsibility Office
- Training and Development Office
- Vice Administrator
Employee
In 2008, TSA officers began wearing new uniforms that had a mixed gray 65/35 polyester/cotton gray shirt, black pants, wider black belt, and optional short sleeve shirt and black vest (for seasonal reasons). The first airport to introduce new uniforms is the Baltimore-Washington International Airport. Starting on September 11, 2008, all TSOs started wearing new uniforms. One line on each shoulder board shows TSO, two Lead TSO lines, and three TSO Supervisors.
TSO issued a badge similar to that brought by police officers, who have caused complaints from the second group.
LAX 2013 Shot
On Friday, November 1, 2013, TSA officer Gerardo I. Hernandez, age 39, was shot and killed by a gunman alone at Los Angeles International Airport. Law enforcement officials identified the suspect as Paul Anthony Ciancia, 23, who was shot and wounded by law enforcement officials before being arrested. Ciancia was wearing a uniform and carrying a handwritten bag that said she "wanted to kill TSA and pigs". Hernandez was the first TSA officer killed in the job.
New Orleans 2015 airport attack
On 21 March 2015 the 63-year-old Richard White enters Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport armed with Molotov cocktails, gasoline lighters and machetes. White immediately began attacking passengers and Transportation Security Administration officers by spraying them with cans of killer wasps, then pulling his machete and running through a metal detector. A sheriff's deputy from Jefferson Parish shot and killed White as he chased a TSA officer with his machete.
Funding
For fiscal year 2012, TSA has a budget of about $ 7.6 billion.
Part of TSA's budget comes from a $ 2.50 tax per passenger. The Obama administration has proposed to triple this cost by 2019, with most of the increase going to reduce national debt.
Travelers leave about half a million dollars behind at the airport checkpoints in 2012 and 2013. TSA saves money for security operations.
Filtering the processes and rules
Appearance of passengers and expulsion
Identification requirements
TSA requires passengers to show valid IDs at security checkpoints before boarding their flights. Valid forms of identification include passports from the US or foreign governments, identification of state-issued photos, or military IDs. Passengers who do not have IDs are still allowed to fly if their identities can be verified in other ways.
The passenger's name is compared to the No Fly List, a list of about 21,000 names of terrorist suspects who are not allowed to board the plane. The passenger's name is also compared to a longer list of "voters"; passengers whose names match the names of these lists receive more comprehensive screening before potentially allowed to board the plane. The effectiveness of the list has been widely criticized on the basis of errors in how the list is maintained, due to concerns that the list is unconstitutional, and because of its ineffectiveness in stopping Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who tried to detonate plastic explosives in his underwear, from boarding an airplane. At the airport security checkpoint, passengers are screened to ensure they are not carrying illicit goods. These include a variety of sharp objects, many sporting goods such as baseball bat and hockey stick, weapon or other weapons, various tools, flammable liquids (except conventional lighters), many forms of chemicals and paints. In addition, passengers are limited to 3.4 ounces of US liquid (100 ml) of almost any liquid or gel, which must be presented at checkpoints in a clear and one-quart zip-top bag. This fluid restriction was a reaction to the 2006 transatlantic plane plot.
The number of passengers that have been detected carrying firearms to aircraft in their luggage has increased in recent years, from 976 in 2009 to 1,813 in 2013, according to TSA. In 2010 anonymous sources told ABC News that undercover agents managed to carry weapons through security nearly 70 percent of the time at several major airports. Firearms can be checked legally in checked baggage on domestic flights.
In some cases, government leaders, members of the US military and law enforcement officials were allowed to pass a security check.
In a program initiated in October 2011, the TSA Precheck Program allows selected American Airlines members, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Virgin America, Southwest Airlines, Air Canada, JetBlue Airlines, and Sun Country Airlines flyer programs, Global Entry, NEXUS, and SENTRI and members of the US military's active duty to receive accelerated screening for selected domestic and international routes. Until August 2015, the program is available at 156 airports. After completing the background checks, fingerprints, and paying the $ 85 fee, travelers will get a well known Tourist Number. This program has led to complaints of injustice and longer queues. Aeromexico, Etihad Airways, Cape Air, and Seaborne Airlines join the program so the total number of operators becomes 16. On December 15, 2015, the program expanded to include Allegiant Air. On June 21, 2016, it was announced that Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines will also join the program starting in autumn 2016. On August 31, 2016, the program expanded to include Lufthansa, and on September 29, 2016, Frontier Airlines was added. In 2017, 11 other airlines were added on January 26, and seven others were added on May 25, bringing the total to 37 operators.
In October 2013, TSA announced that it has begun searching various government and private databases for information on passengers before they arrive at the airport. They do not say which database is involved, but TSA has access to previous travel journeys, property records, physical characteristics, law enforcement and intelligence information, among others.
Cartridge large printer bans
After the October 2010 cargo plot plot, where a cargo containing laser printers with toner cartridges filled with explosives was found on separate cargo planes, the US prohibited passengers from carrying certain printer cartridges on flights. TSA says it will ban toner and ink cartridges weighing more than 16 ounces (453 grams) of all passenger flights. The prohibition applies to checked bags and checked bags, and does not affect the average traveler, who is generally lighter using toner cartridges.
November 2010 enhanced filtration procedure
Beginning in November 2010, TSA added an improved new filtration procedure. Passengers are required to choose between enhanced shields, allowing TSOs to examine body areas more thoroughly such as belts, groin, and inner thighs. or instead imaged by using a complete body scanner (ie, either an X-ray backscatter or a millimeter wave detecting machine) to fly. TSA encourages leaflets to select the scanner by emphasizing the "intrusive" nature of the "enhanced" fault. These changes were said to have been made in reaction to the bombing of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.
Pat-down
The new pat-down procedure, initially unpublished, "routinely involves touching the buttocks and genitals" as well as the breasts. The procedure is controversial, and in the November poll, 50% of those surveyed felt that the new patal procedure was too extreme, with 48% feeling they were justified. A number of publicized incidents sparked public condemnation of a pat-down raid, in which female breasts and genital area all passengers were patted. Pat-downs are performed by agents of the same gender shown by passengers at the time of play.
Concerns were raised about the constitutionality of new screening methods by organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union. As of April 2011, at least six lawsuits have been filed for violation of the Fourth Amendment. George Washington University legal specialist Jeffrey Rosen supports this view, saying "there is a strong argument that TSA's actions violate the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unwarranted search and seizure." Concerns were also raised about the effects of this oppression on victims of sexual assault. In January 2014, Denver police launched a sexual assault investigation into a screener at Denver International Airport over what passengers say is an intrusive patrol.
Full body scanners
In November 2010, TSA began placing X-ray backscatter scanners and millimeter wave scan engines to the airport. TSA refers to both of these technologies as Advanced Imaging Technology, or AIT. Critics sometimes refer to them as "naked scanners".
Passengers are directed to hold their hands above their heads for a few seconds while the front and back images are made. If the operator sees an anomaly on the scanner, or if another problem occurs, passengers must also accept pat-down.
The full body scanner also proved controversial due to privacy and health issues.
American Civil Liberties Union calls the scanner a "virtual strip search." Female passengers complain that they are often selected for scanning, and the review of TSA records by local CBS affiliates in Dallas finds "a pattern of women who believe there is nothing random about how they are selected for extra screening."
TSA, on their website, stated that it has "implemented strict measures to protect passenger privacy guaranteed through anonymity of images," and also states that this technology "can not save, print, send or save images, and images are removed automatically from system after being removed by security personnel who are in a remote location ". This claim, however, proved wrong after several incidents involving a leaked image. The machines do indeed have the ability to "store" the image and while this function is supposedly to be "turned off" by TSA in playback, TSA's Marshalls Air and training facility has the storage function turned on.
In early 2010, TSA began testing a scanner that would produce fewer "stick figures" intrusively. In February 2011, TSA began testing new software on a millimeter wave machine already in use at Schiphol Airport Amsterdam which automatically detects potential threats to passengers without requiring officers to review the actual image. Instead, a single digit is used for all passengers and a small yellow box is placed in the area of ​​the body requiring additional checks. TSA announced in 2013 that the Rapiscan backscatter scanner will no longer be used, due to the fact that the machine maker can not produce "privacy software" to abstract the almost naked image the agent sees and turn it into a number-like stick. TSA will continue to use other full-body scanners.
Health problems have been raised about both scanning technologies.
In light of the radiation exposure emitted by the backscatter X rays, and there is concern that people will be exposed to "harmful levels of radiation if they are too often whipped". A petition by scientists and pilots argues that screening machines are safe.. Ionizing radiation is considered a non-threshold carcinogen, but it is difficult to measure the risk of low exposure to radiation. The active millimeter wave scanner emits unionized radiation, does not have enough energy to damage DNA directly, and is not known to be genotoxic.
Inverted playback
In April 2016, TSA Administrator Peter V. Neffenger told the Senate committee that the small airport had the option of using "reverse screening" - a system where passengers were not filtered before boarding the plane on departure, but otherwise filtered upon arrival at the airport. aim. This procedure is intended to save costs at airports with limited number of flights.
Reaction
After November 2010 initiated improved screening procedures of all airline passengers and flight crew, the US Airline Pilot Association issued a press release stating that pilots should not be subject to an entire body scan due to unknown risks of radiation and called for strict guidelines for pat-down pilots , including their fitness evaluation for the task after pat-down, given the stressful nature of pat-down. Two airline pilots filed a lawsuit against the procedure.
In March 2011, two New Hampshire state representatives introduced a proposed law that would criminalize as a invasive invasive invasive TSA invasion that was created without a possible cause. In May 2011, the Texas Representative Council passed a bill that would make it illegal for Transportation Security Administration officials to touch a person's genitals when performing an overhaul. The bill failed in the Senate after the Justice Department threatened to make Texas a no-fly zone if the law was passed. In Congress, the United States House of Representatives by Ron Paul (R-Texas) introduced the American Travel Dignity Act (H.R.6416).
On July 2, 2010, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) filed a lawsuit in a federal court requesting to stop the use of TSA's entire body scanners on the basis of the Fourth Amendment, and on the grounds that TSA has failed to allow public notice and the rule-making period. In July 2011, the appeals court D.C. decided that TSA violated the Administrative Procedure Act by not allowing public notice and the comment-making period. The court ordered the agency to "immediately" make a public notice and rule-making comment. In July 2012, the EPIC returned to court and asked the court to force law enforcement; in August, the court granted a request to force TSA to explain its actions by the end of the month. The agency responded on August 30, saying there was no "basis for the statement (The DC Circuit Court) that TSA has postponed the implementation of this court mandate," and said it was awaiting approval from the Department of Homeland Security before the trial. TSA also said it has "staffing issues" on the issue, but expects to start an audience in February 2013. The comment period starts on March 25, 2013 and closes on June 25, 2013, with over 90% of comments on the scanner. As of October 2015, no reports were released.
Two separate Internet campaigns promote "National No Day", the day before Thanksgiving, which encourages travelers to "opt out" of the scanner and insist on patting. The upgraded pat-down procedure is also the origin of "Do not touch my trash memes".
electronic device restrictions March 2017
On March 21, 2017, TSA prohibited larger electronic devices from smartphones brought to the US from 10 particular airports located in Muslim-majority countries. The order mentions intelligence that "shows that terrorist groups continue to target commercial aviation and aggressively pursue innovative methods to carry out their attacks, to include smuggling of explosive devices in various consumer goods". The restriction expired in July following changes in the screening procedures at the designated airport.
Checked baggage
Luggage lock
In order to search passenger baggage for security checks, TSA will cut or disable keys that they can not open on their own. The agency authorizes two companies to make locks, lockable ropes, and luggage with a built-in key that can be opened and recharged by equipment and information provided by key manufacturers to TSA. This is a Travel Keeper and Safe Sky Lock. TSA agents sometimes bypass this key rather than open it, and TSA receives more than 3500 complaints in 2011 about a malicious key. Travel journalist and National Geographic Traveler editor Christopher Elliott described this key as "useless" in protecting goods inside, while SmarterTravel wrote in early 2010 that "the jury came out on their effectiveness", while noting how easy they were to open.
In November 2014, The Washington Post accidentally published a photo of seven TSA master keys in an article on TSA baggage handling. The photo was later removed from the original article, but still appears on multiple syndicated copies. On August 22, 2015, Twitter user Luke Rudkowski (@Lukewearechange) noticed the photo and posted it on Twitter, and from there it quickly spread on social media, gaining the attention of news sites. Using photos, security researchers and community members have been able to reproduce master key work copies using 3D printing techniques. This incident has prompted discussion of the security implications of using a master key.
Baggage theft
TSA has been criticized for increased baggage theft after it started. Reported thefts include valuable and dangerous items, such as laptops, jewelry, and knives. The theft has raised fears that the same access allows bombs to be placed on planes.
In 2004, more than 17,000 baggage theft claims were reported. In 2004, 60 players have been arrested for baggage theft, a figure that has increased to 200 screens in 2008. 11,700 thefts and damage claims were reported to TSA in 2009, down from 26,500 in 2004, which was attributed to the installation of cameras and conveyor belts in airport. A total of 25,016 thefts were reported over a five year period from 2010 to 2014.
In 2011, TSA employs approximately 60,000 broadcasters in total (counting both baggage and passenger baggage) and about 500 TSA agents have been fired or suspended for stealing from passenger baggage since the agency's creation in November 2001. The theft airport was the most reported from 2010 to 2014 is JFK, followed by LAX and MCO.
In 2008, an investigative report by the WTAE in Pittsburgh found that although there were more than 400 reports of baggage theft, about half of TSA replaced passengers, none of the arrests were made. TSA does not, as a matter of policy, share the luggage theft reports with the local police department.
In September 2012, ABC News interviewed former TSA agent Pythias Brown, who claimed to steal items worth more than $ 800,000 while working with the agency. Brown stated that "it is very easy to steal" and the bad morale in the agency is what causes agents to steal from passengers.
TSA was also criticized for not responding well to theft and failing to replace passengers for stolen goods. For example, between 2011 and 2012, passengers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport reported $ 300,000 of property lost or damaged by TSA. The agency only paid $ 35,000 from the claim. Similar statistics were found at Jacksonville International Airport - passengers reported items worth $ 22,000 lost or damaged for 15 months. TSA is only replacing $ 800.
Filter effectiveness
Incognito operations to test the effectiveness of the airport inspection process are routinely conducted by the TSA Investigation Office and the Office of the Inspector General of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
A report by the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General's Office found that TSA officials have been working with Covenant Aviation Security (CAS) at San Francisco International Airport to alert investigators to conduct secret tests. From August 2003 to May 2004, an appropriate description of the undercover personnel was given to editors. The dissemination of the descriptions was subsequently terminated, but until January 2005 the screening was still warned every time incognito operations were underway. When no errors on the CAS section are found, the contract is extended for four years. Some CAS and TSA workers received disciplinary action, but nobody was fired.
A report on a covert operation carried out in October 2006 at Newark Liberty International Airport leaked to the media. The scanner has failed 20 of the 22 undercover security tests, lost a lot of weapons and bombs. The Government Accountability Office previously pointed to the failure of repeated trials by TSA personnel. Revealing the results of a secret test is contrary to TSA policy, and the agency responds by initiating an internal investigation to find the source of the leak.
In July 2007, Times Union from Albany, New York reported that TSA screeners at Albany International Airport failed in some secret security tests conducted by TSA. Among them is the failure to detect fake bombs.
In December 2010, ABC News Houston reported in an article about a man who inadvertently took a forgotten weapon through airport security, that "failure rates approaching 70 percent in some major airports".
In June 2011, TSA fired 36 scanners at Honolulu airport for regularly allowing bags without review.
In May 2012, a report from the Department of Homeland Security of the Inspector General stated that TSA "lacks a complete understanding" of violations at national airports, with some centers doing very little to correct or report security breaches. These findings will be presented to Congress.
The 2015 investigation by the Inspector General of Homeland Security revealed that undercover investigators were able to smuggle forbidden goods through checkpoints in 95% of their efforts.
Rep. Darrell Issa, chair of the Supervisory Board and Government Reform Committee, and Rep. John Mica, chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has conducted several joint hearings on the costs and benefits of various safety programs including full body scanners, Transport Worker Identification Credentials (TWIC), and behavior detection programs, among others.
Some of the measures used by TSA have been accused of being ineffective and fostering a sense of security wrong. This led to security expert Bruce Schneier to coin the term theater of security to illustrate the steps.
Unintended consequences of screening screening in 2002
Two studies by a group of Cornell University researchers have found that strict airport security has undesirable consequences of increasing casualties on the road, as potential travelers decide to drive and are exposed to a much greater risk of death in car accidents. In 2005, researchers noticed immediately after the attacks of September 11, 2001, and found that changes in passenger mode of travel led to 242 adding deaths driving per month. Overall, they estimate that about 1,200 driving deaths can be attributed to short-term effects of attack. This study links travelers' behavior change to two factors: fear of terrorist attacks and a desire to avoid the discomfort of strict security measures; no attempt was made to estimate separately the influence of each of these two factors.
In 2007, researchers studied the specific effects of changes to TSA's institutionalized security practices by the end of 2002. They concluded that these changes reduced the number of air travelers by 6%, and estimated that as a result, 129 more people died in car accidents. in the fourth quarter of 2002. Emphasizing this mortality, the New York Times contributor Nate Silver said that this is equivalent to "four fully loaded Boeing 737s every year." The 2007 study also noted that strict airport security harms the aviation industry; It is estimated that a 6% reduction in passenger numbers in the fourth quarter of 2002 cost the industry $ 1.1 billion in lost business.
Data security incident
Employee records lost or stolen
In 2007, unencrypted computer hard drives containing Social Security numbers, bank data, and payroll information for about 100,000 employees were lost or stolen from the TSA headquarters. Kip Hawley warned TSA employees of the loss, and apologized for it. The agency asked the FBI to investigate. There is no report that the data was then misused.
Unsecured website
In 2007, Christopher Soghoian, a blogger and security researcher, said that the TSA website collects personal passenger information in an unsafe way, exposing passengers to identity theft. The website allows passengers to dispute their inclusion on the No Fly List. TSA repaired the website a few days after the press picked up the story. The US Government's Oversight and Recovery Committee investigated the issue, saying the website had been operating insecure for more than four months, in which over 247 people had submitted personal information. The report said TSA managers who awarded contracts to create websites were high school friends and former employees of the company owners who accepted the contract. He notes:
neither Desyne nor technical leaders on the traveler's compensation website have been approved by TSA for their role in the deployment of unsafe websites. TSA continues to pay Desyne to host and maintain two major Web-based information systems. TSA does not take steps to discipline technical leaders, who still hold senior management program positions at TSA.
In December 2009, someone in TSA posted a sensitive manual titled "Screening Management SOP" on secret airport screening guidelines to an unclear URL on the FedBizOpps website. The manual was handed down quickly, but the breach raised the question of whether security practices had been compromised. Five TSA employees are placed on administrative leave on manual publication, which, while edited, has been easily deleted by computer knowledgeable people.
REAL ID and air travel
Enacted by Congress in 2005, the NYU ID Act sets minimum safety standards for state-issued driver licenses and identity cards and prohibits federal agents, such as TSA, from receiving licenses and identity cards for the official purpose of countries not meeting this standard.
Enforcement Date
Starting January 22, 2018, driver licenses or state issued IDs that are not in accordance with the REPEAL ID Act and have not been renewed by DHS should not be used for flying in the US.
Starting October 1, 2020, every traveler will need a country license or ID that matches an ID or other identification that is acceptable for flying in the US.
Acceptable list of IDs currently
- SIM or other state photo ID issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles (or equivalent) according to REAL enforcement ID
- US. passport
- United States Passport Card
- Trusted DHS tourist card (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, QUICK)
- US. Military ID (active duty or retired military and dependents, and DoD civilians)
- Permanent resident card
- Crossing Border Card
- DHS Defined Driver's License
- The published airline or airport ID (if issued under a TSA approved security plan)
- Photo IDs issued by tribal-recognized tribal
- HSPD-12 PIV Card
- Passport issued by a foreign government
- Canadian province driving license or North and Indian Canadian cards
- Transportation Identification Credentials (TWIC)
- US. Merchant Mariner Credentials
- Immigration and Naturalization Service (I-766) Authorization Card
Other critics
The agency's general criticism also includes a statement that TSA employees sleep in the workplace, bypass security checks, and fail to use sound judgment and common sense.
TSA agents are also accused of abusing passengers, and having sexually abused passengers, have used invasive screening procedures, including touching the genitals, including children, removing nipple rings with pliers, abusing body scanners to lure female passengers, after searching for passengers or their goods for items other than weapons or explosives, and stolen from passengers. TSA fired 28 agents and suspended 15 other agents after an investigation that determined they failed to scan checked baggage for explosives.
TSA is also accused of spending a fortune on events unrelated to airport security, wasting money on rent, and having a conflict of interest.
TSA was accused of having performed poorly in the inauguration area of ​​Presidential Inpres 2009, which caused thousands of ticket holders to be excluded from the event in crowded conditions, while those who had arrived before the checkpoint were in place avoiding filtering altogether.
In 2013, dozens of TSA workers were fired or suspended for illegal gambling at Pittsburgh International Airport, and eight TSA workers were arrested in connection with a stolen parking ticket at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
A 2013 GAO report showed a 26% increase in misconduct among TSA employees between 2010 and 2012, from 2,691 cases to 3,408. Another GAO report says that there is no evidence that the Screening of Passenger behavioral detection program by Observation Techniques (SPOT), with an annual budget of hundreds of millions of dollars, is effective.
A 2013 report by the Department of Homeland Security, the Office of the Inspector General accused TSA of using criminal investigators to do work for lower-paid employees, spending millions of dollars per year.
On 3 December 2013, the United States House of Representatives passed the Transportation Safety Reform Act (H.R. 2719, 113th Congress) in response to criticism of TSA's acquisition process as wasteful, expensive and ineffective. If the bill becomes law, it will require TSA to develop a comprehensive technology acquisition plan and present regular reports to Congress about its success and failure to comply with this plan. The April 2013 Report from the Department of Homeland Security The Inspector General's Office indicates that TSA has 17,000 items with an estimated cost of $ 185.7 million stored in its warehouse on May 31, 2012. The auditor found that "TSA stores unusable or outdated equipment, inadequate levels of inventory security, and not developing inventory management processes that systematically use equipment. "
In January 2014, Jason Edward Harrington, a former TSA screener at O'Hare International Airport, said that fellow staff members assigned to review the scanning images of passenger aircraft bodies routinely joke about the weight, attractiveness, and size of the male's penis and breasts. According to Harrington, the screen will remind each other to attract female passengers with the code phrase "Hotel Papa" so that staff will have the opportunity to see the naked form of passengers on the body scanner monitor and retaliate against the rough leaflets by suspending them at checkpoints.. TSA Administrator John Pistole responded by saying that all the scanners had been replaced and the screening room disabled. He does not deny that the behavior described by Harrington takes place.
In May 2016, actress Susan Sarandon claimed that during the Bush administration she was "harassed every time I came to this country". He said that he hired two lawyers to contact TSA to determine why he was targeted but he guessed it was because he criticized the Bush administration. He said the harassment stopped after his lawyer followed up for a second time with TSA.
Public opinion
The CBS telephone poll of 1137 people published on November 15, 2010 found that 81% percent of those surveyed approved the use of TSA for a full body scan. The ABC/Washington Post poll conducted by Langer Associates and released November 22, 2010 found that 64% of Americans love X-ray scanners throughout the body, but 50% think the fault is "increased" too far; 37% feel very strong. In addition, opinion polls show the lowest opposition among those who fly less than once a year. A poll later by Zogby International found 61% of voters likely opposed to new measures by TSA. In 2012, a poll conducted by the Frequent Business Traveler organization found that 56% of frequent flyers were "not satisfied" with TSA's work. 57% rated TSA as doing "a bad job," and 34% rated it "fair." Only 1% of those surveyed rated the agent's job as excellent.
Investigations from TSA
In 2013, the Office of the Inspector General published a report entitled "Inadequate TSA Actions to Overcome Inspector General Recommendations to Improve Inspection Offices". The report touches on several violation topics but the main focus of the report is TSA investigators who receive premiums on their salaries even though they do not meet the minimum qualifications to qualify for this payment.
The TSA Office, the 2015 Accountability Oversight Act published by the Commerce, Science and Transport Committee, is based on an investigative report that found the problem with TSA. This action also follows up on the Inspector General Office 2013 report, which obliges TSA to comply with the Federal Regulations and refinance the Investigator Wage â € <â €
In response, TSA contracted a consulting firm to assist TSA with the Office of Inspector General's recommendation. However the Inspector General's Office has found TSA's response inadequate as they have not fixed most of the issues raised in the report.
Call to deletion
Many groups and figures call on the removal of TSA in its current form by people and groups that include Senator Rand Paul, (R-KY), Rep. John Mica, (R-FL), The Cato Institute, Downsize DC Foundation, FreedomWorks, and opinion columnists from Forbes, Fox News < i USA Today , Vox , The Washington Examiner , and The Washington Post .
TSA critics often refer to the agency as "ineffective, invasive, incompetent, not exactly expensive, or all four" as their reason for seeking its abolition. Those who seek to eliminate TSA have mentioned enhanced effectiveness and filtering costs provided by qualified private companies in accordance with federal guidelines.
See also
- Shooting Los Angeles International Airport 2013
- Airline complaints
- Border Force (one of two substitute agencies to the United Kingdom Border Agency; the other is UK Visas and Immigration)
- Canadian Air Transportation Security Authority
- International Civil Aviation Organization
References
External links
Media related to the Transportation Security Administration in Wikimedia Commons
- Official website
- Transportation Security Administration in the Federal List
- Standard Operating Procedures for Filtering
Source of the article : Wikipedia