TSA rolls out new 'hands-on' pat-down technique
Twitter users criticised the new system, calling it ‘’legalised groping.’’
PHOTO: REUTERS
The US airport security has rolled out a new more physical pat-down technique at the screening line in addition to scrapping previously used methods, according to Bloomberg.
Some twitter users criticised the new system, calling it ‘’legalised groping.’’
The new physical touching—for those selected to have a pat-down—will be a more “comprehensive” physical screening, according to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) spokesman Bruce Anderson on Friday.
Denver International Airport notified employees and flight crews on Thursday that the “more rigorous” searches “will be more thorough and may involve an officer making more intimate contact than before.”
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“People who in the past would have gotten a pat-down that wasn’t involved will notice that the [new] pat-down is more involved,” the TSA spokesman added.
The shift from the previous, risk-based assessment on which pat-down procedure an officer should apply was phased in over the past two weeks after tests at smaller airports, Anderson said.
The TSA screens about 2 million people daily at airports nationwide.
The agency does not track how many passengers are subject to these searches after they pass through an imaging scanner.
People who decline to use this screening technology are automatically subject to physical searches.
While passengers may find the process more intrusive, the new screening procedure is not expected to increase overall airport security delays.
“For the person who gets the pat down, it will slow them down,” Anderson added.
The change is partly a result of the agency’s study of a 2015 report that criticised aspects of TSA screening procedures.
The audit drew headlines because airport officers had failed to detect handguns and other weapons.
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The TSA has all pat-downs conducted by an officer of the same sex as the traveller and allows a passenger to request a private area for the screening, as well as to have a witness present.
Likewise, the traveller can request that the pat-down occur in public view.
Some twitter users criticised the new system, calling it ‘’legalised groping.’’
The new physical touching—for those selected to have a pat-down—will be a more “comprehensive” physical screening, according to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) spokesman Bruce Anderson on Friday.
Denver International Airport notified employees and flight crews on Thursday that the “more rigorous” searches “will be more thorough and may involve an officer making more intimate contact than before.”
Five-year-old detained at airport posed 'security threat': White House
“People who in the past would have gotten a pat-down that wasn’t involved will notice that the [new] pat-down is more involved,” the TSA spokesman added.
The shift from the previous, risk-based assessment on which pat-down procedure an officer should apply was phased in over the past two weeks after tests at smaller airports, Anderson said.
The TSA screens about 2 million people daily at airports nationwide.
The agency does not track how many passengers are subject to these searches after they pass through an imaging scanner.
People who decline to use this screening technology are automatically subject to physical searches.
While passengers may find the process more intrusive, the new screening procedure is not expected to increase overall airport security delays.
“For the person who gets the pat down, it will slow them down,” Anderson added.
The change is partly a result of the agency’s study of a 2015 report that criticised aspects of TSA screening procedures.
The audit drew headlines because airport officers had failed to detect handguns and other weapons.
Trump's travel ban blocks Iraqi family's move to US
The TSA has all pat-downs conducted by an officer of the same sex as the traveller and allows a passenger to request a private area for the screening, as well as to have a witness present.
Likewise, the traveller can request that the pat-down occur in public view.