TSA stands for Transportation Security Administration. They are the familiar faces we see at the airports. Long lines at security checkpoints at the airports in the United States usually have TSA workers preceding them. They are the ones who check what you are bringing on aircraft. You probably knew this already. The force is part of Homeland Security and was created as a response to the attacks of September 11, 2001. The government felt they had to get this force in place very fast and in 2002 they managed to screen almost two million applicants and accept 55,000 employees.  There are still some airports however which use private screening. There has been a lot of controversy connected with the way TSA does the job.

Many feel the long lines which people have to experience when trying to fly are due to incompetence. The NY Post ran an article last year which stated the only way to solve problems with the TSA was to get rid of it. It was a scathing report on the TSA. It told of terrible checkpoints which existed at places like JFK Airport in New York and Newark Liberty International in New Jersey. For some reason these two places have the very worst delays for passengers trying to get through check points. The article also talked about other concerns besides security, where TSA workers were caught at JFK airport trying to steal passenger’s belongings. One was said to have tried to steal a Rolex watch and a few weeks later another was arrested for trying to steal something else.

What I remember are the tests. Security tests are run once in a while to see how good the TSA workers are at screening passengers for dangerous objects. The tests were a dismal failure. The acting director of the TSA resigned, because screeners failed tests designed to detect explosives and weapons. According to CNN, agents for the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General were able to get banned items through the screening stations of the TSA 67 times out of 70. These tests were conducted all across the nation and showed all TSA screening stations tested were failing at their jobs. We are concerned about illegal aliens getting past the border, but the border patrol is far more efficient than the TSA it seems. If the TSA can only detect illegal objects 5% of the time, what purpose do they serve, are they only eyewash to keep us quiet by making us think we are protected?

One man was said to have gotten through a TSA screening station with a bomb strapped to his back. He had set off the metal detector, but then was patted down and the bomb was not found and he was told he could board his plane. One Delta Airlines employee was finally caught after he was said to have smuggled in 153 guns. One of the problems is the TSA lists statistics on guns found, but there is no way to know what guns weren’t found. Tests seems to indicate if one wants to hide a gun or illegal object they have a good chance of getting through. If I were a guessing man I would have to say those with guns who were caught were not trying to hide them and simply had them in obvious places. In all fairness I have to say one thing in favor of the TSA. When it comes to patting down someone, no one wants to have to check areas where they will be accused of sexual harassment and it is in precisely these area of the body where weapons are likely to be hidden. Experts say there are even ways to hide them from the body scanning machines.

The annual budget for the TSA is pegged at 7 billion dollars annually as of 2015. So what does the TSA have to say about their failure of security tests and not being able to detect weapons and explosives? The agency claims the tests are made as difficult as possible. Well yeah, what do they expect? Do they want someone performing a test to be carrying a bomb in their hand?

The GAO evaluated the TSA’s Secure Flight program and here is what it had to say in 2014. “TSA information from May 2012 through February 2014 indicates screening personnel have made errors in implementing Secure Flight determinations at the checkpoint.”  “TSA does not have a process for systematically evaluating the root causes of these screening errors.” In other words at the time the report came out the TSA was said to be unable to fix the problems, because they couldn’t figure out why they were being caused. When this report was released the Office of Intelligence and Analysis at the TSA released a statement which said the Secure Flight program “has demonstrated reliability and super-effectiveness” and “continues to evolve.”

This reminds me of statements politicians made when they were caught doing something illegal and proclaimed their innocence. Pat downs when searching people will never work on those hiding illegal objects in sensitive areas of their body. If machines can be fooled we need better machines. Maybe more dogs would help, but it seems we are wasting money on what we have now and it is only by some miracle we haven’t lost planes. Probably planes are not the target for the moment, but we have a duty to protect passengers and since we are spending about 7 billion dollars a year, we should be able to get a security system in place that works.