THE TSA HAS VERY QUIETLY ADOPTED
A NEW MORE INVASIVE PATDOWN ALTHOUGH THEY ARE NOT BEING
SPECIFIC OR TRANSPARENT ABOUT
WHAT THAT MEANS.
WHAT WE DO KNOW IS THAT THIS NEW PATDOWN WILL BE
UNIVERSAL.
CURRENTLY THERE ARE FIVE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PAT
DOWNS THE TSA DOES.
APPARENTLY THAT CONFUSES SOME OF THE TSA
AGENTS BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO DECIDE WHICH ONE THEY WILL
CONDUCT IF SOMEONE SEEMS SUSPICIOUS OR IF SENSORS GO OFF.
THEY HAVE DECIDED WE ARE GOING TO DO A UNIVERSAL ENHANCED
PATDOWN.
BUT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS.
THE ONLY REASON WE KNOW
THIS IS HAPPENING IS BECAUSE
BLOOMBERG FOUND OUT DUE TO TSA AGENTS LETTING LOCAL POLICE
OFFICIALS KNOW INDIVIDUALS MY COMPLAINT ABOUT THIS SO EXPECT
THOSE COMPLAINTS.
>>THERE ARE A COUPLE DIFFERENT REASONS WHY THIS MIGHT BE
HAPPENING.
LET'S BREAK DOWN WHAT IT COULD BE.
THERE ARE TWO
DIFFERENT KINDS OF PAT DOWNS, THE ONES WITH THE BACK OF THEIR
HANDS, AND THE ONE WITH THE FRONT.
WE HAVE DESCRIBED HOW ANA
AND I HAVE GOTTEN A PATDOWN NOT ONLY WITH THE BACK OF THEIR
HANDS, BUT THE FRONT.
THEY WILL ACTUALLY TOUCH YOUR GENITALS WITH THE FRONT OF
THEIR HANDS.
>>YES.
>> YOU CAN CALL IT A PATDOWN BUT IT IS INCREDIBLY INVASIVE.
THEY
ACTUALLY GO INSIDE YOUR PANTS TO DO IT.
FOR CRAZY REASONS THEY
CLAIM THAT SHE HAD A CROTCH ANOMALY.
>>WENT THROUGH THE FULL BODY SCANNER WEARING SKINNY JEANS,
VERY TIGHT PANTS.
AS I WALKED OUT THE TSA AGENT STOPPED ME AND
SAID I'M GOING TO HAVE TO DO AN ENHANCED PATDOWN YOU HAVE A
CROTCH ANOMALY.
AND I WAS LIKE
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
I LOOKED AT THE SCANNER AND MY CROTCH WAS
LIT UP IN THE IMAGE.
THEN SHE ASKED IF I WANTED TO GO INTO A
PRIVATE ROOM OR IF I WANTED TO JUST DO IT THERE.
I WAS IN A
RUSH, SO I THOUGHT HOW BAD COULD
THIS BE LET'S JUST DO IT HERE.
I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS INTENTIONAL
OR AN ACCIDENT, BUT SHE WENT IN MY PANTS IN MY UNDERWEAR FRONT
OF THE HAND, SWIPED IN THE FRONT, THE BACK, IT WAS CRAZY
AND INVASIVE.
>> TO GO INSIDE THE UNDERWEAR IS INSANE LET ALONE INSIDE THE
PANTS.
IS THERE SOME SORT OF NEW SECURITY THREAT?
IT DOES NOT
APPEAR SO.
IT SOUNDS LIKE THEY ARE GETTING INTERNAL OR EXTERNAL
CRITICISM ABOUT HOW THEY ARE
CHOOSING PEOPLE.
THEY SAID INSTEAD OF OFFICERS CHOOSING
PEOPLE, THEY WILL NOW BE DOING
THIS MORE THOROUGHLY.
>> SO COGNITIVE BURDEN, THINK ABOUT THAT.
THESE ARE TSA
AGENTS, PEOPLE WHO ARE SUPPOSED
TO BE KEEPING A SAFE.
AND THEIR HIGHER-UPS ARE CONCERNED ABOUT
THEIR COGNITIVE BURDENS.
YOU ARE A TSA AGENT, YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO
BE HIGHLY TRAINED AND EFFICIENT IN FIGURING OUT HOW TO KEEP
PEOPLE SAFE AND DO IT SUFFICIENTLY.
I DON'T UNDERSTAND
WHY WE ARE HAVING A CONVERSATION ABOUT THEIR POOR COGNITIVE
BURDENS.
>> I DOUBT IT IS TSA AGENTS WHO ARE GOING MY COGNITIVE BURDEN IS
OVERWHELMING.
I THINK WHAT IS
HAPPENING IS PEOPLE ARE SAYING I'M GETTING GRIEF OR PULLING
OVER THESE KIND OF FOLKS.
>> I JUST DON'T GET WHAT MORE THEY WANT FROM US.
WE ARE
ALREADY GOING THROUGH FULL-BODY SCANNERS WHERE YOU CAN SEE
EVERYTHING.
WE ARE ALREADY GETTING PATTED DOWN.
WHAT MORE
DO THEY WANT?
>>BUT THEN THEY FAILED THE SAFETY TEST.
THE DEPARTMENT OF
HOMELAND SECURITY TRIES TO SNEAK
IN BOMBS AND SEE IF THEY GET CAUGHT, AND MOST OF THE TIME
THEY DON'T.
SO THEN THEY GET IN TROUBLE AND THEN THERE IS
PRESSURE TO TARGET PEOPLE WHO ARE MUSLIM OR FROM THE MIDDLE
EAST OR WHO LOOK THAT WAY ETC.
IT IS NOT AN EASY JOB, HERE IS
MY POINT.
LET'S USE HUMAN JUDGMENT.
DO NOT PROFILE BASED
ON RACE, ETHNICITY, ETC.
I THINK YOU CAN USE, WHAT MOST PEOPLE
FOUND TO BE EFFECTIVE WHICH IS BASED ON BEHAVIOR.
IF THEY BUY A
ONE-WAY TICKET, IT IS MORE
LIKELY.
SOMETIMES I BUY ONE-WAY TICKETS, I GET IT SOMETIMES I
WILL GET A PATDOWN.
PEOPLE WHO ARE ACTING NERVOUS, WHO ARE
SWEATING.
MAYBE YOU ARE RUNNING THROUGH THE AIRPORT AND ARE
SWEATY, I UNDERSTAND.
BUT THEY SHOULD BASE THEM ON THINGS THAT
YOU ARE DOING.
WE DON'T WANT THAT DONE TO EVERYBODY.
IT IS REALLY INVASIVE.
YES, PEOPLE ARE GOING TO COMPLAIN.
>>ETHNIC PROFILING IS AMERICAN, IT IS INHERENTLY AMERICAN.
LET'S
KEEP IT REAL, IT IS NOT SUPPOSED
TO BE BUT IT IS.
ON ONE HAND I FEEL FOR THE TSA AGENTS BECAUSE
IN ORDER FOR THEM TO DO THE TYPE OF SCREENING THAT YOU JUST
DESCRIBED YOU NEED TO BE WELL
TRAINED AND ALSO WELL STAFFED.
THE WAY WE HANDLE SECURITY AT
AIRPORTS IS ALSO VERY AMERICAN.
LET'S UNDERSTAFFED AND FIND THE
MOST INVASIVE NONHUMAN JUDGMENT
REQUIRING METHOD TO SCREEN PEOPLE.
THAT IS AN AMERICAN
THING.
YOU NEED TO HAVE A FULLY STAFFED TSA TEAM READY TO DO THE
TYPE OF PROCEDURES THAT YOU JUST MENTIONED.
THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT
GOING TO SPEND MONEY ON THAT.
THEIR WAY OF KEEPING US SAFE IS INVADING OUR PRIVACY AS MUCH
AS POSSIBLE AND MAKING SURE WE FEEL AS VIOLATED AS POSSIBLE
AS WE GO THROUGH AIR TRAVEL.
>>THERE HAS TO BE SOME BALANCE BETWEEN SECURITY AND PRIVACY.
WHEN YOU ARE IN MY PANTS YOU HAVE CROSSED THAT LINE.