They can do that now. Which is what happened with this guy.
Posted on 12/17/2004 9:18:58 AM PST by yatros from flatwater
The travel season is here, but, do you feel safe sending your luggage through the airport? The surveillance video is disturbing. A TSA worker at JFK airport in New York, allegedly rifling through a bag planted by police, removing jewels and money. This suspect was charged with larceny and possession of stolen property. Theft has been a problem for as long as travelers have been checking their bags, but now, the TSA is keeping track. Since taking control of baggage screening nearly two years ago, it's received more than 28,000 complaints of damaged, lost or stolen items. The total value: nearly $36 million. But no one knows how many of those are false claims. Air traveler Randy Rutland says, "Everything was in the luggage when we left from here." Rutland, of Louisiana, claims it happened to him while flying out of New Orleans. He says his luggage was checked, then secured with blue tags to indicate they'd been hand searched by the TSA, but when he got his bags, a brand new digital camera and his daughter's compact discs were missing. "I think somebody went through our bags, saw a nice camera and some cd's and they took 'em," Rutland says. The value: $1600. So far, the TSA has settled some 19,000 claims totaling $2.5 million, including $152,000 worth of claims at LAX, $111,000 dollars at JFK, followed by Seattle, Las Vegas and Oakland. The TSA is now adding surveillance cameras in baggage handling and secure areas to watch for theft. TSA Administrator, Admiral David Stone, says, "In issues of theft, there's a zero-tolerance and we need to make sure that we route that out of our organization because it gets to the very core of who we are and that trust and confidence bond with the American people." Only 66 TSA workers have been arrested out of 60,000 present and past TSA screeners, and for every TSA employee who handles a bag, it's touched by four airline employees. Still, the TSA itself warns travelers to pack valuables, like jewelry and money in carry-on bags.
I have not been on a flight after the Air Traffic Controller strike . . .
Checked bags' claim checks DO have that unique bar code.
If you hand carry Christmas gifts, don't wrap them. A nicely wrapped box with a ribbon is an invitation to a TSA agent to require that you open it to be searched!
I fly ALOT and would never consider "tempting" someone who might look into my luggage...
Yeah... I've had things stolen from my luggage in the past. The airlines refuse to take responsibility for it. Not a comforting thought when these thieves are there to "keep us safe."
Nice picture! Thanks!
My father-in-law recently read that they are considering banning all lighters. I spoke to a stewardess/smoker in the Atlanta airport a few days ago and she said the Columbus airport already does this.
Matches are already a no-no everywhere.
Heh, I've got them in brown paper. Hopefully they'll make it through - my family are such snoops! - but if not, I only spent two bucks on the wrapping.
" Sending cash through the US Mail? NEVER a good idea."
90 year old Grandmother sending $5 to the Great Grandkids..
Same here as well. ONE time I had to deal with that aggrivation of flying post 9/11 and that was more than enough from me. My family now knows, you want to see me, you can come visit, cus we are not stepping on planes anymore.
Its not crashing I worry about, heck I like flying.. its the annoyances in the airports that I wish to avoid.
What about people who files false claims for stuff they never had in the first place.
The girls carry on their rhythmic gymnastics equipment and custom leos (4 of them each year). I carry on the cameras (video & digital).
First level, second level, or third level security checks?
Still not a good idea. $5 is $5. If they can see the cash in the X-ray machine, then the unscrupulous worker will take it. Doesn't Grandma have a checking account?
If inspectors had to scan the tags of bags they search, then the cops could go back and look at the video to see if anything was taken.
Do you think young Arab men should be subjected to additional security checks that elderly infirm non-Arab are not subject to?"
They can do that now. Which is what happened with this guy.
Just DROVE back from a work week in El Paso. At the Border Patrol checkpoint about 20 miles NE of town, the agent wanted details of what was in my luggage and work totes. I told him and he seemed satisfied and didn't do a search. OF COURSE I fit the profile of an illegal alien or terrorist -- blue eyes, fair complexion, graying hair, faded New England accent (sarcasm), however I saw that the van two vehicles in front of me was pulled to be searched.
Going through non-airport security checkpoints INSIDE the US reminds me a little of Cold War days where if you traveled in Eastern Europe you were always had to stop and were asked for identity papers (or so the movies showed).
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