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TSA officers accused of stealing from passengers

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Re: TSA officers accused of stealing from passengers

#71

Post by Trencin »

tonymet wrote: post #63

Low status, meager pay, moderate authority, high opportunity. Almost a guarantee that the theft rate is very high. Public awareness of this theft would be very damaging so there’s also a great pressure to cover it up. I’m guessing 75% of actual theft is marked as a “legitimate banned item”. I’ve had TSA agents claim high value items were not allowed so they could be stolen ( the encounter was outside the main securit…

I don't think it is fair to tarnish the reputation of all airport professionals across the world like that.

Re: TSA officers accused of stealing from passengers

#72

Post by Const-me »

a_bonobo wrote: post #70
tonymet wrote: post #63

Low status, meager pay, moderate authority, high opportunity. Almost a guarantee that the theft rate is very high. Public awareness of this theft would be very damaging so there’s also a great pressure to cover it up. I’m guessing 75% of actual theft is marked as a “legitimate banned item”. I’ve had TSA agents claim high value items were not allowed so they could be stolen ( the encounter was outside the main securit…

>Low status, meager pay, moderate authority, high opportunity. But isn't that the same for other countries' airport security workers too?

In Europe, income is generally more evenly distributed across various skills, professions, and sectors of the economy.

IMO this makes society here much more pleasant. Personally, I wouldn’t be comfortable living in a society where people who grow, prepare, or serve food, educate children, or maintain the cleanliness of streets are on the brink of survival. Even ignoring empathy which is subjective, unhappy people rarely do a great job. The original article is a good example.

Re: TSA officers accused of stealing from passengers

#73

Post by citrin_ru »

tim_sw wrote: post #13

This is more common than reported. I’ve lost a semi expensive present, and have heard anecdotal stories of people losing handbags, jewelry, higher end clothing/shoes. It seems to be more prevalent in the US/TSA than other first world countries.

Most other countries don’t have such powerful agency behind airport security. I don’t see a politician who would dare to limit TSA powers or even put some pressure. BTW I myself had ~$50 item in luggage missing (and TSA card left) but was busy at the time and haven’t reported (also I had no hope to have the item recovered).

Re: TSA officers accused of stealing from passengers

#74

Post by fragmede »

fortran77 wrote: post #35

I used to maintain a blog of arrests of TSA officers and baggage handlers. At its peak, there were on average 2 arrests/week for stealing from passengers. It’s actually gotten better (less theft) over the past few years. I no longer keep the blog, but it’s down to about 1 a month. I think the TSA has made us less safe. If there are so many people desperate for money, what’s stopping them from accepting a payment to g…

Why'd you stop? what were your sources? could it be automated?

Re: TSA officers accused of stealing from passengers

#75

Post by timothevs »

tim_sw wrote: post #13

This is more common than reported. I’ve lost a semi expensive present, and have heard anecdotal stories of people losing handbags, jewelry, higher end clothing/shoes. It seems to be more prevalent in the US/TSA than other first world countries.

Well FWIW, I had a Fitbit stolen at Heathrow (UK) in a similar manner, back when Fitbits were still novel.

Re: TSA officers accused of stealing from passengers

#76

Post by Eumenes »

Has anyone noticed that TSA employees are overwhelmingly obese? Recently flew out of JFK and I was beyond shocked that every.single.employee appeared to be over 300 pounds. They also scream at you, are indifferent to helping, etc. You can say the same thing about the DMV staff. I have not noticed this phenomenon in other countries. The federal government sure knows how to hire winners.

Re: TSA officers accused of stealing from passengers

#77

Post by thefurdrake »

Trencin wrote: post #71
tonymet wrote: post #63

Low status, meager pay, moderate authority, high opportunity. Almost a guarantee that the theft rate is very high. Public awareness of this theft would be very damaging so there’s also a great pressure to cover it up. I’m guessing 75% of actual theft is marked as a “legitimate banned item”. I’ve had TSA agents claim high value items were not allowed so they could be stolen ( the encounter was outside the main securit…

I don't think it is fair to tarnish the reputation of all airport professionals across the world like that.

He didn't.

He was referring to the entirety of the TSA.

And they're not professionals, they're unskilled labor with extra steps.

I'd feel more inclined to empathy if TSA didn't turn every airport adventure into a souless anxiety spree for the sake of regularly failing to catch dangerous items brought onto aircraft.

Re: TSA officers accused of stealing from passengers

#78

Post by thefurdrake »

civilitty wrote: post #43
supportengineer wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What’s their failure rate for detecting liquids over 3 oz?

50:50 maybe. I made it through with a 10oz can of Zippo lighter fluid once. Didn’t realize it till I got home from the airport.

I accidentally brought a full-sized 4th of July smokebomb through TSA and didn't realize it until I unpacked after I got home.

I'm not talking one of those small, spherical smokebombs. No, this was one of those 5" long, 1" diameter sticks, and it was by itself in a pocket of my netbook bag, which didn't have room for much else, so it's not like the xray image would have been confusing.

Seems like tons of other people have had similar experiences.

TSA's impact on safety is largely imagination and wishful thinking.

Re: TSA officers accused of stealing from passengers

#79

Post by llamaInSouth »

bagels wrote: post #68
screamingninja wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> TSA has caught 0 terrorists Where do you get these statistics? Is it a fact or a personal opinion?

Certainly the TSA would have really ramped up the PR about how useful they are if they had some evidence?

Actually, airport employees are told not to talk about incidents that happen... probably the same with TSA

Re: TSA officers accused of stealing from passengers

#80

Post by tonymet »

bagels wrote: post #67
tonymet wrote: post #63

Low status, meager pay, moderate authority, high opportunity. Almost a guarantee that the theft rate is very high. Public awareness of this theft would be very damaging so there’s also a great pressure to cover it up. I’m guessing 75% of actual theft is marked as a “legitimate banned item”. I’ve had TSA agents claim high value items were not allowed so they could be stolen ( the encounter was outside the main securit…

What kind of item?

expensive cologne
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