Aviation securityTSA struggles to balance security, privacy

Published 18 November 2010

Travelers at U.S. airports who refuse to be screened via new full body scanners must undergo an extensive hand search, which include touching of the genital region and breasts; John Pistole, head of TSA, said he understood privacy concerns, but security was paramount; a new poll out on Tuesday suggested that eight out of ten Americans support full body X-ray machines being installed throughout the United States to help security officials check underneath passengers’ clothing; John Tyner, 31, who was thrown out of San Diego International Airport after refusing both a full-body scan and a pat down, faces a $10,000 fine if he is sued by the TSA

New screening techniques raise the ire of the public // Source: thedailybeast.com

The head of the U.S. agency that oversees airport screening has admitted that new pat-down inspections are more invasive than previous techniques. Transportation Security Administration chief John Pistole was testifying to senators amid complaints the checks target sensitive body areas.

Pistole said he understood privacy concerns, but security was paramount. Meanwhile, footage of a man refusing to have his groin patted down at a San Diego airport has gone viral online. Travelers at U.S. airports who refuse to be screened via new full body scanners must undergo an extensive hand search, which include touching of the genital region and breasts.

I’m frankly bothered by the level of these pat-downs. I’ve seen them first-hand in airports in Florida,” Republican Senator George LeMieux said during a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing.

He added: “I wouldn’t want my wife to be touched in the way that these folks are being touched. I wouldn’t want to be touched that way. And I think that we have to be focused on safety, but there’s a balance.”

Pistole admitted it was important to consider both safety and privacy, adding that most travelers would prefer to fly on a plane with others who were properly screened.

I recognize the invasiveness of it. I also recognize that the threat is real. The stakes are high, and we must prevail,” Pistole said.

The BBC reports that while there have been complaints about the new procedure, a new poll out on Tuesday suggested that eight out of ten Americans support full body X-ray machines being installed throughout the United States to help security officials check underneath passengers’ clothing.

More than sixty airports in the United States are already using the scanners.

Video footage of one passenger’s interaction with an airport official this past weekend has already gained close to 700,000 views on the video-hosting website YouTube. “If you touch my junk I am going to have you arrested,” John Tyner, 31, tells a TSA officer in the video. Tyler was thrown out of San Diego International Airport and faces a $10,000 fine if he is sued by the TSA.

Fox News reports that a California district attorney vowed to prosecute any complaints of inappropriate touching by airport security screeners. Steve Wagstaffe, the incoming district attorney in San Mateo County, told FoxNews.com that he would charge screeners with sexual battery for complaints of inappropriate touching with sexual or lewd intent.

If the complaint is simply that a TSA screener went too far with a pat-down, “That’s not a crime,” Wagstaffe said.

It becomes a crime when someone does that touching, reaches under the blouse and fondles breasts,” he said. “That’s a crime under California law.”

If convicted of a misdemeanor, TSA screeners would face up to one year in the county jail; for a felony, which would involve skin-on-skin contact, they would face up to three years in state prison.

Wagstaffe said he has not received a complaint yet and he believes all the attention on airport screening will cause TSA to be more careful.