How the TSA spots terrorists
“Excessive throat clearing,” “widely open staring eyes” and “exaggerating yawning” all might be signs that an airplane passenger is secretly a terrorist, according to the Transportation Safety Administration.
A confidential agency checklist obtained and pubished by the Intercept on Friday shows what airport security agents use to judge that someone might have malicious intentions, as part of the TSA’s Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques (SPOT) program.
{mosads}The checklist, which is used by trained officers, helps to detect potential threats mingling among crowds in an airport.
It assigns one point for a series of “stress” factors, such as “sweaty palms,” “obvious ‘Adam’s Apple’ jump” when asked to be screened and arriving late for a flight.
Two points are given for “fear” factors, such as a “cold penetrating stare” or “bulges in clothing.”
Three points are assigned for “deception” factors such as appearing to be in disguise or asking questions about security.
Two points are taken off for being a member of a family or being in a married couple over 55 years of age. Another point is deducted for women over 55 or men over 65 years old.
Agents add that all up and are supposed to refer for screening anyong with more than four points. Travelers with more than six points are also supposed to be reported to a law enforcement officer.
The SPOT program was created in 2007 but has frequently come under fire from critics who say that it is ineffective and may allow for racial profiling.
In 2013, a Government Accountability Office report found that “available evidence does not support whether behavior indicators” such as those used in the SPOT program “can be used to identify persons who may pose a risk to aviation security.”
Earlier this month, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act to demand documents about the TSA’s SPOT program, which it said likely “wastes taxpayer money, leads to racial profiling, and should be scrapped.”
In a statement shared with The Hill, the TSA defended its use of the program and said that it does not merely look for people who appear nervous or agitated.
“Terrorists have used a variety of items and ways to attempt to inflict harm to aircraft — everything from shoes to liquids — but consistent across all methods of attack is the malicious intent of the actor,” spokesman Ross Feinstein said.
“Looking for suspicious behavior is a common sense approach used by law enforcement and security personnel across the country and the world, that focuses on those behavioral indicators, rather than items, and when used in combination with other security layers helps mitigate a variety of threats.”
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