Airport Safety TSA Doing Their Job or Going Too Far

Airport Safety

Has TSA Gone Too Far?

Transportation Security Administration is one of the most important functions of national security plans as it acts as frontline which any threat to national security might face. After 9/11, this security tool has been criticized greatly for its ineffectiveness. Authorities have been devising strategies of enhancing its productivity and have been equipping it with various tools of detecting and preventing acts of terrorism. One of the recent strategies adopted by TSA is full body scanning of passengers travelling through airlines, by security officials. This particular measure has been criticized heavily by public as well as mass media as it is accused of hampering personal liberty in the name of security checks. Considering the opinions of general public and the outcomes of this practice, it is an established fact that the effectiveness of this security strategy is outweighed by the harm that it has done.

Where airport security has been handed over to officials who are assigned the task of performing physical checking. This physical checking involves thorough touching which includes touching private areas as well. A recent event gained a lot of attention where a three-year-old toddler had to undergo security scanning by one of TSA guards. Where it traumatizes the passengers, many find strangers touching them unnecessarily, rather unpleasant. Since America and other countries in western world, show a rich cultural diversity; many cultures inhibited in U.S. do not approve this unnecessary touching by strangers (Wensveen, 2011).

If this situation can be analyzed in the specific frame of female passengers; in most cultures, women feel uncomfortable being touch by strangers. Other than social values, it is even prohibited in few religions. If we go into further depth, the act may re-traumatize the victim of sexual assault or abuse.

Furthermore, we can assert on the fact that there are other ways of enhancing protection measures rather than patting passenger's bodies. Furthermore, at the panel of U.S. aviation services, there is a list of 21000 individuals who are on exit control list. Now, these individuals are considered to be dangerous enough that they are prohibited to use airlines but are simultaneously considered so harmless that are not being arrested. The bottom line out of this argument is that we are focusing unnecessarily on just aviation services rather than addressing the broader threats which are all around us.

On the other hand, it has been noticed that various government officials who are part of devising strategies for combating air threats have stakes in the companies who produce expensive full-body scanners and other expensive equipments. For example, former secretary of homeland security, Michael Chertoff, lobbies for one of the companies that make them. In addition to it, it has been observed that aviation security guards are also acting in a certain manner which results in creating a wave of panic in passengers. Confiscating passengers harmless belongings e.g. Confiscating a plastic flash light in Dallas and a purse with an embroidered gun on it in Norfolk, VA), are few such instances supporting this claim (Stancombe, 2011).

Where after 9/11, public's trust on national security agencies has been hampered greatly. American and British society have suffered greatly because of this mistrust and even eleven years later, Asian and African passengers have to go through strict security checks while landing on airports in U.S. And Britain. Society has also sustained heavy repercussion of this incident where U.S. And British citizens find it difficult to trust people from different ethnicity and race. In a situation like this, such strict and rather objectionable security measures may create further disturbance as they are already accused of acting in the best interest of government officials only.

After 9/11, the biggest harm that western world has sustained is loss of trust in institutions and everyone around us. In addition to it, now if the liberty of public will be hampered, the whole social structure might collapse. Trust is the very essence of a society which is the reason why open-government laws have significant importance, as they reflect transparency. Due to the secrecy of aviation security authorities, public finds it difficult to believe that these measures are taken in their best interest (Muller and Stewart, 2011).

Along with these social concerns, let's not forget the harmful effects of the scanners used. These scanners are said to have a rate of radiation which can lead to various forms of cancer. Every year, millions of passengers are subjected to this risk; even TSA guards are not safe as they are operators of these machines. And those who disagree of getting essential nude images of their bodies from these scanners have to go through enhanced 'pat-down' which is a sign of dehumanization and privacy violation. In addition to this, the remarks of the TSA security guards as they pat down their passengers during examination, are equally disturbing (Brown, 2011).

In 2004, the average extra waiting time due to TSA procedures was 19.5 minutes per person. That's a total economic loss -- in America -- of $10 billion per year, more than the TSA's entire budget. The increased automobile deaths due to people deciding to drive instead of fly are 500 per year. Both of these numbers are for America only, and by themselves demonstrate that post-9/11 airport security has done more harm than good (Keefer, Loayza, 2008). Statistics are enough to prove that total costs incurred by the new measures taken by TSA are way above the benefits that it has offered. And with passing time, this deficit is going to increase greatly.

Today, general public views current TSA policies as source of liberty loss where airports have turned into jungles where TSA security guards have been given optimum liberty of harassing passengers. Passengers have limited options of denying the search and they are always at the risk of losing their valuables; they cannot make a remark or use clothing which as per TSA regulation is inappropriate. Situation is worse for those who are on no fly list for the reason that they become part of Kafkaesque world. Here, they cannot be heard or seen; therefore they cannot complain to anybody and defend themselves.

Over all, it has been a general public opinion that strategies adopted by TSA have been doing more harm than good. Increased fear in public is making citizens mistrust the institutions as well as aviation service providers. Besides that, the effect of this increased fear is physical as well emotional. Where regular citizens are deprived of their basic rights such as privacy and respect for dignity, and are constantly made to believe that their lives are at the mercy of terrorists, society is scared, not from terrorists but from our protectors.