Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Random Searches

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Going through security last week, something set off the alarm (2 or 3 coints) so they did the wand thing on me including the stupid idiotic check of shoes. Okay, I accept that. Then one of my bags didn't pass their muster because of a stapler so they searched it. Okay. Now I get to the gate and want to get on the plane to make sure those jerks who bring baggage that should be checked on board take up all the overhead space so that I am forced to keep my stuff on the floor. I am pulled out of line for one of those moronic quasi illegal random searches. Why can't they at security put a tag on me whatever so I don't have to go through this twice. Don't give me the bs that something could happen between security and the boarding gate. Does anybody actually think these random searches, which are illegal anyway, do any good? No wonder people do't want to fly.

Your idea of some kind of a tag to indicate that you already have been 'wanded' and had your carry on bag opened by the TSA's is an interesting idea. The TSA's checking your shoes is not quite'idiotic' because many shoes have a steel shank in them and that is the reason that gets people 'wanded' in the first place.

I agree with you about how ridiculous the security and procedure currently are. The searches aren't illegal however. You have consented to them through your purchase of a ticket and your agreement to have your stuff searched. You may refuse and leave with your belongings. You just can't fly. This is a condition of air travel not a violation of your rights.

Random searches are supposed to be just that - random. No exemptions. Keep in mind how many different tricks that drug carriers have used - persuading, conning, or seducing the gullible (esp. young women from the first world), hiding things in diapers, fake "stomachs" and so on (not to mention body orfices - of course, it's harder to hide a weapon in there...). If dealers can do it, so can terrorists. This means you can't assume anyone is in the clear - not the 5-year-old, not the old lady in the wheelchair, not me or you. If you were searched at the gate, then an accomplice could pass something to you before boarding - your "already searched" tag is a bad idea. The uncertainty of the random searches is one more tool to discourage terrorists and to prevent attempts. The more possible the search, the more likely being caught, the less likely someone will try something. The only valid gripe is - how truly random are the searches? People of East Indian descent have complained - not really. (Quelle surprise!) On the other hand, you complain, friends of mine (blond) have complained, and others have complained about searching 80-year-old ladies in wheelchairs. Thus, random searches are doing what they were intended to do, much as you and I dislike them. Keep in mind, the terrorists made a few "dry runs" (and had a good time in Las Vegas) to see what sort of problems they would run into. What if they had hit random searches like this? Hmmm...

You don't actually think these random searches do any good...do you. I mean if the security is as good as they claim, how can anybody slip anything to anybody after they have cleared the original check point? Remember, the animals who pulled the 11/09 thing went through security and everything they carried was cleared....of course if the imbecilic pilots had not opened the cockpit doors to allow them access, nothing would have happened but that is I guess a simplistic answer....I mean that has always been the policy on El Al and you know and I know this never would have happened with El Al. But then again, with the people currently in power, civil liberties that we fought very hard to provide the citizens of our country mean very little. They hold people on mere suspicion, they have deetained hundreds of people illegally and now gleefully they want the power to look into your baggage. And most of us accept this as if any of this will do the slightest bit of good when there are sub humans out there who could care less about human life.....

Much of the hubbub with security and searching is simply a knee-jerk reaction to events. We always tend to overreact whenever anything bad happens. However, it does seem to be working somewhat. After all, how many serious highjackings and terroristic events have there been in the last year. Now, rather than spending all this effort and money on what may be a minimal threat which may cost only a few thousand lives a year, why aren't we spening more money to save upwards of 50,000 people a year who die on our highways. Look at it this way: people get all hot and bothered about the searches, security, uncertainty and fear with a one hour flight, yet they will drive 10,000 miles a year (maybe 200 hours worth) without thinking that they are taking a much higher risk.

Jimbo, I think I know what you trying to say. However, your statement that "rather than spending all this effort and money on what may be a minimal threat which may cost only a few thousand lives a year....." seems very cruel especially to those who lost a family member or a friend at WTC on September 11th, 2001. Have a heart

"All the trrorists went through security..." Yes, but nobody was looking for and confiscating box-cutters; the blades for those (which can be kept separate from the plastic handle) just look like a flat piece of metal. Drug smegglers know as many tricks as terrorists - there are just more of them, and airport security isn't looking for what they carry. Most do not get caught, but the customs searches do pick off a few. Better than nothing. I'm from Canada, where we have no civil liberties anyway unless the government is in a good mood. I am bemused as the Bush administration chips away at your rights with less than a peep; however, when it comes to issues like holding "suspects" in Guantanamo, I'm not sure what else you can do. Guys like Moussaoui (?) are so obviously terrorists, but try making a case that stands up to American justice standards... The problem with the hijackings on 9/11 is a bigger one. For decades, the rule with hijacks was - "cooperate, do as they say, eventually you'll land and everyone will be negotiated to freedom." Suddenly, these guys were playing by different rules. Now, nobody will open the cockpit doors, even if the passengers are being killed. A pilot can give a plane a few good bounces, and anyone not strapped in will have a broken neck. It's a different set of rules now... I think some of the search criteria are too stringent, but I would rather that than too lax. So far, I haven't travelled much before or after 9/11, but I don't see the security any slower than it was before. The security people just know their job means more now than it seemed to before. Canada had something similar about 15 years ago. Sihk extremists planted a bomb on each of an eastbound and westbound Air India flights. The westbound one, the luggage went off while being transferred, killing a Japanese baggage handler in Tokyo; the eastbound plane blew up over the Irish sea. (One theory -terrorists who couldn't tell time. Maybe they wanted to blow up two Air India planes simultaneously on the tarmac half a world apart. They miscalculated the Tokyo time zone and the bomb was an hour early. The plane to London was late, and hadn't landed yet.) What did the security peeople learn from this? They found that the explosive detector HAD gone off with the bag transferring in Toronto; but nobody really understood how to use it. They retested the bag and got a negative reading. (Nobody told the operators you had to push on the bag to expell air for the sampler). Also, 2 pieces of luggage went flying without the passenger accompanying them. Training, and following through on procedures - 2 things that could have saved 380 lives. Still relveant today... I hope the US government taking over airport security reinforces these lessons; but it's not who you work for, it's how you do your job.

To the original poster groaning about security.....well, if you don't like it then take the bus. It is done for your safety so stop acting like a two year old and grow up. There needs to be more security, and random is exactly what it means. Also, if you look a little shifty, or fit a profile, you'll get checked. So stop acting like a baby! Sincerely, Happy with the security!

Let me make it clear...I have nothing against enhanced security if indeed it is. Let them search me all they want at the security points..I understand it is for my safety. It's the imbecilic so called random search that has nothing to do with security that hasn't caught a single person...security at the check points, if it is as good as it should be, means these stupid random searches are totally unnecessary. They are pure unadulterated bs; especially if you were thoroughly checked once. Just like those stupid security questions they used to ask when checking luggage...they are a knee jerk reaction to try to make the public think they are doing something.

Interesting that all of the comments made about security or lack thereof are made by people who know absolutely NOTHING about the subject. Guys, you are in the real world now, this is not a fairy tale any more. You cannot have it both ways. I take 150 trips plus per year. I never mind the security waits or procedures. Yes, it can be very inconvenient yet what is the alternative? It has been my experience that the people who travel the most and are inconvenienced most often are the ones that complain the least. Grow up and smell the coffee.

I'll reinforce what I said. Training and procedures. All the equipment in the world is useless if you don't know how to use it. Before 9-11, security was a minimum-wage lip service. Now they claim they're serious. Then you need to hire people who understand what they're doing, and show them how the hi-tech toys work. We'll see... Hopefully every time some bozo falls asleep at the Xray machine and delays the whole airport for 3 hours, he's fired. It's one thing to have procedures, it's another thing to follow them. How often before 9-11 did your baggage fly without you? Every misdirected piece of luggage did; even every late bag technically did.