Scientific Dictatorship

Pat Down or Full Body Scan? Security Gets More Personal at Airports
As TSA Changes Airport Pat-Down Procedure, Some Ask If Security Has Gone Too Far

Next time you pass through security in some airports around the country, you may face a difficult dilemma: Would you rather have a revealing, full body scan or what some are calling an X-rated pat down?

Some passengers opt out of the full-body scan, concerned about the low doses of radiation emitted by the high-tech body scanners that are being put in place in many terminals. The machines also are able to see beneath clothes, creating a photo-realistic picture of the passenger's body.

But for those who refuse the scan, the alternative pat down is about to get equally thorough.

Starting Friday, the TSA is changing its pat-down procedure. TSA officers used to pat down passengers with the backs of their hands, but now they'll use the fronts of their hands to search more than ever before, in some cases touching body parts that once were off limits...

[Full Article]


Pat-Downs May Soon Become Norm At Airports
In Wake Of Cargo Plane Scare, Privacy May Be Shelved A Bit

NEW YORK (CBS 2/WCBS 880) — Friday’s UPS scare is prompting increased security measures at the nation’s airports. That could include newly introduced pat-down procedures.

PHOTOS: Cargo Plane Terror Probe

Traveler Staci Reidinger told CBS 2’s Jay Dow she’s not happy about the Transportation Security Administration’s use of new full-body X-ray scanners. But citing privacy concerns she said it’s better than allowing a security agent put their hands on her.

“It’s not my religion, but there are many religions where a woman should not be touched by someone else other than their husband, and things like that. It’s not appropriate,” Reidinger said.

New, more intrusive full-body pat-downs are now mandatory for anyone who sets off a metal detector, or refuses to walk through the X-ray scanner, which produces revealing images of the naked body.

New, more intrusive full-body pat-downs are now mandatory for anyone who sets off a metal detector, or refuses to walk through the X-ray scanner, which produces revealing images of the naked body...

[Full Article]


TSA's New Pat-Down Technique Unnerves Some
Screeners Can Use Front Of Hands, Sliding Motion

INDIANAPOLIS -- Some Indianapolis travelers are unsure about a new pat-down technique now in effect at airports across the country.The Transportation Security Administration is moving from the screener's traditional backward hand pat to more of a front-of-hand sliding motion, 6News' Renee Jameson reported.

Passengers at Indianapolis International Airport who set off a metal detector or are flagged for additional screening will have the option of the going through new pat down or undergoing a full body scan, airport officials said...

[Full Article]


TSA's new pat-down techniques not popular with LAX travelers

Hugo Perez doesn't like the idea of possibly exposing sensitive areas to a full-body scanner at Los Angeles International Airport.

But the notion of getting frisked by a security screener using his palms, rather than the backs of his hands, irks Perez even more.

"It sounds like they're going to treat us like we're being arrested or something," the Silver Lake resident said before boarding a flight from LAX to celebrate Halloween festivities in San Francisco this weekend.

"I don't want to go through those scanners," he said. "But I really don't want to get felt up by someone before I get on a plane, especially for a short flight."

With the flip of their hands, security screeners on Friday began patting down airline passengers using a flat and open palm in a sliding motion while conducting checks at LAX and airports across the country, the Transportation Security Administration said.

Pat-downs are usually conducted when metal detectors and whole-body imaging scanners detect something suspicious on a passenger, or when a traveler opts out of using the machines.

"TSA is in the process of implementing new pat-down procedures at checkpoints nationwide as one of our many layers of security to keep the traveling public safe," TSA spokesman Nico Melendez said in a written statement...

[Full Article]


RELATED ARTICLES...

Labels: body scanners, pat down, pat-down, patdown, Transportation Security Administration, TSA