Although millions of people travel by plane nationally or internationally, and those same millions of people go through security checkpoints before boarding, only three percent of travelers are subjected to pat-downs.
Pat-downs are necessary when the alarm at a checkpoint is triggered by way of metal detectors or Advanced Imaging Technology units. In these cases, security needs to make sure there aren’t any dangerous or prohibited items being carried by the person. Pat-downs are also conducted if a person refuses to go through AIT screening. According to the Transportation Security Administration, website since “pat-downs are specifically used to resolve alarms and prevent dangerous items from going on a plane, the vast majority of passengers will not receive a pat-down at the checkpoint.” Despite their minimal occurrence, pat-downs are still a controversial issue because well, they does exist — even if the occur in a relatively low rate.
Pat-downs are a clear invasion of privacy but people do have rights during the check. The person has the right to have the pat-down conducted in a private room and the person has the option to choose who they want to be as the witness for the pat-down. Also, all pat-downs are conduced by officers of the same gender as the person. However, these simple precautions in no way compensate for the intensive pat-downs that “allows security officers of the same sex to touch sensitive areas of a passenger’s body.”
In a new statement released at the end of October, the TSA said that they are in “the process of implementing new pat-down procedures at checkpoints nationwide as one of [thier] many layers of security to keep the traveling public safe.”
“Pat-downs are one important tool to help TSA detect hidden and dangerous items such as explosives. Passengers should continue to expect an unpredictable mix of security layers that include explosives trace detection, advanced imaging technology, canine teams, among others.”
Another way that privacy is undermined and compromised at airports is through the usage of full-body screening, or ‘nudity scanners.’ Currently, there are 400 full-body scanning machines at 69 airports nationwide, according to TSA.
USA Today reported in January, when the full-body screening was first introduced at 19 airports, “the machines, used in 19 airports, create vivid images of travelers under their clothes to reveal plastics and powders to screeners observing monitors in a closed room.”
Although most would prefer a pat-down to a full-body screening, both are equally offensive. In an evaluation done by a member of British Parliament he found that the technology of the scanner would not have been able to even detect the chemical powder PETN that was found on a bomber who attempted to blow up a U.S. airline last year on Christmas. Basically, there is no proof that the scanners are effective or reliable.
Because of their unreliability, both measures could be considered unconstitutional, but have yet to been looked at by the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2007, The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled that “a particular airport security screening search is constitutionally reasonable provided that it is no more extensive nor intensive than necessary, in the light of current technology, to detect the presence of weapons or explosives.”
The usage of machines and pat-downs are unreasonable. Although safety is a primary concern, especially at airports, privacy is still a monumental right as well. All right as well.
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