Do you get anxious when long security lines at the airport threaten to make you miss your flight?
Do you grumble under your breath when the person ahead of you has to remove five layers of clothing to get through the metal detector?
Does the prospect of being groped or dosed with radiation make you nervous?
If you suffer from any of these symptoms, then you might be singled out by the TSA’s “behavioral indicator officers.”
According to the TSA, there are behavioral detection officers (BDOs) currently deployed in 161 airports around the country.
These specialists are trained to monitor passenger’s behavior, including anxiousness and arrogant behavior.
Passengers should also refrain from seeming cocky or verbally expressing their displeasure with the security process. According to the TSA, these attitudes could be an “involuntary physical and physiological reaction […] in response to a fear of being discovered.”
If a BDO notices these behaviors, then the person might be sent for additional screening like wanding or the infamous modified pat down that made headlines last year.
Terrorism experts have protested that would-be terrorists would be more likely to keep a low profile; however, the TSA countered by saying they have based their program off of studies of would-be hijackers.
The TSA also says it “recognizes that an individual exhibiting some of these behaviors does not automatically mean a person has terrorist or criminal intent.”
With so much anxiety about new more invasive security procedures, BDOs might have their work cut out for them.
Just try to keep the grumbling to yourself until after you get out of the airport.
Related Links on PeterGreenberg.com:
- Travel Safety & Security
- Should Private Screeners Take Over for the TSA?
- Additional TSA Security Measure: Progressive or Oppressive?
- TSA’s Virtual Stripsearches Fuel Privacy Concerns
- Will ‘Improved’ TSA Watch List Make Us Any Safer?
- Air Travel News: Airports & Airlines section
By Adriana Padilla for PeterGreenberg.com
