ACLU Against TSA Questioning Suspicious Behavior

Posted on December 29, 2005

Dec. 28, 2005 — Security screeners at 40 major airports across the country will be trained next year to use casual conversation to flush out possible terrorists.

The Transportation Security Administration will first teach screeners what suspicious behaviors to look for in travelers. These can include nervousness, wearing a big coat in the summer or reluctance to make eye contact with law enforcement. Then, the screener will quiz passengers on their travel plans in hopes of spotting possible terrorists.

The security technique, called behavior detection or behavior-pattern recognition, is already in place at several major airports, including those in Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, Miami and Houston. Behavior detection is a common practice among police officers and customs agents, who often engage arriving passengers they suspect in more detailed conversation. But the proposed program that will be put in place at airport security checkpoints nationwide adds a psychological dimension to the screening process.

Boston Logan International Airport began a pilot program for behavior screening in 2002. Shortly after 9/11, the airport brought in an Israeli security specialist who helped train Massachusetts police in behavior screening.

Currently, the TSA screeners do the initial risk assessment and then hand over any suspicious passengers to police for further questioning.Source

Sounds like a great idea to me. How could anyone object? Shifty eyes, sweating bullets, etc. Most people who are not worried about getting caught doing something they shouldn’t be doing don’t act like this. It isn’t random, it isn’t based on skin color, heck it sounds like it goes right in line with the fourth amendment. All of these nervous actions describe what most reasonable people would call “reasonable cause”.

But alas, the ACLU says it will lead to racial profiling.

The American Civil Liberties Union has warned that the screening technique could result in racial profiling.

“This is a code word for targeting brown-skinned males between ages 17 and 45 years. It’s not only racial profiling, it’s ethnic profiling,” said Timothy Sparapani, who oversees privacy rights for the ACLU.

Naccara welcomed the criticism.

“The ACLU is a good check and balance on us. … We welcome the scrutiny. But the essence of our program is based on studying behavioral characteristics rather than physical characteristics,” he said

I don’t understand, are the ACLU saying that only brown-skinned males between the ages 17 and 45 years old are shifty eyed, avoid eye contact, and act nervous when asked simple routine questions? Are these the only people that might wear coats in the middle of summer?

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

» Filed Under ACLU, News, War On Terror

Trackback URL

Comments

2 Responses to “ACLU Against TSA Questioning Suspicious Behavior”

Rand on December 29th, 2005 11:10 am

I’ve been around law enforecment types most of my life. The cops have been doing this for as long as there have been cops. It’s just part of basic police work…common sense, as it were and just no big deal. This bunch of malcontents at the ACLU are simply up to their old tricks. Business as usual.
wordsmith on December 31st, 2005 5:56 pm

This is how the Israelis do it, and with great success. When I was an in-store detective, profiling behavior was the way we caught shoplifters, with great success. It should be so obvious; which is why I’m not surprised that the ACLU is opposed to it.