Loss of Privacy

Yesterday I read an article from Mother Jones that was linked from reddit. The article is about how the government is now conducting VIPR searches of cars, subways, trains, buses, and ferries. This is nothing new, but the TSA appears to be stepping up these checks and I have written of them before.

The important part, for me, was an account given by a redditor of what one of these checks is like and just how farcical the TSA, Homeland Security, and protecting us from terrorism really is.

I was actually at the Tampa Greyhound station mentioned when the TSA were there. It was the most farcical affair I have seen. We had just arrived, and had a connecting bus on to Orlando.

A border control officer came on board and asked everyone individually where they were born. If anyone mentioned a US city/state, he walked on by. If anyone mentioned a foreign country, he then asked for papers. Even with my bad fake US accent, I’m sure I could have just said ‘Tellerhessy’, and he’d have passed me by (thankfully I had my passport and work-visa to hand).

Secondly, we were then instructed to take our bags from the side of the bus, leave the bus station, and then go back in through the front entrance (where the TSA had set up a makeshift checkpoint).

Hypothetically, if I were to be carrying something shifty and/or dangerous in my bag… WHY WOULD I GO BACK IN??

Oh… and while I was in the line watching each person’s 4th Amendment Rights being violated in an slow and orderly fashion, someone was allowed to quickly visit the restroom on the other side of the checkpoint!

‘Theatrical Security Administration’ pretty much sums them up.

Let’s go through this account slowly. First, everyone was asked where they were from. US citizens automatically got a pass. This is no way to conduct a search. Anyone who can do a proper American accent can fake where they were born and, thus, bypass security at this point.

If someone mentioned they were born in a foreign country, they were asked for papers. This can, and probably will, get people into a lot of trouble. If you were born in another country but are now a legal US citizen, you are supposed to be able to be free to move about the country without carrying your identity papers. Most likely, someone in this situation would only have a driver’s license on them, which would not be sufficient for the TSA. The person would then be harassed and likely threatened because they couldn’t immediately produce paperwork proving their citizenship.

What is the point of making those pulled out for screening to leave the actual bus station? If you were planning on something nefarious, why would you then return? This is not security. This is for show only.

Also, you are legally allowed to take your pocket knife on a bus, wear it on a subway, etc., but not on a plane. What happens when this makeshift security checkpoint finds the knife?

Allowing someone to use the restroom on the other side of the checkpoint and then return to be screened is just idiotic. Anyone who witnessed this should know that this is pure security theater and isn’t meant to protect anyone or secure anything.

What is it going to take for more people to see what is happening and start fighting back?

Between 2006 and 2008, Customs and Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers lost 243 weapons [http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/18/government.guns/index.html?hpt=T2] belonging to Homeland Security. Most of the cases involve carelessness on the part of the officers, leading to criminals to owning the weapons.

In all, 243 firearms were lost in both agencies during that period, according to the January report from Inspector General Richard Skinner. Of those, 36 were lost because of circumstances beyond officers’ control — for instance, ICE lost a firearm during an assault on an officer. Another 28 were lost even though officers had stored them in lockboxes or safes.

But 74 percent, or 179 guns, were lost “because officers did not properly secure them,” the report said.

The inspector general cited several examples of “inappropriate practices.” A customs officer, for instance, left a firearm in an idling vehicle in the parking lot of a convenience store. The vehicle was stolen while the officer was inside. “A local law enforcement officer later recovered the firearm from a suspected gang member and drug smuggler,” the report said.

Read that carefully. The vehicle was stolen while the officer was inside. These are the people that are supposed to be protecting us.

In addition, an ICE officer left an M-4 rifle and a shotgun unsecured in a closet at his home. Both weapons were stolen in a burglary and later recovered from a felon, according to the report. Another officer left his firearm in the restroom of a fast-food restaurant, and it was gone when he returned.

“Other CBP and ICE officers left firearms in places such as a fast food restaurant parking lot, a bowling alley and a clothing store,” the report said.

Of the 179 lost because of laxity, 120 were reported stolen and 59 as lost, the report said. That resulted from the agencies’ lack of guidance on a standard method for classifying and reporting lost firearms, as well as “a common perception among officers that reporting a stolen firearm was more acceptable than reporting a lost firearm.

There are two groups at fault in the loss of weapons. The officer is guilty for not taking due care to secure his/her weapon and DHS is guilty for not having set guidelines and standards for taking due care to secure weapons.

“Although CBP and ICE reported 120 firearms as stolen, our analysis showed that these firearms were lost (stolen) because officers left the firearms unsecured,” according to the report. “All 179 losses may have been prevented had the officers properly secured their firearms.”

DHS has 188,500 in listed in its possession. Losing 179 represents a 0.09% loss of weapons. While it’s a small number compared to the total, the lack of personal responsibility is still appalling. These officers are entrusted with weapons and should have taken more care to see that they were secured at all times.