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TSA Scanners Repeatedly Fail To Detect Handguns In Testing
Scanners do nothing to increase security as operators are too busy groping people
Steve Watson
Prisonplanet.com
Feb 22, 2011
The TSA’s naked body scanners have once again failed to detect a concealed handgun that was taken through security lines at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport multiple times in covert tests.
A female TSA worker had concealed a pistol in her bra as she walked through the radiation firing body scanners, yet no agents stopped her even once despite walking the gun through “many times” in tests last weekend, according to reports.
The information was leaked to NBC News by a TSA insider
“In this case, where they had a test, and it was just a dismal failure as I’m told,” said Larry Wansley, former head of security at American Airlines. “As I’ve heard (it), you got a problem, especially with a fire arm.”
None of the TSA agents who failed to spot the gun on the scanned image were disciplined, according to the TSA source. In fact they continue to operate the machines and have not even been placed on other duties or been scheduled to take further training.
The TSA would not directly address the claims, and instead issued the following statement:
“Our security officers are one of the most heavily tested federal workforces in the nation. We regularly test our officers in a variety of ways to ensure the effectiveness of our technology, security measures and the overall layered system. For security reasons, we do not publicize or comment on the results of covert tests, however advanced imaging technology is an effective tool to detect both metallic and nonmetallic items hidden on passengers.”
In this instance it is clear that if the undercover agent had been directed through the standard metal detector it would have detected the gun and set off an alarm, yet instead she was able to waltz through the body scanner, albeit having had ionizing radiation bounced off the soft tissue under the skin, as no one bothered to check the results.
