Security Theater
The title of this post is a phrase that was coined by author Bruce Schneier in his 2003 book Beyond Fear, and it pertains to ”ostensible security measures which have little real influence on security whilst being publicly visible and designed to demonstrate to the lesser-informed that countermeasures have been considered.” This term has often been used to describe the efforts put forth by the TSA (Transportation Security Administration), which is a government-run organization created to keep transportation safer in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Anyone who has traveled through an airport both before and after 9/11 will tell you that there are definitely more security hoops to jump shoeless through since the TSA was formed. However, there are many experts on the outside who have openly criticized some of their controversial practices and questioned the group’s effectiveness as a whole. This is a legitimate concern when you stop and consider the way a majority of government employees operate on a daily basis - Have you ever seen a road crew working on the highway? There is always one guy doing actual labor, six guys watching him work, and at least three others taking a siesta in some earth movers.
Well an upcoming documentary titled Please Remove Your Shoes takes an in-depth look at what (if anything) has changed since the TSA took over, and poses the simple question, “Is traveling safer than it was before 9/11?” From the looks of the film’s trailer, the answer is a resounding “Not by a long shot.” It is scheduled for a release some time this year, as long as The Man doesn’t find a way shut it down…
A few tell-tale facts detailing the TSA’s inefficiency:
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During the first 3 months of 2007, the TSA Logistics Center received 8 explosive detection systems units at a cost of about $7 million. As of 2009, all eight units remained in storage at the Logistics Center.
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TSA has not deployed any of the 10 technologies it has created since 2002.
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TSA confiscated 13,709,211 items in 2006 - 11,616,249 were lighters (about 85%).
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According to the Government Accountability Office, TSA inspectors spend 33% of their time inspecting, 8% on incidents, 5% on investigating, 5% on ”outreach”, and 49% of their time on “other” – whatever the hell that is.
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In December of 2009, the TSA leaked a full copy of its 2008 Standard Operating Procedure screening protocol, and other security standards onto the Internet.
