Here’s TSA’s secretive list of suspicious behaviors

[charminglife]

Here's a direct link to the leaked document - Take a look at section 4 (Signs of Deception) - Excessive complaints about the screening process.  I guess that's one way to stop people from complaining about the TSA - claim that their complaints are a sign of terrorism.

www.documentcloud.org/documents/1697887-spot-referral.html#document/p1



Here’s TSA’s secretive list of suspicious behaviors

Airport screeners look for passengers with “face pale from recent shaving of beard” and other common traits to spot potential terrorists through the Transportation Security Administration’s controversial behavior-detection program.



That’s according to the tightly held list of criteria that agents use to select passengers for additional screening methods, including pat-downs, questions and investigations by law-enforcement personnel.



The Intercept published the document last week after obtaining it from an anonymous source who was “concerned about the quality of the program,” according to an article from the online news organization.


The appearance of the list came one day after the American Civil Liberties Union sued TSA for details of the behavior-detection program, known as Screening Passengers by Observation Techniques. TSA has never explained what types of behaviors raise flags, but critics suspect that the program leads to racial and ethnic profiling.


The leaked document shows that TSA assigns values for various types of behaviors, with four or more points counting as cause for additional screening and six or more points being grounds for law-enforcement referrals.
Signs of stress earn travelers one point apiece, while signs of fear earn two and deception earns three. Many of the characteristics are common enough to cause paralyzing self-consciousness for the average traveler.
 Arriving late or whistling as you approach a screening area can both earn you a point. Repetitive grooming gestures and tightly gripping a bag can earn you two points apiece, while appearing confused or disoriented can earn three points.


Under the criteria, additional screening could be required for a passenger who arrives with little time to spare and appears puzzled about where to find his gate. At that point, the traveler would only need to run his fingers through his hair a few times to warrant a law-enforcement referral.



Hugh Handeyside, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s National Security Project, said Monday that the checklist “drives home the absurdity” of the behavior-detection program.
 “Airports are rich environments for the kind of stress, exhaustion, or confusion that the TSA apparently finds suspicious, and research has long made clear that trying to judge people’s intentions based on supposed indicators as subjective or commonplace as these just doesn’t work,” Handeyside said in a statement.



TSA defended the program in a statement on Tuesday, stressing that no one single behavior alone will cause a traveler to be referred to additional screening or result in a call to a law-enforcement officer.
 “Behavior detection, which is just one element of the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) efforts to mitigate threats against the traveling public, is vital to TSA’s layered approach to deter, detect and disrupt individuals who pose a threat to aviation,” the agency said.



The ACLU lawsuit asks a U.S. district court to order the release of documents about the program that the group requested through the Freedom of Information Act in October. More than five months after the initial inquiry, TSA has only issued a denial for expedited processing of the inquiry.
 The ACLU said it does not plan to drop its lawsuit because of the leak.



The Government Accountability Office questioned the usefulness of behavioral detection techniques in a 2014 report, saying it found no solid evidence that they are effective. The independent watchdog agency recommended that Congress limit funding for the program.
 Former TSA Administrator John Pistole defended the practices that year, testifying at a congressional hearing that the methods are critical to aviation security. He said they help identify intent rather than just prohibited items.

www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2015/03/31/heres-tsas-secretive-list-of-suspicious-behaviors/?tid=hpModule_308f7142-9199-11e2-bdea-e32ad90da239

[omgzombies]

I'm surprised flat affect isn't listed. That's the first thing I think of when screening for trouble. Someone who is on a mission isn't going to be worried about whether they can get checked in and where they can grab a coffee before their flight. They're going to be focused and collected. At least this is what the movies tell me.

[niemand88f]

Mar 31, 2015 10:51:35 GMT -5 charminglife said:

Signs of stress earn travelers one point apiece, while signs of fear earn two and deception earns three. Many of the characteristics are common enough to cause paralyzing self-consciousness for the average traveler.
 Arriving late or whistling as you approach a screening area can both earn you a point. Repetitive grooming gestures and tightly gripping a bag can earn you two points apiece, while appearing confused or disoriented can earn three points.

Under the criteria, additional screening could be required for a passenger who arrives with little time to spare and appears puzzled about where to find his gate. At that point, the traveler would only need to run his fingers through his hair a few times to warrant a law-enforcement referral.

So everyone gets one point by default.... and if you're late & unfamiliar with the airport you're probably going to miss your flight by getting extra screening. This list seems super helpful. :^)

[erbear]

"arrogance, a cold penetrating stare, and a rigid posture" are just my resting bitch face. Uh oh.

[shell403b]

That's got to be one of the weirdest things I've ever read. "Signs of stress earn travelers one point apiece, while signs of fear earn two and deception earns three"--what the hell does that even mean?

Stupid. Just stupid.

[Deleted]

This is where I tell my favorite TSA story ever.

In 2004 or 2005 I flew out to visit my sister at school in Indiana. So I was travelling alone with a one way ticket because we were going to drive her car home for winter break. I have a red line on my ticket as I approach the security check so I'm sure I was already flagged for extra screening.

I go through the scan and take my laptop out of the bag and put it in its own little bin like I'm supposed to. The person doing the scan gets REALLY SERIOUS as my laptop bag passes through the bag check. This is around the time that the metal detector goes off. I don't even remember what caused it. I think it was my watch or something I'd forgotten to take off while I was wrestling my giant laptop in to a bin. So of course I get pulled aside for questioning.

The woman working the baggage scan pulls my thumb drive out of my laptop bag. It was the early 2000s so it was one of those clear plastic ones where you could see the chip and inner workings. She starts questioning me about it.
"What is this?"
"It's a flash drive."
"What's that?"
"It's uh, like a floppy disk. It stores computer files."
"It looks like a bomb."
"I mean... maybe? I don't know what a bomb looks like."

So she gives me the stink eye to end all stink eyes and "lets me go". The entire time my mind is screaming PLEASE DON'T ARREST ME IT'S JUST MY HOMEWORK. And from that day on I do not mess with TSA screening. I was convinced I was about to be detained.

[meshaliuknits]

So my death grip on my work computer because I'm terrified that I will lose it can get me strip searched. Good to know.

[miniroller]

Mar 31, 2015 11:20:11 GMT -5 shell403b said:

That's got to be one of the weirdest things I've ever read. "Signs of stress earn travelers one point apiece, while signs of fear earn two and deception earns three"--what the hell does that even mean?

Stupid. Just stupid.

Well. It IS the TSA...
ETA: However, I should add that I do have some sympathy for working with people who are traveling. I have been been behind people who don't remove their shoes, empty their pockets, did NOTHING to prepare for the screening! Until they were ready to be scanned, & the TSA worker had to give them step-by-step instructions. Instructions that were posted on multiple signs & Everybody else was following. (& they spoke English)
My point is- working with disgruntled idiots all day every day is sure to wear on you.

[LoveTrains]

I thought it was interesting that I got waved into the pre-check line at SEA-TAC last week. I am a smiley person in general and I smiled wide at the TSA officer as I was approaching the security area. And I got waved into pre-check without him even looking at my boarding pass.

[cville]

You know whose list of suspicions behaviors I want to see? Ben Gurion's. Then I want to cross-check it against the TSA's. Then I can decide how bad the TSA's list is.

[zoegirltx]

Mar 31, 2015 11:27:32 GMT -5 LoveTrains said:

I thought it was interesting that I got waved into the pre-check line at SEA-TAC last week. I am a smiley person in general and I smiled wide at the TSA officer as I was approaching the security area. And I got waved into pre-check without him even looking at my boarding pass.

no!! they are doing a "trial" of Pre-check at some airport where it merges with those who don't actually have pre-check & it's so annoying!  Most of those that get put into the line aren't familiar with how it's different & don'Previewt read the signs, so they are still taking off shoes, taking out laptops, and generally slowing down the whole line

[LoveTrains]

Mar 31, 2015 13:31:23 GMT -5 zoegirltx said:

Mar 31, 2015 11:27:32 GMT -5 LoveTrains said:

I thought it was interesting that I got waved into the pre-check line at SEA-TAC last week. I am a smiley person in general and I smiled wide at the TSA officer as I was approaching the security area. And I got waved into pre-check without him even looking at my boarding pass.

no!! they are doing a "trial" of Pre-check at some airport where it merges with those who don't actually have pre-check & it's so annoying!  Most of those that get put into the line aren't familiar with how it's different & don'Previewt read the signs, so they are still taking off shoes, taking out laptops, and generally slowing down the whole line

Here is the thing - I didn't even know I got put into pre-check until an agent told me as she viewed my boarding pass and ID. 
There were NO signs. So I asked her what that meant and she told me don't take off your shoes, take out your laptop, and leave the liquids in the bags.

So yeah, if she hadn't told me, I would have slowed up the line for sure by doing all of those things. 

[debatethis]

Mar 31, 2015 11:20:11 GMT -5 shell403b said:

That's got to be one of the weirdest things I've ever read. "Signs of stress earn travelers one point apiece, while signs of fear earn two and deception earns three"--what the hell does that even mean?

Stupid. Just stupid.

I can just imagine the bumbling Barney Fife-esque barely trained TSA agent sitting there counting on his fingers. "Now let's see, that dude looks stressed, so that's one point, and he looks scared, so that's two more points - aw hell, I lost my train of thought! HE LOOKS SHIFTY! CAVITY SEARCH HIM!!"

[Deleted]

Mar 31, 2015 13:37:33 GMT -5 LoveTrains said:

Mar 31, 2015 13:31:23 GMT -5 zoegirltx said:

no!! they are doing a "trial" of Pre-check at some airport where it merges with those who don't actually have pre-check & it's so annoying!  Most of those that get put into the line aren't familiar with how it's different & don'Previewt read the signs, so they are still taking off shoes, taking out laptops, and generally slowing down the whole line

Here is the thing - I didn't even know I got put into pre-check until an agent told me as she viewed my boarding pass and ID. 
There were NO signs. So I asked her what that meant and she told me don't take off your shoes, take out your laptop, and leave the liquids in the bags.

So yeah, if she hadn't told me, I would have slowed up the line for sure by doing all of those things. 

That happened to me in San Diego. I had no idea what was going on the first time it happened.

[origami]

Behavioral screening isn't dumb. The way the TSA does it might be dumb, I don't know. I have no idea what crazy looks like at security. But the concept is right on and if done well would work. See: Israel. They also have other security measures, but behavior detection is part of it. My DH, who has an anxiety disorder, won himself an interview with security in a room at the Israel border, probably because he was "looking nervous".

[kirra]

So my being nervous because I panic when I'm touched by strangers and my medical devices trigger an automatic pat down with explosive detector pads gives me points for suspicious behavior? Awesome.

[ESF]

This list is stupid, not because behavior analysis methods are stupid, but because who actually thinks the people on the front lines of airport security are sharp enough to be doing this level of work? I mean, come on. These are very low level people whose only knowledge of behavior analysis comes from an employee handbook and a 20 minute power point presentation they had to sit through on orientation day.  

They are not doing mental math over body language for every person that goes through the gates. Not at their pay grade.

Let's be real. They send people through the EZ Bake Porno Ovens Rapescan Rapiscan machines, and pull aside whoever they feel like it.

[mcsangel2]

Mar 31, 2015 15:41:00 GMT -5 @kcpokergal said:

Mar 31, 2015 13:37:33 GMT -5 LoveTrains said:

Here is the thing - I didn't even know I got put into pre-check until an agent told me as she viewed my boarding pass and ID. 
There were NO signs. So I asked her what that meant and she told me don't take off your shoes, take out your laptop, and leave the liquids in the bags.

So yeah, if she hadn't told me, I would have slowed up the line for sure by doing all of those things. 

That happened to me in San Diego. I had no idea what was going on the first time it happened.

Me too, and my DH, when we were in LAX last year. I already had my shoes off, and laptop and liquids out, because we didn't get waved into the other line until we were already halfway through the regular line.

[pt716]

Mar 31, 2015 11:25:00 GMT -5 miniroller said:

Mar 31, 2015 11:20:11 GMT -5 shell403b said:

That's got to be one of the weirdest things I've ever read. "Signs of stress earn travelers one point apiece, while signs of fear earn two and deception earns three"--what the hell does that even mean?

Stupid. Just stupid.

Well. It IS the TSA...
ETA: However, I should add that I do have some sympathy for working with people who are traveling. I have been been behind people who don't remove their shoes, empty their pockets, did NOTHING to prepare for the screening! Until they were ready to be scanned, & the TSA worker had to give them step-by-step instructions. Instructions that were posted on multiple signs & Everybody else was following. (& they spoke English)
My point is- working with disgruntled idiots all day every day is sure to wear on you.

Ugh, I hate being behind these people. I once was behind a guy who kept pulling more and more things out of his pockets. I think he had to come back like 5 times to take out things. Why would you not take everything out at once!? Did he not understand the constant direction to remove everything from your pockets?

[pt716]

I am kind of surprised I don't get pulled aside for screening. I guess my non-threatening white girl look cancels out the social anxiety, impatience and tics. At least I was smart rough not to ask what chemicals they were testing for when they seabed DH's hands, lol