TSA Has New "Enhanced" Pat-Down Procedure
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The TSA quietly adapted a new, more invasive pat-down procedure Thursday for passengers traveling through U.S. airports, Bloomberg reports. It’s unclear how involved the pat-down is meant to be, but the organization told police to prepare for complaints about the new procedure.
According to the L.A. Times, the “enhanced” pat-down is an attempt to standardize this kind of security. Instead of officers choosing who to search more extensively at random checkpoints, more people will be patted down more thoroughly. This "lessens the cognitive burden for our officers and reduces the possibility for confusion with passengers and employees as well," the TSA said.
In a briefing, the TSA told local authorities of the change “in case they are notified that a passenger believes a [TSA security screener] has subjected them to an abnormal screening practice.” It’s not yet known if there has been an increase in complaints since the new procedure was put in place.
Per its website, TSA screenings used to be conducted by the “back of the [officer’s] hands … over sensitive areas of the body. In limited cases, additional screening involving a sensitive area pat-down with the front of the hand may be needed to determine that a threat does not exist.” Now, Bloomberg reports, security will use the front of their hands in private screenings.
The new measure was instituted in response to an undercover 2015 test by the Department of Homeland Security of airport security measures, the Chicago Tribune explains. Though the findings of the test are classified, many outlets reported the TSA failed to find the majority of handguns and explosives packed in bags during routine screenings.
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