[TSA] – The Transportation Security Administration has taken steps to complete efforts to meet the recommendations set forth in a recent report from the Government Accountability Office entitled “Transportation Security Administration Could Improve Complaint Process.”
The report contained recommendations for TSA, aimed at streamlining the existing processes by which the agency receives positive and negative feedback from the public. They include establishing a consistent policy for receiving complaints, a process to systematically analyze information on complaints from all mechanisms and a policy for informing passengers about the screening complaint processes and mechanisms to share best practices among airports. TSA concurred with each recommendation from GAO.
“TSA is committed to ensuring all travelers have consistent, quality methods of reaching TSA and providing direct feedback,” said TSA Administrator John S. Pistole. “We appreciate GAO’s review of this important topic and anticipate completing the recommendations in early 2013.”
TSA screens approximately 1.8 million travelers each day, and of those, just .01 percent of travelers file a complaint with the agency.
Travelers can reach TSA through the TSA Contact Center at 1-866-289-9673 and TSA-ContactCenter@dhs.gov and also by visiting the TSA website. For additional information about providing feedback to TSA, [click here]. Last year, TSA launched TSA Cares, a helpline designed to assist travelers with disabilities and medical conditions. Individuals in need of assistance can call 1-855-787-2227 prior to travel.
About the TSA
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created in the wake of September 11, 2001, to strengthen the security of the nation’s transportation systems and ensure the freedom of movement for people and commerce. Today, TSA secures the nation’s airports and screens all commercial airline passengers and baggage. TSA uses a risk-based strategy and works closely with transportation, law enforcement and intelligence communities to set the standard for excellence in transportation security. TSA’s workforce is comprised of approximately 50,000 frontline officers who screen approximately 1.8 million travelers each day at more than 450 airports nationwide. For more information about TSA, please visit our website at www.tsa.gov.
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TSA always promises to do the right thing but never does. Out of the 600 million passengers screened annually, TSA receives calls from about 750,000 of them, TSA claims only 8 percent of those calls consist of complaints about TSA service but GAO estimates that the number of complaints is at least 400,000 when those made to airports, airlines and other venues are included.
What are the options when there is no complaint venue or means of recourse for abuses or crimes by screeners except through TSA? There are laws to protect citizens from abuses by police for a reason and the same standards should be applied to TSA.
Maybe TSA can explain how keeping a known pedophile, Thomas Harkin, working at Philadelphia airport six months after he was exposed is keeping our skies safe. Or how pulling the dress off of a 17 year old on a church trip and exposing her breasts to her classmates and everyone at the checkpoint is protecting her?
Maybe TSA will explain how having over a dozen screeners smuggling drugs and guns through our airports in the past 24 months is essential to airport security or why 103 TSA workers arrested in the last 24 months including 15 arrested for child sex crimes, 29 for theft, 12 for smuggling and one for murder is acceptable.
In October TSA screener, Paul Magnuson, was arrested for raping a young boy he was mentoring. An ABC sting operation in September resulted in the arrest of TSA screener Andy Ramirez who stole the iPad from an Orlando checkpoint. One week earlier, TSA screener at Ft. Lauderdale, Andrew Smeal, was arrested for child pornography. He had been hired by TSA a month before while he was under investigation by the FBI. Clearly TSA is not properly investigating employees.
There were no airline attacks between 2002 and 2010 and TSA didn’t grope children, strip search elderly women or take nude photos of people.. After eleven years TSA hasn’t caught one terrorist or even identified one legitimate attempt.
There have been no attacks on bridges, buildings, public events or shopping malls and TSA isn’t near any of those so their value at airports is doubtful at best.
TSA needs to be replaced with something that actually works before their corruption and incompetence results in a tragedy.