I always hesitate starting a new topic on a web site that I am new member. I am afraid that the topic that I am interested in has already been brought up. However in this case the subject is relativity new, so I will press on.
Are we creating a new Federal monster?
The federalism of all airport security/screeners really has me worried. I was a B-727 Captain for ten years with the United States Marshal Service. In those ten years I worked with nearly every Federal Law Enforcement Agency of the U. S. Government and a few foreign governments law enforcement agencies. I saw things during this period that would make you sick. Heck, it turned my hair white. Abuse of power, total disregard of people’s rights, application of petty authority to its maximum, blatant arrogance and plain rudeness. Sometimes it was hard for us (pilots) to tell the difference between the guards and the prisoners
During the ten years I was with the USMS there were three Deputy U.S. Marshals that were convicted of crimes committed on the job and sent to prison. Two other Deputies were fired with total loss of retirement benefits. Six guards were sent to prison. There were numerous occasions that guards and Deputies were ‘put on the street’ (suspended without pay) for periods ranging from 2 days to a month for crap they pulled. There were a number of hotels that refused to let us stay again after we had stayed there a few times. The reasons the hotels gave ran from passing bad checks to theft. Sometimes I and the other pilots were embarrassed to be associated with these people. It got so bad for a while that we pilots refused to stay in the same hotel as the backend crew.
Now I do want you to understand not all the Deputies and guards were bad. I was privileged to work with some very highly motivated individuals. These people were very well educated and highly trained, sadly they were the exception rather than the rule. The people that I am addressing on this topic are the lower echelon of law enforcement. The unmotivated, undereducated (high school or less) and poorly trained person that wants to carry a badge and gun the worst way. We called them cop want-to-be’s.
I have worked with these types of people. You give these people a little authority, federal law enforcement badge and a gun, well, it’s going to be scary folks. The US Air pilot was lucky that the security people were not Federal yet, because not only would he be facing more charges, interference with Federal Law Enforcement Officer, failure to obey a lawful order from a Federal Law Enforcement Officer, etc. they could have shot him.
I am not yet defending the US Air pilot because all the details have not been released. But this type of incident will become more frequent and the harassment will become worse. These type of people that will become the majority of the Federal security screeners love power and the more they get away with abusing power the worse things will become.
I predict that with five years or less the airport security/screener system will be total chaos. All the screeners will be Federal Law Enforcement Officers, they will have a union and nobody can be fired because of incompetence. They will top heavy in manpower and will be costing a fortune. The really sad fact will be that airport security will not be a bit better than it was before 9-11.
I have been harassed because I am a pilot by security screener and from I have read on this and other web sites so have a lot of other pilots and flight attendants. I am sure the all of you, as myself, have witnesses and heard stories about abuses by security screeners and they are still private contractors. Just wait until they become Federal.
All of us in this industry understand the need for a highly improved airport security system. However we need a system that works and that is effective. I really feel that having the FAA to operate the system is the wrong way to go. One reason is that the FAA is not a law enforcement agency, it is a regulatory agency. The F.B.I., Secret Service and the United States Marshal Service are law enforcement agencies. As bad as they are at least they are in the law enforcement business.
Even though I somewhat question the efficiently of the US Marshal Service I feel that they could provide a much better system than the FAA. One of the responsibilities of the US Marshal Service is to protect the Federal Court system. They protect the buildings, federal juries, witnesses and federal court judges. The Court Security Division (COURTSEC) does an excellent job and they do it with a lot of part time help. Yes, part time help. Unlike the idiots that we were saddled with in the Air Operations Division COURTSEC hires retired law enforcement officers (both local and federal) and retired military personnel. People who have had good training, years of experience, good education and can speak English. Using retired law enforcement and military personnel has a lot of good features. They already have medical care, they already have a retirement income, very few have young dependents enabling them to work flexible hours and so on. Hiring these types of people alone will save a ton of money in personnel cost.
By the way, in spite of what Hollywood has portrayed, the United States Marshal Service’s Witness Protection Division (WITSEC) has never lost a person (that has obeyed the rules) that they have protected.
Anyway I know that there a lot smarter people than me on this web site, so let’s have some feedback and ideas.
Are we creating a new Federal monster?
The federalism of all airport security/screeners really has me worried. I was a B-727 Captain for ten years with the United States Marshal Service. In those ten years I worked with nearly every Federal Law Enforcement Agency of the U. S. Government and a few foreign governments law enforcement agencies. I saw things during this period that would make you sick. Heck, it turned my hair white. Abuse of power, total disregard of people’s rights, application of petty authority to its maximum, blatant arrogance and plain rudeness. Sometimes it was hard for us (pilots) to tell the difference between the guards and the prisoners
During the ten years I was with the USMS there were three Deputy U.S. Marshals that were convicted of crimes committed on the job and sent to prison. Two other Deputies were fired with total loss of retirement benefits. Six guards were sent to prison. There were numerous occasions that guards and Deputies were ‘put on the street’ (suspended without pay) for periods ranging from 2 days to a month for crap they pulled. There were a number of hotels that refused to let us stay again after we had stayed there a few times. The reasons the hotels gave ran from passing bad checks to theft. Sometimes I and the other pilots were embarrassed to be associated with these people. It got so bad for a while that we pilots refused to stay in the same hotel as the backend crew.
Now I do want you to understand not all the Deputies and guards were bad. I was privileged to work with some very highly motivated individuals. These people were very well educated and highly trained, sadly they were the exception rather than the rule. The people that I am addressing on this topic are the lower echelon of law enforcement. The unmotivated, undereducated (high school or less) and poorly trained person that wants to carry a badge and gun the worst way. We called them cop want-to-be’s.
I have worked with these types of people. You give these people a little authority, federal law enforcement badge and a gun, well, it’s going to be scary folks. The US Air pilot was lucky that the security people were not Federal yet, because not only would he be facing more charges, interference with Federal Law Enforcement Officer, failure to obey a lawful order from a Federal Law Enforcement Officer, etc. they could have shot him.
I am not yet defending the US Air pilot because all the details have not been released. But this type of incident will become more frequent and the harassment will become worse. These type of people that will become the majority of the Federal security screeners love power and the more they get away with abusing power the worse things will become.
I predict that with five years or less the airport security/screener system will be total chaos. All the screeners will be Federal Law Enforcement Officers, they will have a union and nobody can be fired because of incompetence. They will top heavy in manpower and will be costing a fortune. The really sad fact will be that airport security will not be a bit better than it was before 9-11.
I have been harassed because I am a pilot by security screener and from I have read on this and other web sites so have a lot of other pilots and flight attendants. I am sure the all of you, as myself, have witnesses and heard stories about abuses by security screeners and they are still private contractors. Just wait until they become Federal.
All of us in this industry understand the need for a highly improved airport security system. However we need a system that works and that is effective. I really feel that having the FAA to operate the system is the wrong way to go. One reason is that the FAA is not a law enforcement agency, it is a regulatory agency. The F.B.I., Secret Service and the United States Marshal Service are law enforcement agencies. As bad as they are at least they are in the law enforcement business.
Even though I somewhat question the efficiently of the US Marshal Service I feel that they could provide a much better system than the FAA. One of the responsibilities of the US Marshal Service is to protect the Federal Court system. They protect the buildings, federal juries, witnesses and federal court judges. The Court Security Division (COURTSEC) does an excellent job and they do it with a lot of part time help. Yes, part time help. Unlike the idiots that we were saddled with in the Air Operations Division COURTSEC hires retired law enforcement officers (both local and federal) and retired military personnel. People who have had good training, years of experience, good education and can speak English. Using retired law enforcement and military personnel has a lot of good features. They already have medical care, they already have a retirement income, very few have young dependents enabling them to work flexible hours and so on. Hiring these types of people alone will save a ton of money in personnel cost.
By the way, in spite of what Hollywood has portrayed, the United States Marshal Service’s Witness Protection Division (WITSEC) has never lost a person (that has obeyed the rules) that they have protected.
Anyway I know that there a lot smarter people than me on this web site, so let’s have some feedback and ideas.
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