The TSA Is Onto You

The Intercept has obtained a document called the “Spot Referral Report,” which guides special TSA officers in the "Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques, or SPOT" program. Here are some of the behaviors listed in that document to help these officers discover terrorists at the airport.

Who in the world whistles while approaching the screening area?  Is this a Marx Brothers movie?  Will the whistler dash around the scanning machine, feint to the left, and make a run for the plane while clumsy agents lunge and fall down?

The checklist ranges from the mind-numbingly obvious, like “appears to be in disguise,” which is worth three points, to the downright dubious, like a bobbing Adam’s apple. Many indicators, like “trembling” and “arriving late for flight,” appear to confirm allegations that the program picks out signs and emotions that are common to many people who fly.

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Fidgeting, whistling, sweaty palms. Add one point each. Arrogance, a cold penetrating stare, and rigid posture, two points.

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In 2013, the Government Accountability Office found that there was no evidence to back up the idea that “behavioral indicators … can be used to identify persons who may pose a risk to aviation security.” After analyzing hundreds of scientific studies, the GAO concluded that “the human ability to accurately identify deceptive behavior based on behavioral indicators is the same as or slightly better than chance.”

  The Intercept

Apparently, TSA is undaunted by science.

Despite those concerns, TSA has trained and deployed thousands of Behavior Detection Officers, and the program has cost more than $900 million since it began in 2007.

Jobs.

The 92-point checklist listed in the “Spot Referral Report” is divided into various categories with a point score for each. Those categories include a preliminary “observation and behavior analysis.”

Arriving late for a flight is on the list, too, and if the agents – sorry, “Behavior Detection Officers” - have to go through 92 behaviors, the late-arriving terrorist will be on the plane and in the air before the list is completed.

Points can also be deducted from someone’s score based on observations about the traveler that make him or her less likely, in TSA’s eyes, to be a terrorist. For example, “apparent” married couples, if both people are over 55, have two points deducted off their score. Women over the age of 55 have one pointed deducted; for men, the point deduction doesn’t come until they reach 65.

Oh, lord. How many points deducted for being white? How many added for dusky skin?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.