Thursday, November 26, 2009

1000s of behavior detection officers watching you at airports

1000s of behavior detection officers watching you at airportsfrom alternet: Here's a question to ponder the next time you're taking off your shoes at airport security: Can you spot terrorists by the look on their faces? For the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the answer is yes. For the past few years, airports across the country have been using what many call "behavioral surveillance" to weed out potential hijackers among us, by covertly examining travelers' facial expressions and body language as they go through security. Unlike those airport employees who herd us along as we remove our shoes and relinquish all liquids over three ounces (with dubious results), this new program, named "Screening Passengers by Observational Techniques," or "SPOT," is carried out by TSA employees who have been trained to monitor travelers' faces and movements. As Americans head out of town this holiday season, more than 3,000 "Behavior Detection Officers" will be at 161 airports nationwide, watching our every move.

flashback: tsa performing emotional screening of passengers

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