I won't be doing any cop bashing. I work unarmed security, so the police are my lifeline if all hell breaks loose.
Ditto! I know I've stated before that I don't feel like I/we get the recognition desrved from time to time, but I understand why. I've had more good experiences with LEO's than bad overall.
I can see the reasoning for the police being upset over the recent changes. The uniforms are nice, but without proper training, they are still the same TSA trying to look different. You can't demand or gain respect with nothing more than an ironed and professional uniform if you are held in such low respect to begin with.
I had a guy quit from my shift to go TSA and they ended up making him part time with split shifts. He wants to come back now and he was one of the good guys from my shift, so TSA's loss.
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"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke
I honestly think that if the liberal media had not bothered to make a story on this I doubt we would have heard much about it. After all this theme has been going around for years in variations.
Just an "old" security guard "over" 50.
__________________ "Florida, it does security good. NOT!"
I believe we are here to exchange opinions and information also experiences, at least I am here for.
There is no reason to do bashing, pushing and disparage other as Cops vs Securities, Security Vs Armored carrier, un-armed vs armed....
Especially I have many friends who are LEO, I have no feeling of Bashing LEOs.
I do respect LEOs as highly trained and highly skilled officers.
I feel if I was sightseeing Cessna pilot, LEOs are commercial airliner pilot.
We both fly but different skills and different training level.
off course some securities maybe higher skill but average S/O vs average LEO.
(even non paid limited duty reserve officer have to take 720 hrs for Minimum training VS BSIS security 40 hours minimum training)
Only questionable thing to me as just citizen, when I see PD (not LE "officer" but "department") send public officer(s) ,with full PD uniform and full police power, to particular private individual exclusively for their benefit because they can pay large sum of fee, I feel it is unfair activity as public agency.
There is absolutely no reason to bash Police Officers! While what we do in security is much different than what LEO's do, we rely on them to respond to crime, as they rely on us to prevent/report it. Ive always had a GREAT rapport with LEO's and show them the same respect they show me.
With that being said, I totally understand an LEO being upset if that is the case. Nothing against the TSA, but I wouldn't put half of those people on my staff and out of that half a very SMALL percentage would actually have what it takes to be in law enforcement. I fly quite a bit and my experience with TSA has been unimpressive.
Examples:
Im in Houston at Bush INT. back in March. I spoke to TSA employee--who was just sitting and watching the exit--and asked her a simple exit and re-entry question. She responded to me like I was asking her to change the radiator in my car on a 100 degree day. Like she was dis-interested and pissed that I approached her. Its the kind of response I would have expected from a 7-11 Clerk. Would a Police officer or any Security officer I know respond like she did?? Hell no.
Is this their fault? Nope...their training stinks in my opinion.
So slap a badge on em...throw some Rambo guns on em, and knight em for all I care, it still won't change the image issue the TSA has.
They have poor hiring practices and even worse management. If they want quality people then they need to change their HORRID split shift system, up their pay, and go out and find quality people worthy of a badge like that. They are out there.
This likely comes from the insecurity of the Airport Police. Alot of people don't consider Airport Police, Campus Police, Railroad Police, or Park Rangers "real" cops. Hell, i worked Security at a Campus once and WE didn't even consider Campus Cops real cops. I know better now, but back then they were the same as the Security team in our opinion.
Hey, I would just like to way in on this since I do know some people who work for TSA. I believe there are always bad apples in every bunch, the question should be, "How much?" Of course you will people who think, "Hey it's an easy Federal job that I'll never get fired from!" There are some who think, "Hey I can claim disability for a bogus injury claim of lifting bags!"
Then there are people who are really dedicated to protecting people's lives, who have an exemplary military service, police background, and explosive ordinance disposal experience. Unfortunately, I wish these were the rule and not the exception nationwide.
I'm pretty sure they deal with people all day who say, "I was told my knife could go through!" And "I was told wine could go through if it's still sealed!" I'm almost positive they deal with people who yell, scream, cheat, and lie to bring items that are banned since 9/11 and pretend they were enacted yesterday. Hey, don't you remember that Secret Service lady who got caught red handed purposely spilling water on the floor and saying it was TSA's fault???
I wouldn't doubt their wouldn't be any screw ups, just look at the GAO report on TSA. I believe that's true to about with every organization. I would like to know how and what they're doing to fix these problems.
Another thing is people who don't work for TSA, or don't know somebody who does works for TSA, tends to assume more then they should. I'm pretty confident if a screener calls for a bag check on my bag that their is something they need to resolve. I can understand they can't tell me what they were looking at, because I could use it to my advantage on my next flight.
When I was flying out from a class in the Eastern United States, I saw some really good officers working that day. They helped a lady who had a child with her stroller and bags, were really nice to everyone, didn't make an old lady get out of her wheelchair when they could have, called everyone sir and mam, were polite, and gave me options on what I could do on just every step of the way.
My brother also informed me when he went to an Obama rally (PLEASE DON'T ASSUME OR ASK ME WHY HE WENT lol), he said TSA was there screening individuals with the Secret Service.
Another thing I pretty confident they probably deal with is passengers asking them questions meant for the airlines like, "When does the XXXX flight leave?". Heck I even bet that people assume they work for the airlines. Does that excuse the fact they should treat them with disrespect? Of course not, just as the same would go for a police officer being asked where a gas station is.
I say for that, give them a metal badge instead of the stupid ironed on ones that make it look like a cheezy halloween outfit.
First Off, saying that TSA officers can't wear badges is like saying that firefighters, EMT's, interpretive national park rangers, and parking enforcement officers cant wear badges too.
The LE community has always been touchy about others wearing badges. REALITY CHECK, badges are not the sole domain of law enforcement. They are simple signs of authority. Federal law states that you have to be screened to get on a plane, BAM! There is their authority.
I remember when the Sheriff's Department was arguing with two serperate city PD's in central michigan over the city pd's uniforms. They said they resembled the deputy's uniforms to much. Big deal, because they had the SAME statutory authority as a peace officer.
Back to the point, I find it sickening that these HOMELAND SECURITY professionals are spending time bickering over aesthetics instead of working together to keep our transportation infrastructure safe.
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We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.
-George Orwell
Some of you are forgetting (or unaware of) the history of all of this.
After 9/11 there was a big huge rush to reform Airport Security. "Federalizing" to screeners was one thing, more Air Marshals was another, but the 3rd plan was to create the "TSA Police Department", sworn federal officers who would patrol airport terminals and respond to calls from screeners. it even got to the hiring stage, USAJOBs had postings up for TSA Police Officer (and Segeant, and Lieutenant, and Captain, I thought about applying).
The various Airport Police Agencies (rightly) complained that this was overly redundant, they already had that angle covered. Federal Screeners is one thing, but adding TSA Police on top of already existing Airport police was stupid, and a recipe for trouble. The ojections of the Airport Police is one factor that led to TSA discontinuing the TSA Police plan.
But still there is talk about the need to "bring everything under one roof" , with TSA controlling the Security and police functions at airports. On way to do it is to go through the back door, by showing that TSA personell can handle the added authority, showing that people will respond favorably to TSA Police.....
....and a way to demonstrate that it to put TSA screeners in Police Style uniforms (complete with police style badge) and see how people react.
The Airport Police already have to fight off TSA to begin with to keep our Airports from becoming defacto federal installations, can you blame them for being suspicious of TSA?
I think the biggest joke is when they created the TSA, they said it was because the current private screeners weren't good enough. But to fill their ranks as quickly as possible, they just hired all of the private screeners and gave them TSA uniforms, so, they're the same people that were doing it before, that were considerred to not "be as good." doyyyy....
Some of you are forgetting (or unaware of) the history of all of this.
After 9/11 there was a big huge rush to reform Airport Security. "Federalizing" to screeners was one thing, more Air Marshals was another, but the 3rd plan was to create the "TSA Police Department", sworn federal officers who would patrol airport terminals and respond to calls from screeners. it even got to the hiring stage, USAJOBs had postings up for TSA Police Officer (and Segeant, and Lieutenant, and Captain, I thought about applying).
The various Airport Police Agencies (rightly) complained that this was overly redundant, they already had that angle covered. Federal Screeners is one thing, but adding TSA Police on top of already existing Airport police was stupid, and a recipe for trouble. The ojections of the Airport Police is one factor that led to TSA discontinuing the TSA Police plan.
But still there is talk about the need to "bring everything under one roof" , with TSA controlling the Security and police functions at airports. On way to do it is to go through the back door, by showing that TSA personell can handle the added authority, showing that people will respond favorably to TSA Police.....
....and a way to demonstrate that it to put TSA screeners in Police Style uniforms (complete with police style badge) and see how people react.
The Airport Police already have to fight off TSA to begin with to keep our Airports from becoming defacto federal installations, can you blame them for being suspicious of TSA?
Well the FAA Airport Police did used to exist. I for one wouldn't have a problem with a TSA Police Force replacing local Airport Police Forces (of course this again would mostly be a change of uniforms and management only).
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