High-tech gadgets for better or worse have taken us to the next level of TSA screening. We can now sense a passenger’s quickened pulse and labored breathing, to set off warnings that he may be a terrorist. A simple indication that the skin temperature is rising, may set TSA crews into action prompting an invasive investigation. Is he a terrorist? Or is suffering a simple fear of flying?
The Department of Homeland Security has recently invested in biometric sensing equipment, trying to forecast and identify criminals before they strike. However there are many critics that maintain that the methods are flawed, subject to mistakes,and potentially invasive to innocent travelers.
The biometrics measure vital signs the same way a polygraph unit would. It checks for variations in heart rate, breathing and temperature, looking for changes that would be found in a person with stress and anxiety. The difference in these apparatus, is that they don’t require the subject to be hooked up to wires. It scans them as they walk by a set of cameras.
The TSA now has trained over 2000 of its technicians to use these devices, and interview those who are deemed as “risky.” The new devices are designed to measure people during normal activity, and then flag suspicious ones. Those flagged with be further interviewed directly in front of the cameras that can detect the tiniest facial movements to determine if they are trying to hide something.
Posted on November 22nd, 2008 by A.C. Christianson
Filed under: Security
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