Children and TSA Pat-Down Procedures

Pat or Scan: New Air Travel Security Procedures Affect Families

November 18, 2010

Scan or touch? Just in time for the busy holiday travel season, the Transportation Security Association has revised airport security procedures, requiring all passengers to choose between full-body image scans or pat-downs. The options have parents debating which is the lesser of two evils – exposing their tots to low levels of radiation, or allowing TSA workers to touch their lil ones.

Reports of kids' private parts being touched and frightened preschoolers, all in the name of security, have many parents hitting the road, rather than the skies this holiday season. Have your plans changed?

Source: Getty

16 Comments

commonsense102 2 years 25 weeks

The terrorists are winning. Sad.

2 years 25 weeks

@fflyer -- get informed before you make incorrect statements -- these are brand new pat downs, not like the previous TSA pat downs and not even remotely like a police pat down! These are front of the hand up and down the inside of your thigh for example. Don't be so know it all and blase when you are wrong! I have to fly all the time but I will not fly with these two options. This is a country that put a man on the moon, invented too many to count complicated and important devices, discovered cures for diseases -- you cannot convince me that this is the best they can come up and this doesn't even address the problem. I am thoroughly disgusted with the direction this has all been heading and where we have now ended up with this.

2 years 25 weeks

I am so against the enhanced pat-downs ... I agree that nobody should be subjected to being searched and patted down - adult or child - unless arrested - that and the naked body scanners are against our 4th amendment. I will opt out of both. Radiation is very very harmful and I do not want some TSA worker pig seeing me naked.

2 years 25 weeks

I already felt invaded by TSA before they instated the full body pat downs. They act like we are all criminals and treat travellers like prisoners. I will not be allowing any strangers to pat me down. And I will not be radiated either!! That is some NONSENSE. They already scan our belongings, make us take our shoes, hats and glasses off, and send us through metal detectors. Pretty soon we will have to strip down and be tied up before they let us on a plane. In my humble opinion, if the government wants to crack down on terrorism they should stop blowing up middle eastern countries and telling them how to live. We act like terrorists in their countries. The reason there are people who are hostile towards us is because we are bombing their cities and killing innocent people. The day when Obama decides we should get out of Afghanistan is the day I will take TSA seriously. I'm suspect off all the terrorism claims anyhow... we are more likely to die on our morning drive to work than get involved in a terrorist attack. Yet the american government is spending billions upon trillions to "protect" us all while it does the dirty in the middle east. I would prefer for them to stop looking out for me and let me handle myself. I trust my fellow american citizens more than I trust our government beauracracy... the government is taking away our freedom and terrorizing it's own citizens! I love the USA, but I'm seriously thinking about moving to Australia.

2 years 25 weeks

ChewChew, I'm totally with you! This is gross misuse of authority on so many levels that it scares me to no end. How do you choose between cancer risk or a lifelong memory horror of molestation from an authority figure? There is no choice, at least not for me. I will not fly ever again! The government has gone too far this time. I think this has more to do with treating US citizens like cattle and seeing how far they can push us, rather than actually trying to keep terrorists off our flights. Think about this: If a terrorist really wants to do the same machinations that happened on 9/11, no amount of security is going to deter them, they will work around it. I wonder what would happen if most people boycotted flying for one month, what would the airlines do then? Charge us for the circulated air within the cabin? Make you pay if you want to use the toilet? Oh, and you want to sleep, that will be $100 charge, thank you very much.

2 years 25 weeks

I also love the message being sent to kids - it's ok if someone touches you inappropriately as long as they're in a uniform. Sure, kids should have to go through the same security as adults. But no one, adult or child, should have to go through either of these options. Train security better. Learn suspicious behavior and body cues. Inspect luggage thoroughly, not a casual once over.

2 years 25 weeks

@ Anonymous #3 The options aren't good enough for me. How could I chosse between a full-body scan (cancer-causing radiation; because you don't get exposed to enough just by flying) or sexual molestation? If I didn't have an international family I would never fly again. This is ridiculous. Wouldn't it be best to keep a pig and an agent on every flight and relax on the "security" measures. What muslim extremeist wants to die with a pig? And if he doesn't care about the pig then we have an agent to take him down.

2 years 25 weeks

No, I will not be flying anytime soon. The airline industry is already suffering, now they have to deal with this!? I understand the need for safety, and if this what they feel they need to do, fine, but my choice is to not fly. I also question if this procedure is the best option, but I certainly don't know all the reasoning behind the decision.

2 years 25 weeks

With my family...I will not put my child through a pat down. There are just too many risks that are involved. I understand that there are people out there that have and will use a child to cause harm, there are also inspectors that are inappropriately touching children. Best case for my family is to do the scan, I know she will be safer. I'm just thankful we have options.

snarkypants 2 years 25 weeks

cataleen, i do agree that most of the TSA nonsense is security theater...making it look like they're thorough, but they're not. i just think if adults need to be searched, kids do too.

2 years 25 weeks

fflyer, the story itself links to an article describing how children's genitals have been touched. It may not happen in every inspection, but it's absolutely happening.

2 years 25 weeks

Dangerous items are most often brought onto planes in carry on bags and other cargo, not on the passenger's body. And they're STILL being missed because the focus has shifted to this. This is a stupid procedure and all it will do is cause a false sense of security. If items were being inspected at a high enough level and passengers are going through metal detectors while removing their shoes, you're doing your job. I've flown often in the past year, out of many airports, and security is incredibly lax on actually inspecting my bag. I've seen them not even look at the monitor as bags pass under it, they're too busy chatting. There is absolutely no indication that this will do anything other than cause panic and take the focus off where items are actually getting through, the cargo.

2 years 25 weeks

I have had a pat down and nobody touched my genitals... they may brush the base of your bra to see if its stuffed, but nobody grabbed my crotch or touched my breasts.

2 years 25 weeks

Unless you're being arrested, no one should be patted down and have their genitals fondled, adult or child. It doesn't matter if it's to get on an airplane, it's still molestation. And there's absolutely no evidence that this will make things any safer, or that the current practices were causing dangerous items to get through security any more often than this would. We just won't fly, alone or with children. This will prompt us to take longer vacations times and drive where we want to go.

redheadkimie 2 years 25 weeks

I agree that kids should be checked but I also think the Tsa workers should be trained to handle children. They also need to make it kid friendly.

snarkypants 2 years 25 weeks

i'm sorry, but kids should be screened just like adults. there are horrible people out there who would not think twice about using a child as a weapon.

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