Seeking Balance in Airport Screening

Candice Figuera

September 29.2014

Professor Alexander

Eng099

                                              

 The article  “Administration to seek balance in airport screening” from the New York Times by Scott Shane, is about how people were complaining the airport screening procedure has gone too far. The TSA screens two million passengers a day using a full body scanner since 2007. The furor began when agency introduced physical pat down if a passenger refuses to go through the scanner or if the screen shows something suspicious. Besides the criticism the obama administration says that security measures taking place justified by the risk of a terror attack; polls also show in one month, 80 percent of the public supports the body scanners and about one percent refuses the body scanner for the pat-down.  James Carafano, a security specialist and Bruce Hoffman, an expert on terrorism say that they would advise the administration to revise the screening procedure. Carafone thinks tsa should limit the body scans and pat downs to secondary screening, for travelers who only raise suspicion, instead of all travelers. Hoffman thinks the administration should stop adding new security procedures in response for every new terror plot and they should take a step back and find a new approach.