New TSA Spy Gadgets to Screen Travelers

November 22nd, 2008 by A.C. Christianson

by Carol Seagram

Technology and big brother equipment, for better or worse, have taken us to the next possible step in TSA screening. A passenger’s increased heart rate and heavy breathing sets off an alarm. A machine senses his skin temperature fluctuation, and TSA crews move in to question him and further the investigation. Is he a terrorist? Or is he simply a passenger nervous about 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 machine 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 machines, 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.

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