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She said her fellow officers are “out there working, they’re putting their lives on the line. We took that oath when we got hired here, and we’re not even getti
by kurczynski 8y ago
She said her fellow officers are “out there working, they’re putting their lives on the line. We took that oath when we got hired here, and we’re not even getting what we deserve.”
All budgeting problems aside, how do TSA officers put their lives on the line?
- maccio92 8y agoYou don't think screening for bombs has any potential to be dangerous?
- ed312 8y agoAt what scale? I would argue a taxi driver has a more dangerous job (in terms of probability of injury).
- kurczynski 8y agoI believe I read that taxi drivers have a very high fatality rate in the United States, but definitely higher than law enforcement.
- cobookman 8y agohttps://www.tsa.gov/blog/2018/01/29/tsa-year-review-record-amount-firearms-discovered-2017 https://www.tsa.gov/blog/2018/01/29/tsa-year-review-record-a...
- dmix 8y ago> A realistic replica suicide vest and claymore mine were discovered in a traveler’s checked bag at the El Paso International Airport (ELP). The traveler was an explosives ordnance disposal contractor and the items were used as training aids. I can't believe he'd be dumb enough to try to bring this on an airplane. It'd make way more sense to ship them to w/e destination.
- kingnothing 8y agoThe TSA has never found a bomb.
- dgzl 8y agoMost underrated comment.
- DoofusOfDeath 8y agoI don't think that statement, by itself, tells us much about the TSA's efficacy. Because their mere presence could be an effective deterrent.
- lostcolony 8y agoWe know at least two made it through. Underwear bomber, shoe bomber. We also know pre-9/11 how common it was (non-existent). We also know that they consistently fail audits. Though they've gotten better! Most recently they only failed ~75% of the time at detecting things auditors were trying to smuggle in, instead of the prior 95%! So, yeah, by itself it doesn't. But we have enough data to make a pretty solid eval.
- mikeyouse 8y agoBoth the underwear bomber and shoe bomber boarded flights overseas (Amsterdam and Paris respectively) -- so no TSA involvement.
- acct1771 8y agoUnderwear bomber was Saudi intelligence/CIA, for the reader's info.
- goobynight 8y agoThe TSA has operated overseas before, but probably not in these countries. If they see a country isn't up to their standard, I think they either show up to implement it for flights headed to the US or at least consult with the nation.
- sk5t 8y agoDo you think searching Key West for rabid wolverines to be a very dangerous job, because, like, wolverines are pretty dangerous?
- ameister14 8y agoYou may as well say that construction workers, electricians and pizza delivery drivers are out there, putting their lives on the line
- maccio92 8y agoConstruction is a dangerous job as well. You can be hit by falling things, there can be heavy equipment failures, you can fall off the buildings if you're not sufficiently harnessed. Electricians too - there's a chance, however small, of receiving a lethal shock. Delivery drivers could get killed in car accidents, it happens every day (car accidents, not specifically involving pizza drivers but given they're on the road more often it's a statistically higher probability for them)
- ameister14 8y agoYes, these are all much more dangerous jobs than TSA - yet they wouldn't describe themselves as 'putting their lives on the line'- that's my point.
- Cpoll 8y agoI'm genuinely curious, myself. In the US, how many deaths in the line of duty are there (per thousand) for police officers, firefighters, and TSA agents, to juxtapose?
- Scoundreller 8y agoPolicing is 14th most dangerous job in USA per this list: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/careers/2018/01/09/workplace-fatalities-25-most-dangerous-jobs-america/1002500001/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/careers/2018/01/09/work... Firefighters and Security guards are not in top 25.
- dmurray 8y agoIt's a bit surprising not to see the military on this list. According to [0] the US military has 82 deaths per 100,000 per year, around 55 of which are from "accidents" and "combat" which could reasonably be considered work-related deaths. That would put it in third or fourth place on the most dangerous list. [0]https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.fool.com/amp/investing/general/2014/03/15/dying-for-a-paycheck-these-jobs-are-more-dangerous.aspx https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.fool.com/amp/investing/gene...
- Scoundreller 8y agoProbably not captured under Bureau of Labor Statistics. Either military is completely excluded, or excludes ex-US. Being on base in the USA is probably pretty safe, with a healthier than average population.
- dsfyu404ed 8y agoNot all policing is equal. Beat cop in Chicago or Sheriff of Methville is on a whole different level than TSA. Park Rangers are probably much higher risk than your average TSA employee because the routinely work alone and often are put in a situation where they have to tell a bunch of drunk people to stop partying. For what is pays and the educational requirements policing is a very safe job.
- 8y ago
- jmvoodoo 8y agoUnlike most other forms of law enforcement, TSA agents lives are most at risk when off-duty and someone learns they are an agent in a social setting. As a result, the government shutdown is putting TSA lives in jeopardy.
- rococode 8y agoHonestly can't tell if you're being facetious haha. It's not that I think the risk of them being attacked for being a TSA officer is high, but the risk they face at their jobs seems so low.
- muzika 8y agolol so true!
- edm0nd 8y agoThey are at risk of getting laughed at.
- meowface 8y agoI doubt even that. Most agents would probably just say "I don't like them either, but it pays the bills".
- nradov 8y agoTSA agents are specifically not law enforcement. They don't swear the same oath as federal law enforcement officers, don't carry weapons, and have no arrest powers.
- Rebelgecko 8y agoTSA takes people's guns away on a daily basis. Eventually a passenger may not want to cooperate. I dislike airport security as much as anyone else (and because I opt out of the body scanners I've had plenty of undesirable intimate experiences with TSA agents), but their Instagram page is really enlightening. Sadly the guy who ran it passed away last year, but it's interesting to see the volume of contraband that people try to bring on planes. I think only 1 TSA agent has been killed while on duty, but a few more have been shot and and survived
- Canada 8y agoRemember before all the TSA nonsense, airports had metal detectors and xrays operated by airport security? Did they not also prevent guns from being carried on planes?
- anth_anm 8y agoYeah but they were just called security instead of TSA, so they weren't putting their lives on the line carrying out critical work. That name makes all the difference. That and extra security theatre.
- threeseed 8y agoIsn't TSA just Airport Security ?
- Canada 8y agoNo, it's also a power and money hungry agency. The airport security of yore just did their jobs and were a lot more pleasant to deal with. The traveling public was just as safe.
- beatgammit 8y agoAnd perhaps more safe. Security theater is a real thing and gives people a false sense of security. I've heard that the reason we haven't had a major terrorist attack in the US since 9/11 was because of vigilance of the public. If people get lazy and start trusting that the TSA will competently do their job, we're likely to have another. I think it's because the TSA is pretty bad at their jobs that we haven't had anything major attack.
- Scoundreller 8y agoAs discovered in Belgium’s airport, those long queues waiting for security can be very risky places.
- xkcd-sucks 8y agoSuicide is a major occupational hazard among airport screeners?
- chooseaname 8y agoI guess they think they're law officers or something. They're more akin to security guards. I hate that individuals are not able to go to work and earn a wage but I really thing the TSA is full of themselves.
- goobynight 8y agoEven safer than being a security guard I bet. I'd say their risk profile is limited to someone attacking the checkpoint explosively, which has not happened. Nobody goes to rob the till or start a knife fight at the airport. There's too many people for anything short of large scale violent crime, which is pretty rare.
- petercooper 8y agoIt's a common turn of phrase used by people who are working "for their country" in security related jobs. People in the police, army, and similar forces (whether TSA officers are considered as such is a political point) are often spoken about in similar terms regardless of how dangerous their jobs actually are (e.g. an Army chef based in the US may be revered just as much for putting their 'life on the line' as someone running into Helmand because it's about their service to the country rather than the absolute risk).
- eeeeeeeeeeeee 8y agoRight, but police and army have an actual risk. It’s not really the same comparison. I never hear people talk about how the postal service mail carriers “put their lives on the line” although they are probably at an increased over TSA because of dog attacks.
- eeeeeeeeeeeee 8y agoIs there any incident of a TSA agent being assaulted on duty or even off-duty? I mean, I bet it compares to almost anyone working in a high customer interaction environment. It’s probably more dangerous to work at McDonalds.