TSA to start using more ‘invasive’ patdown procedure

That audit, by the Department of Homeland Security, drew headlines because airport officers had failed to detect handguns and other weapons.

While most people are scanned in an imaging scanner, some travelers are pulled out of line and physically patted down by TSA agents.

Officials with the TSA say the new pat-down procedure could be considered more invasive and cause people to file assault reports with authorities.

TSA officials didn’t immediately address whether the new universal pat-down protocol will mandate touching of passenger genitals. The former five options for screening are now eliminated and there is just one process now.

The revised pat-down prompted the TSA to inform local police and airport police in the likelihood that someone report an “abnormal” federal frisking, according to an airport trade association memo obtained by Bloomberg News.

Agents won’t be patting down any body parts not previously included in screening guidelines, but the pat-downs will likely be more invasive than what the average passenger is used to.

One woman at Dallas Love Field got a thorough check as a female TSA agent asked her to stretch her arms out and proceeded to rub gloved hands down the front of the woman’s shirt.

Passengers who set off the metal detector or refuse to walk through are likely to be tapped for a heavier pat-down but Fouts who flies six or seven times a year says it’s worth it for peace of mind.

“They’ve stressed it’s going to be a little more time-consuming for the person that’s being patted down”, Johnson said. The new policy allows them to only choose one method that requires “sufficient pressure to ensure detection”.

Truth be told, the TSA doesn’t have to foil terrorists.

The TSA also recommends you empty everything out of your pockets into your carry-on bag – even your wallet -before you get to the checkpoint. The TSA merely has to make it look like it’s doing something to protect flights – while reducing the “cognitive burden” on its agents, of course.