Airport Security Simply an Inconvenience

I saw this video taken on Jan 7th on Fox News and thought it perfectly depicted how bad Airport Security is. In the video it shows a security guard at a checkpoint. At first it's a little hard to understand but the mass of people who are moving on the right side are all getting off of a plane and leaving. A little into the video the security guard gets up and walks out of frame for some unknown reason. At this point a man walks right by where the security guard should be and meets up with a women then also leaves the cameras view. Check out the link below, Fox does a good job of describing what is going on.

Security Breach Caught on Tape

This is a common scene in an Airport. Hundreds of people moving through a doorway (Metal Detectors) with only a few security guards around. The way in which everyone gets bottle necked makes it a lot easier to keep track of everyone but at the same time those guards have other responsibilities. For instance the guard at the metal detector is very occupied with waving his magic wand over your crotch several times. He isn't capable of watching someone else's post to make sure they are doing their job right.

In this case the guard who was at the podium had to get up for some reason. I don't know what it was for but I am sure it wasn't to grab a donut. Apparently, he had already told the man that would soon sneak through to leave the area. Just because you have someone hanging around though doesn't mean you can totally ignore other problems should they arise.

I really have no problem with what the security guard did. Granted he did leave his post which he shouldn't have. I hope he at least had a good reason such as addressing another threat. The problem I see is with the overall layout or setup of the security checkpoint itself. Whether or not that guard is there should play little role in the overall function of the checkpoint.

The checkpoint should be able to operate efficiently on its own with the security guard providing a human presence to oversee operations. What I mean by this is, when the man entered the area he was unobstructed. He had nothing substantial in his way, not even a rotary device like at amusement parks or subways which could have been a valid deterrent.

The other real problem is that this guard was by himself. The concept of a partner or working in pairs didn't exist. With two men working the podium one would be free to move about freely while one ensured the checkpoint wasn't compromised. It seems that the Airports have the minimalist attitude. They want to have the least amount of security to get the job done. We have seen that it clearly doesn't do anything except slow innocent people down. If the system is set up with a properly staffed and equipped security team who is trained, then people who pose no danger would be the ones moving freely through while those who pose a threat are held up. It seems to me like the security is more for show at this point then anything else.