Our favorite (government) protection agency is revamping itself by creating a kinder, gentler screening process:
“This is the first significant change to the checkpoint since the 1970s,” TSA chief Kip Hawley said.
The checkpoint to be tested in May at one terminal in Baltimore is based on a simple premise: serenity adds security. Mauve lights glow softly, soothing music hums, and smiling employees offer quiet greetings and assistance.
“A chaotic, noisy, congested checkpoint is a security nightmare. Chaos gives camouflage,” Hawley said. “A chaotic environment puts subtle pressure on (screeners) to rush the job.”
But wait –there’s more! The TSA has been testing various layouts at a nearby warehouse and are experimenting with color to subliminally control behavior. Also, the new millimeter-wave scanners are being deployed: “Passengers will be selected randomly for the scanning after they go through a metal detector. Screeners will view images of passengers’ bodies in a remote room and delete them.”
Delete them? Oh sure!
1:27 pm on March 31, 2008
