ABSTRACT
If any portion of the homeland front touches the general public it is the work of the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) . Most American citizens come face-to-face with TSA-the visible arm of airport safety in our terminals . Passenger and baggage screening are the prime tasks of TSA . Despite these responsibilities, TSA engages in a broad range of other activities . TSA is a component of DHS and not only is responsible for the security of the country’s airline transportation systems, but also, with state, local, and regional partners, oversees security for the highways, railroads, buses, mass transit systems, ports, and the 450 U .S . airports . TSA employs approximately 50,000 people . TSA is a large bureaucracy that is still finding its way in many respects . By any reasonable measure, TSA scores low in public opinion . There have been many national news articles and stories written on controversial practices as well as scandals . Controversial practices include an enhanced physical patdown search of young children and the elderly as well as scanners that have provided near naked pictures of passengers .1 Scandals include naked body imagery shared on the Internet, undetected contraband making it through screenings at various airports, and TSA agents indicted for corruption and drug trafficking .
