Travelers at Port Columbus know they have to watch what they say at the security checkpoint - no jokes about bombs or terrorists.
What they might not know is that the close scrutiny doesn't begin or end there.
For the past 13 months, "behavior-detection officers" have been walking the airport's terminal and concourses, observing people's faces, mannerisms and even to whom they speak while passing the time at their gate. The program is called SPOT, Screening of Passengers by Observation Technique.
The officers, specially trained Transportation Security Administration agents, strike up casual conversations with passengers who arouse their suspicion, but also on a random basis. They identify themselves and might even ask to search a traveler's carry-on bag.
"If checkpoints were the only thing we had, it would be a tremendous weakness," said Don Barker, TSA federal security director at Port Columbus...more..http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/03/14/tsa_check.html?type=rss&cat=&sid=101
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