A suggestion from a few years ago by John Arnold, quoted with approval by security expert Bruce Schneier:
Weapons that travel MUST be in a hard case, must be declared upon check-in, and MUST BE LOCKED by a TSA official.A “weapons” is defined as a rifle, shotgun, pistol, airgun, and STARTER PISTOL. Yes, starter pistols – those little guns that fire blanks at track and swim meets – are considered weapons…and do NOT have to be registered in any state in the United States.
I have a starter pistol for all my cases. All I have to do upon check-in is tell the airline ticket agent that I have a weapon to declare…I’m given a little card to sign, the card is put in the case, the case is given to a TSA official who takes my key and locks the case, and gives my key back to me.
That’s the procedure. The case is extra-tracked…TSA does not want to lose a weapons case. This reduces the chance of the case being lost to virtually zero.
It’s a great way to travel with camera gear…I’ve been doing this since Dec 2001 and have had no problems whatsoever.
Hope it works for you…
Can’t speak to the merits of this myself, Thanks to Opher for the pointer.
Alan Gunn says:
Wouldn’t a cheap air pistol cost even less than a starter pistol?
January 15, 2010, 6:08 pmChris Travers says:
That’s a cool point. I wonder if very many foreign countries have penalties for bringing starter pistols into their domains? If not, it might be useful in international travel too.
January 15, 2010, 6:17 pmAlast says:
I’ll buy that it prevents luggage being lost…. But does it help protect from people opening the luggage and stealing stuff from inside?
January 15, 2010, 6:28 pmGordon Langston says:
Are we assuming that said weapon has to be observed by TSA official? Guess I’ll go look that up myself.
Here’s a bit more..
The basic requirements to check an unloaded gun under federal law are remarkably few. First, you must “declare” to the airline before checking the baggage that the firearm is unloaded. At the ticket counter check-in, simply tell the airline ticket agent that you would like to declare a firearm as part of your checked baggage. Generally, the airline personnel will then escort you to a more private area. You open the case, show them that the gun is unloaded, and sign a written declaration that the firearm is unloaded. This declaration (often a little tag on a string) is attached to the trigger guard of the gun, you relock the case, and keep the key on your person. The gun case then goes onto the plane like other checked bags.
Second, under federal law the firearm must be “carried in a container the [airline] considers appropriate for air transportation.”
Third, any firearm “other than a shotgun, rifle, or other firearm normally fired from the shoulder position” (that is, a handgun) must be in locked baggage and “only the passenger checking the baggage retains the key or combination.” Finally, the baggage must be carried in an area, other than the flight crew compartment, that is inaccessible to passengers. The airline, of course, attends to that.
January 15, 2010, 6:31 pmShelbyC says:
I had thought that bags containing firearms were prime targets for the luggage thieves within the system.
January 15, 2010, 6:32 pmSenator Christmas says:
What about a flare gun?
As for air guns – I believe some jurisdictions do restrict them.
January 15, 2010, 6:45 pmModest Health Care Proposals, and for other purposes…. « Random Musings of a Deranged Mind says:
[...] How to use a starter pistol to protect your cameras. [...]
January 15, 2010, 6:53 pmssd says:
I do a lot of out of state hunting, so fly with firearms quite a bit. I’ve had my gun sent to the wrong city twice now. Once to Juneau when travelling to Spokane (Juneau where my gun is? was the joke the rest of the week.) The other time it went to Calgary when I was going to Saskatoon.
So, I don’t think they take “extra” care of firearms at all.
January 15, 2010, 7:03 pmWC says:
What we need is a cheap mass-market starter pistol for every bag you check. It’s the only way you can lock your luggage any more.
January 15, 2010, 7:22 pmShelbyC says:
I’m not sure I’d want to argue about that in the airport, either.
January 15, 2010, 7:27 pmDouglas2 says:
The advantage of having a starter pistol in your lockable hard-sided camera case is that you are then allowed to lock it with a non-TSA lock, in the presence of the TSA official who observes you doing so. Then the case is in theory carried through to your destination, and no-one is allowed to open it, and you retain the only key.
If the case goes missing you have an obvious claim. If the case is broken into with physical damage you have an obvious claim.
That said, I would not rely on an internet posting from four years ago for current legal advice on firearms. Any “weapon” must be one that you may legally have and transport in the place of your departure and in the place of your destination. Federal law protects you in transit, but people have found out to their cost when an airline dumped them in NYC that it may take defending a criminal case against you to prove that, should your airline decide that your ongoing flight is cancelled and that they want to give back your checked bags.
January 15, 2010, 7:35 pmzuch says:
They made me surrender my flare pistol while in Bonaire. Of course, a burning ball of phosphorus might be mighty uncomfortable lodged in one’s middle, I guess….
Cheers,
January 15, 2010, 7:40 pmzuch says:
Hmmmm. Might need to use this ruse for my underwater camera stuff…. It’s a huge Pelican case that screams “Steal me!” (with one such response so far going through Miami airport….)
Cheers,
January 15, 2010, 7:43 pmbyomtov says:
This reminds me of the times when airline security, contrary to FAA regulations, insisted on X-raying film unless it was high ISO. I finally bought a roll of 1600 (or was it 3200?) film and put it at the top of my camera bag, so as to claim that my film really needed a hand-check.
That single roll, which I never shot, got me through any number of flights without an X-ray.
January 15, 2010, 8:58 pmDave Hardy says:
I never had any problems with walking up to the counter and declaring loudly “I HAVE A GUN! I HAVE A GUN!”
(Actually I haven’t flown with heat since 1992, when I had no trouble shipping a full auto Thompson on America West).
January 15, 2010, 9:44 pmjosh bornstein says:
byomtov,
For all who still use film, and who are concerned about x-rays in USA airports, it might also be helpful to print out the following, and keep it with you next to your film (I put a copy in each of the plastic bags holding my film, along with about 20 of the ISO 3200 film rolls.)
When flying domestically, or when leaving the US for an overseas flight, it’s been rare for a lower-level employee to insist on x-raying my film, but it has happened. Politely asking for a supervisor, and showing him or her the federal regulation has *always* solved the issue. Overseas (as other posters have noted) it’s much more of a crapshoot, since the USA law (obviously) does not apply. I haven’t done any travelling since Nov ’08, but between Sept ’04 and the end of ’08 I was in several hundred airports. Heathrow *always* insisted on x-raying the film. Same in Qatar. But other than that, I was able to politely ask for hand-inspection without any real issues. I had to make a case for myself perhaps 5 times, but I think the most important factor was that I always made sure to arrive at the airport extra early.
January 15, 2010, 10:27 pmMikeS says:
Douglas2 has the right of it. It’s a nice idea, a computer-geek loophole reading of the regs, but there is minimal advantage to it.
First, while there is the advantage of the TSA inspection happening where the owner can observe the case, the case is otherwise closed, marked inspected, and that is it.
It receives no extra tracking and it CANNOT be marked in any special manner to distinguish it from other luggage.
Second, if the case does have to be inspected in transit, it will be broken into, because the regs also require the case to be locked with a key solely available to the case owner. I.e., not TSA-keyed locks.
So, all it does it ensure the initial TSA inspection is not carried out where the owner cannot observe it. After that, it’s just post-inspection luggage.
January 15, 2010, 10:40 pmOff Kilter says:
I just had tax forms received on the way to the airport from my accountant and associated financial data plus a check book, all at the bottom of my suitcase, disappear on a non-stop between leaving it with one airline employee and picking up on the conveyor belt in the next city. Stupid to not carry it on the plane, I know. I suspect some TSA employee moonlights selling identity info. Not clear why they couldn’t also sell guns.
January 16, 2010, 1:04 amTweets that mention The Volokh Conspiracy » Blog Archive » Another Way To Use a Gun To Protect Your Property -- Topsy.com says:
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Xtapolapocetl and Property Sale Direct, Eugene Volokh. Eugene Volokh said: Another Way To Use a Gun To Protect Your Property: A suggestion from a few years ago by John Arnold, quoted with a… http://bit.ly/6aTQYF [...]
January 16, 2010, 2:46 amSteve (CT) says:
Here’s a link to a video presentation about flying with firearms as well as using them as an excuse to secure your luggage as suggested above.
http://vimeo.com/3923535
January 16, 2010, 4:44 amDaniel J. Wojcik says:
Is that new? When I packed a pistol a while back (pre-TSA), they put a big ol’ red tag on the suitcase indicating it contained a weapon. Seemed kinda silly to me…a “Here, steal me” tag.
January 16, 2010, 7:52 amlgm says:
This works only if few people do it.
January 16, 2010, 9:13 amMikeS says:
Indeed. I am not sure when it started, but now they tag it as inspected, not for a weapon. A lot of firearms went missing through O’Hare in 2006, spurring some articles on the issue – but even at that time the articles indicate they were not tagged as weapons. It stands to reason that inspectors/handlers stealing from luggage in general would also get some firearms with their haul.
January 16, 2010, 9:38 amKingsley Browne says:
I am familiar with one incident that just happened over Christmas. A bag containing two firearms “went missing” for 24 hours. It was ultimately delivered where it was supposed to go with firearms intact.
One shortcoming of the described tactic for ensuring the safety of bags is that the procedure for checking firearms differs from airport to airport. In some airports, you tell the ticket clerk that you have a firearm. The clerk requires that you open the case that it’s in and demonstrate that the firearm is properly packed. You then lock the case (with a non-TSA lock) and lock the suitcase, and that’s the last you see of it. In other airports, they send you over to the TSA person who checks the firearm case and also may completely search your bag manually. In other airports, they send you to TSA, and all TSA does is to x-ray your bag in your presence and then sends you along your way.
As mentioned already, TSA regulations prohibit any kind of marking on the outside of the bag indicating that it contains a firearm (in contrast to the old system, under which they put a “contains firearm” [aka "steal me"] sticker).
January 16, 2010, 9:54 amInstapundit » Blog Archive » ANOTHER WAY TO use a gun to protect your property. I’m skeptical…. says:
[...] WAY TO use a gun to protect your property. I’m [...]
January 16, 2010, 10:29 ammemomachine says:
Hmmmm.
Isn’t it absurd that in an age of supposed heightened security baggage thieves still run rampant?
January 16, 2010, 10:54 ambyomtov says:
Josh Bornstein,
Thanks. I use digital these days.
Still, I am actually aware of that regulation, as a result of an incident when I was nearly arrested for insisting, quite calmly, that my film be hand-checked. The supervisor was not as helpful as the ones you’ve run into, and refused the hand-check, despite my pointing out the sign mentioned in the regulation. Instead she called a National Guardsman over lest I do ???
My choices came down to having the film x-rayed or skipping my trip to Sicily. The happy ending was that on subsequent legs I was able to get a hand-check, so there was only one x-ray, which is not enough to do damage.
January 16, 2010, 10:55 amDennis N says:
You need camouflage. Put the Pelican in a nasty looking suitcase.
I used to have a camera case I used on the job as camouflage. It was a cheap Salvation Army surplus hard sided suitcase with the foam cutouts inside. It’s as secure as an expensive one, and doesn’t scream “Steal me.”
January 16, 2010, 10:55 amRoy W says:
Good thought, but once a TSA person inspects the case, it gets exactly the same treatment and tracking as any other piece of baggage. You might get the advantage of a non-TSA lock, but a zip-tie is about as effective without all the faffing around at check-in.
I fly with competition pistols many times a year around and sometimes out of the US (overseas baggage with firearms is often treated differently, carried and stored separately, extra fees apply, must be declared weeks prior to flight, etc). I got a neat impromptu tour of the guts of the Atlanta baggage system a couple years ago on the way back from a competition in France when they found a (declared, but without the right paper declaration tag, since they, er, don’t have those in Marseilles) pistol in my luggage and made me open the case and show clear (NB: get the declaration form at the post-customs re-check if this happens to you)
January 16, 2010, 10:58 amRobinGoodfellow says:
I have declared a firearm at a number of airports. I never had anyone from TSA perform the inspection–it was always a ticket agent. And the inspection was perfunctory at best. I just opened the case so the agent could view the pistol, then I locked it up. They gave me a card to sign, which sometimes went inside the gun case and sometimes went into the luggage.
January 16, 2010, 10:59 amTheNino85 says:
To be fair, out of all the completely arbitrary rules for airline travel, this isn’t the worst. Blanks are not truly empty rounds; they usually release a wad traveling at high speeds. You can kill someone by firing blanks at them from a close enough range. Whether an unloaded gun should be treated in this exact way is up for debate, but if you’re going to treat a gun like this, it makes sense for doing the same to starter pistols.
January 16, 2010, 11:44 amWtfo says:
The tag is supposed to go INSIDE your locked weapon case. If they put it on the outside, they’re doing it wrong, since as someone noted already you are not allowed to have any indication that the container has a weapon in it.
If you’re going to fly with weapons, you need to read the rules ahead of time, print them out, and bring them with you. This generally keeps things from getting stupid at the airport.
TSA people will actually insist that you visually inspect a suppressor by looking down the bore to “ensure that it is not loaded”. Sigh.
January 16, 2010, 11:52 amEric says:
The advice is nonsense. I fly with guns regularly and have researched the rules. There is no special bag tracking, and outside markings indicating “gun” are forbidden. Bags are stolen regularly, and sometimes guns are in them. The TSA does keep stats on this, but they are hard to get them to share them. :) Your security “experts” are clueless on this subject.
Oh, and this part: “…and MUST BE LOCKED by a TSA official” implies that the TSA official must lock the case, but this is not true. The hard case must be locked and ONLY the traveler/owner may have the key or combo. If the TSA wants to inspect it, then they will ask the traveler for the key or have the traveler open it. (I always go to the TSA inspection point and stand by in case they need to look.) The TSA does not care about the gun other than it is unloaded — in fact they are forbidden to handle the gun. They are looking for explosives that might be hidden in the same case, so if the x-ray something besides the gun.
I’ve never had a problem with the TSA while traveling with my guns, but then I only travel to free states, not places like New York or New Jersey.
January 16, 2010, 12:01 pmtom swift says:
Starter pistols (at least, modern ones) exhaust gas out the sides, not out the barrel, so they can’t propel or shoot anything, not even hot air.
January 16, 2010, 12:02 pmrosignol says:
Is that new? When I packed a pistol a while back (pre-TSA), they put a big ol’ red tag on the suitcase indicating it contained a weapon. Seemed kinda silly to me…a “Here, steal me” tag.
When I’ve flown with a checked firearm, the tag was placed inside the bag containing the firearm. Apparently law required the tag, but the airlines knew that it amounted to a ‘steal me’ flag, and putting it inside the bag was how they worked around the stupidity imposed by Congress.
Before 9-11, there wasn’t any problem with just walking up to check-in and declaring the firearm. They didn’t ask to see it or for me to show that it was unloaded, but they did ask me to affirm that it was unloaded and sign paperwork to that effect.
This was when flying out of Seattle-Tacoma. Other airports may have different procedures, YMMV.
January 16, 2010, 12:02 pmwondertrev says:
Don’t know if I can honestly say the bags are extra tracked by TSA. My spouse is a fed, and US Air (‘natch) once lost her bag w/gun for 2 days. The tag does go inside, and the big US Gov’t pistol case might be tempting for thieves who might get past the lock, but I doubt many would want DHS agents crawling up their butts looking for the thing.
January 16, 2010, 12:40 pmPintler says:
Indeed. Not to mention getting an insider to ship contraband of one kind or another; the corrupt baggage handler isn’t likely to check whether the package has drugs or a bomb.
(As for the details of flying w/ guns, my experience has been: they used to put the sticker outside, then they gave you the sticker to put inside, which seemed odd. For me, it has always been a TSA inspector. I don’t think there is special processing of bags w/ declared firearms: I have had rifle cases thrown in an unattended pile of ‘outsize bags’ at the far end of baggage claim, and I know people who have had guns stolen from checked bags. Lastly, at least for now be careful if e.g. flight delays have you unexpectedly spending the night in Chicago or other non firearms friendly places; I have heard of folks encountering serious hassles when trying to recheck the firearm the next day. Also, some people report hassles when carrying ammo in other than original packaging.)
January 16, 2010, 12:40 pmLittle Miss Attila / Joy McCann says:
If you’re going to travel with a sidearm–even a starter gun–make sure you’re not going to a country that forbids handguns. In such places a bb rifle might be more advisable for this technique.
But I agree that without any external marking, there’s no way to ensure special treatment. Thus, the odds of theft go down to what they are with any piece of baggage. (Which is a good thing, but negates the supposed advantages to having the gun.)
Therefore, this strikes me as a lot of trouble for only theoretical gain.
January 16, 2010, 1:00 pmcbunix23 says:
Clever but not without risk. There are some cities where even a starter pistol is legally controlled as much as a handgun, e.g., if you don’t have a permit for it you are committing a felony. Federal law applies within the airport, but once you’re off premises that doesn’t apply. Even if your flight does not include a stop in a gun unfriendly city your flight may have to make an emergency landing in one.
January 16, 2010, 1:05 pmYmal Brucker says:
Wonder if this technique would help in transporting drugs?
Put a starter pistol in with your Heroin. Then if a TSA dog alerts on your bag, the ICE guys will simply think the dog is insane.
‘Course having a firearm during the commission of a drug offense means a long stay in the Grey Bar Hotel…
January 16, 2010, 1:07 pmDoc Merlin says:
Well, this would only apply to the TSA and hence only flying within the US. Your Juneau-Spokane example would then work, but the calgary-Saskatoon one wouldn’t.
January 16, 2010, 1:17 pmKevin R.C. O'Brien says:
I used to work in aviation journalism. Then I went straight. (Try the veal… tip your waiter).
Anyway, there is a major and ongoing problem with TSA employees looting luggage. You hear little about it because it’s TSA policy not to prosecute — a case only comes up when the miscreants are caught by local law enforcement and TSA can’t back ‘em down (most thefts that are caught, are caught by TSA’s cameras, and the thieves are only fired and not even given a bad reference under TSA policy). Ostensibly this is to protect the secrecy of security procedures, but actually it’s to bury the fact that literally hundreds of TSA’s finest commit literally thousands of luggage thefts annually.
As to identity theft and the TSA, yes, it’s a rampant problem also.
This is a rare case with the employee/thieves being prosecuted (it’s normally a reprimand-only or, on second offense, firing offense in TSA). The difference is, they stole from other TSA employees. Unlike stealing from the public, that’s not part of TSA’s employee benefit plan:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/07/AR2010010704021.html
And here’s the lovely news. If you petitioned the TSA to get off the no-fly list (that they put you on, for example, for writing articles or editorials critical of them), well, they seem to have lost your personal information to hackers. Sorry about that. But it’s the TSA, so no heads rolled.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22612198/
Remember, the guy whose inattention led to the TSA’s mad Newark overreaction is not only still employed, but a “model employee.” If you ever wanted a job with no boundaries and no accountability, TSA has it for you.
You may recall that in 2001-02 the argument was that the drooling brain-dead zombies and sketchy criminals that airlines’ contractors like Argenbright hired for security screening should be replaced by better-paid amd motivated federal employees. But what you may not know, is that when hiring the new better employees, TSA required screening experience. Result? Same drooling brain-dead zombies, same sketchy criminals, more money, and it’s your tax dollars even if you don’t fly.
January 16, 2010, 1:29 pmDon’t want to lose luggage? Bring a gun to the airport – Jim Report says:
[...] From Pajamas Media [...]
January 16, 2010, 1:31 pmAlec Rawls says:
In the same vein, I discovered a couple of years ago the one way to get the police to actually look for your stolen car. Just let them know you have a gun locked in a case under the front seat.
Folks from CCW states will usually prefer to carry their guns with them when they are out of their car, but here in California, almost no carry permits are issued outside of rural counties, so the best you can do is keep an unloaded gun locked in your car with some ammo handy.
When my Toyota van was stolen with $5,000 worth of tools in it, I was anticipating a couple weekends of trolling the flea markets with a garrote wire (figuratively speaking). But lo and behold, the report that there was a gun in the van apparently mobilized the entire local police grid and the van was found within an hour, parked outside of a crowded apartment complex with tools and gun intact.
They did not catch the thief. The officer told me that the thieves have a routine with the old Toyotas. As the door and ignition locks wear, the key from any old Toyota will work in any other (verified by the fact that the keys to each of my old Toyotas will open and start the other), so the thieves drive around stealing one Toyota after another, stripping anything of value, and leaving a string of abandoned vehicles in their wake. The officer told me they never catch anybody, and treat it as forget it crime, since it is totally unmanageable. Hopefully the cars get reported as abandoned. Then the happy ending is when the owner receives a big fat bill from the impound yard.
The officer figured my van had too much valuable stuff to strip and leave, so the thief drove it home to strip the next day. “Probably lives somewhere in there,” he said, gesturing to the apartment complex with his thumb. But because the whole police force was out looking for my van, the thief never got a chance to sell off my tools.
The COP was anti-gun by the way. Or maybe he was just pissed off at having to look for a mere stolen van just because it had a gun in it, but he first threatened that I might have been breaking the law by carrying my speed-loader in the same locked case as my gun.
“I’ve read the law,” I told him. “It says that unless I have a carry permit, the gun has to be unloaded and in a locked case. It doesn’t say there can’t be ammunition in the case.” Then he asked in a hostile tone why I needed a gun anyway. As someone who carried a gun himself, I figured he should know, so I looked at him as if he must be dumb and told him anyway: “In case I need to shoot somebody.”
January 16, 2010, 2:06 pmRyan says:
Shipping a pistol DOESN’T guarantee your bag won’t be missing. I flew from Michigan to San Diego with two checked pistols, one each in separate bags. Properly checked them in and everything. Got to San Diego, one bag was missing.
Me: M’am, any idea when I’ll get my bag back?
Agent: We’ll get it back as soon as possible.
Me: Uhm, great, but I’m kinda responsible for the pistol that’s in the bag.
Agent: (Annoyed) Sir, we’ll get it to you as soon as possible.
Me: (Scribbles down agents name)
Agent: Sir…?
Me: M’am, if someone steals my bag and commits a crime with that pistol, I’ll be sure to let the judge know you did everything possible to help me…
I got my bag back, pistol and all, in 24 hours. Firearms guarantee nothing to these morons, unless you threaten to have them prosecuted alongside you.
January 16, 2010, 2:12 pmSuperSkeptic says:
Never check your bags people. Never. Never. Two carry ons – smallish, must fit one overhead and one under seat in front of you (unless you’re in row one – then both overhead). And I am comfortable next to the emergency exit, thank you (more leg room).
January 16, 2010, 2:28 pmSteverino says:
Kevin, subsitute the word “Congress” anywhere you use TSA and it works out pretty much the same way in the real world. Except Congress has a wider field of pillage, as they’re not limited to airports.
Health care, anyone?
Anyway, more to the point, I’ve travelled pretty widely with firearms. The show TSA puts on is just part of the battle. It doesn’t mean your guns will actually show up in Harare when you need them. You’re still dealing with airlines and other governments when you travel abroad.
January 16, 2010, 2:40 pmzuch says:
Can’t. It’s 50 lb. on the nose as it is.
Cheers,
January 16, 2010, 3:21 pmDrew Kelley says:
I find this all quite humorous. As an FFL who has handguns shipped via UPS & FedEx all the time, I can relate to the ongoing battle of identifiable marks, and packages that never arrive. The theft of firearms by UPS employees got so bad 10-years ago or so, that UPS announced that any handgun being shipped inter-dealer had to go Red-Label – no more ground transport – and this was at a time that most of the “red flags” had already been removed from the exterior of the packages. Interestingly, prior to that change in UPS policy, I had found that the most practical method of shipment balancing cost and security was Blue-Label. Currently, we still have to have a tag demanding “Adult Signature Required” which might as well be saying “Steal Me”; but,
January 16, 2010, 8:32 pmovernight shipping has not cured the problem, but has greatly diminished it.
PKO Strany says:
The manufacturer of my rifle advises that any weapons returned to the factory not be sent to them, but to an alternate address that does not carry an obvious link to them, to reduce the chance of theft in transit.
January 16, 2010, 10:02 pmLarryA says:
TSA firearm info.
Check your airline’s website as well.
Worst problem I’ve had checking a firearm:
January 17, 2010, 1:33 amAirline clerk-”Do you have any ammunition in there?”
Me-”Yes. Forty rounds of .45ACP.”
Airline clerk-“Oh, that’s way too much. The limit is eleven pounds.”
gove says:
gun is dangerous thing
January 17, 2010, 7:18 pmSammy Finkelman says:
Because if a gun disappeared in transit, there’d be a whole lot more to answer for and a real federal investigation. Anyone who did anything would be suspected of supporting terrorism and airplane hjacking.
for.
January 17, 2010, 8:21 pmSammy Finkelman says:
The Mafia probably had a hand in writing the air security regulations.
January 17, 2010, 8:33 pmSammy Finkelman says:
After all they have to protect drug smuggling – therefore no effective sniffers for explosives because they would also detect illegl drugs. And then there’s this business:
http://www.unclaimedbaggage.com
Things don’t gets stolen from Unclaimed Baggage – which was not the case with its predecessors.
Although many bags contain indicators of ownership, all signs of who owned anything are gotten rid of before things are put up for sale.
They don’t like, or didn’t like to talk to the press bout their business.
January 17, 2010, 9:04 pmSkeptical | Snowflakes in Hell says:
[...] Eugene Volokh examines a suggesting for protecting expensive camera equipment: put a starter pistol in the case so it’s declared as a firearm, that way it’s less likely to be lost. The declaration tag goes in the case, so it’s not apparent from the outside that any particular case contains a firearm. That’s by design. Once it clears the TSA check, which happens in the beginning of the baggage handling process, no one else down the chain is aware whether or not a case contains a firearm. If this method works, I suspect it’s purely by coincidence. [...]
January 19, 2010, 10:17 amAnonymousCoward says:
Sadly, it does not even ensure that — each airport establishes their own processes, and more and more of them ask you to wait while it is first-pass inspected (out of your sight) and then they come out and demand the key if they decide they need to hand-inspect (still out of your sight.)
January 19, 2010, 4:26 pm