Yawning Is Suspicious?

Yawning Is Suspicious?, If you want your journey through the airport to go smoothly, don’t travel tired because the TSA may pull you out of line if you’re spotted yawning. Getting sidelined by the TSA during your trek through the airport is time consuming and can be a bit unnerving, but anyone can be pulled out of line for further screening if the TSA deems it necessary. A recent TSA document published online shows what signs agents are trained to spot that indicate you may be a terrorist and they screen for those signs with their SPOT “check list.”

On Friday March 27 The Intercept published TSA documents that outline what behaviors the agents are expected to look for when screening passengers. If those signs are present you will need further screening. This TSA checklist screening starts long before you actually look a TSA agent in the face, they are watching you while you are standing in line.

So what will get you tagged by a TSA agent for further inspection? Excessive yawning, repetitive grooming gestures and excessive body odor are just a few of the tell-tale signs they are searching for, according to The Daily Beast. The checklist the agents work off of list some exaggerated behaviors used by people to appear disinterested in the screening process, like yawning and a sudden interest in fixing your hair. The TSA agents are trained to spot behaviors used when you are trying too hard to look unconcerned.

Funky body odor could be a sign of excessive sweating from a nervous reaction of this screening process. The TSA may want to know what it is you are nervous about, so they may pull you over for further inspection.

Body odor may also be used as a purposeful tool when attempting to mask any other odors of something you have on your person that a dog might be able to sniff out. This could be another reason a person would come to the airport reeking of body odor and the agents may check this out.

Then there is always the thought that if you smell too bad, the agents will pass you along to rid themselves of the unpleasant odor as fast as the can. Any way you look at it, going to the airport stinky is one big red flag when TSA agents are looking for clues of a terrorist in their midst!

According to Political, the TSA program called “Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques (SPOT)” began in 2007 and so far has racked up a $1 billion cost. The assessment technique assigns points to the different behaviors the TSA agents observe in a person.

The agents are assessing three different factors of a passenger's behavior and assigning points to what they observe. These behaviors include factors of stress (one point), fear factors (two points) and deception factors (three points).

Stress factors include things like avoiding eye contact with TSA agents and an obvious “Adam’s Apple jump” when asked to go through the screening procedure. A pale face from the recent shaving of a beard is also a factor that get assigned a point.

The fear factor includes things like “a cold penetrating stare, bulges in clothing and individuals who are seemingly unrelated but display identical dress or luggage.” Folks showing “unusual interest” in the routine of the screening process and the TSA agents procedures are also showing signs of the fear factor and are given points.

The deception factor encompasses the folks who appear to be in disguise or who are disoriented. Points are deducted if the passenger in question is part of a family or older than 55. Apparently you get brownie points when traveling in a group that looks like a family or you are getting up there in age. “Fox and Friends Weekend” live on Saturday morning calls this checklist “bizarre.”

0 comments:

Post a Comment