Here's yet another example from a more recent article:
Quote:
Tuesday, Dec 16, 2008, 3:08 PM
465 TSA officers have been fired for theft since early 2003, reports the New York Times. This year alone, the agency paid out $1 million in claims for missing possessions or damaged bags, says the Economist's Gulliver blog.
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I'm not saying that ALL theft/pilferage from baggage is by TSA but your argument is flimsy. Just because bags sit around doesn't mean the baggage handlers have the opportunity to rifle through bags to find valuables. The TSA has much greater access to bags and also knows their contents from the x-ray machines.
Most airlines have cut their employee numbers by more than 10% over the past year. Your assumption is based on the presumption that baggage handlers have scads of time on their hands to pick through random bags in the hope that their efforts will yield a valuable find. I find it hard to believe that they have so much spare time on their hands otherwise the bags would never get loaded on the planes! TSA, on the other hand, has the screening devices and training to know what is actually inside a bag without it even being opened. In this way they can "cherry pick" bags that contain electronics, jewelery, cash, etc. which are worthwhile to a theif.
Why, may I ask, are you so ready to defend the agents of the TSA and at the same time so willing to throw airline baggage handlers "under the bus?" I know there's plenty of guilt to go around, but really dude...how big IS that chip on your shoulder?