Schumer: TSA should be screening luggage, not stealing it

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) called for an undercover investigation on Thursday into complaints of theft by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees.

Schumer sent TSA administrator John Pistole a letter Thursday, asking him to immediately address recent reports of agents stealing property from luggage and security checkpoints at airports around the country. 

“Traveling these days is stressful enough without having to worry about being robbed by those who are paid to keep us safe,” Schumer said in a statement Thursday. “I know and interact with TSA agents on a regular basis, and I know that the vast majority are honest, dedicated and hardworking.”

The more than 200 complaints of missing items during the last 12 months include iPads, cameras, laptops and video game consoles.

Schumer suggested to Pistole that an investigation could be conducted by undercover agents acting as travelers, and include property with embedded location-tracking devices.

“These random and undercover audits would help deter those who want to steal, and prevent them from sullying the good name of their colleagues,” Schumer said.

In the letter, Schumer also suggested that the TSA’s Office of Professional Responsibility should randomly screen agents at the end of their shifts to ensure that they are not removing passenger property from the airport. He said the added layer of unpredictability would reduce incentive for TSA agents to steal.

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