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TSA screening more than just carry-on bags
You might not see them, but they're studying you.
To identify potentially dangerous individuals, the Transportation Security Administration has stationed specially trained behavior-detection officers at 161 U.S. airports. The officers may be positioned anywhere, from the parking garage to the gate, trying to spot passengers who show an unusual level of nervousness or stress.
They do not focus on nationality, race, ethnicity or gender, said TSA spokeswoman Sari Koshetz.
"We're not looking for a type of person, but at behaviors," she said.
Under the program, which started in Boston in 2003, a suspicious passenger might be given a secondary security screening or referred to police; detection officers do not have arrest powers.
Last year, officers nationwide required 98,805 passengers to undergo additional screenings. Police questioned 9,854 of them and arrested 813.