Airport screeners stealing from passengers

[Driving Rain]

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2012 ... 99551.html



Sticky fingers

MONTREAL - A veteran British Columbia airport security screener has been charged and quietly convicted after being caught red-handed stealing a $100 bill from a passenger's bag at a security checkpoint.

A second security screener at Ottawa International Airport hastily resigned his job after he was caught taking home a laptop left behind by a distracted passenger.

The two incidents have emerged during QMI Agency's ongoing investigation into rogue airport security screeners who've stolen from Canadian airline passengers.

No announcement was made in the cases by the RCMP, which arrested the Vancouver screener, or by the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA), the federal Crown corporation that oversees pre-flight security operations at the nation's airports.

CATSA officials told QMI Agency last year that they were "unaware" of any Canadian airport security screeners ever being arrested or convicted for stealing from airline passengers and insisted they kept no records about such cases. QMI has found otherwise.

Last fall, QMI revealed the case of Denis Bouffard, a Montreal security screener caught stealing from passengers at Trudeau International Airport for eight months in 2002.


Bouffard was convicted in 2003 and alleged that other Montreal screeners also stole with impunity.

The newly discovered Vancouver and Ottawa cases, together with the Bouffard conviction, are examples of a little-known, but national theft problem at Canada's airports.

Mary Susan Fernandes, the screener at Vancouver International Airport, was arrested for theft in February 2008 following an RCMP probe. Fernandes had worked there since 2002.

Fernandes was caught trying to swipe a $100 bill from a bag belonging to passenger Kin Wa Amy Leung during a search at a pre-flight security area, court records and CATSA reports state.

Leung confronted Fernandes and the screener returned the money to Leung, claiming she removed it during the search and forgot to return it, a CATSA report states.

Leung complained to Aeroguard, a security company which employed Fernandes, and CATSA and the RCMP were called. Airport surveillance video was secured. The RCMP arrested Fernandes

Fernandes, 62, pleaded guilty to theft on Dec. 10, 2009, and received a conditional discharge, a year's probation and 20 hours community service. CATSA has barred her from screening work.

Reached in B.C., Fernandes said she's "retired" and denied robbing passengers.

Reports about the Fernandes case existed at CATSA, but the Crown corporation didn't disclose them to QMI Agency last year after a detailed Access to Information request for reports and complaints by passengers who alleged thefts and demanded compensation.

CATSA spokesman Mathieu Larocque said those records didn't surface when officials processed QMI Agency's request because they were classified differently in a database.

The Vancouver case never resulted in a complaint or compensation claim to CATSA.

"It was resolved at the checkpoint," Larocque said. "We did not intend to mislead anyone."

A TALE OF TWO AIRPORTS

Call it the tale of the two left-behind laptops, a story that highlights the different approach Canadian and U.S. authorities are taking to rogue airport security screeners.

Two passengers - one in Ottawa (2008), the other in Memphis (2010) - became distracted going through pre-flight security checkpoints and left behind laptops.

Both were desperate to get their laptops back and eventually did. But that's where the similarities between the two cases end.

The U.S. passenger returned to a Memphis Airport checkpoint to get his machine; the Canadian woman sent her spouse to the Ottawa airport, realizing her mistake only after she took off.

One Ottawa screener took the woman's laptop to an unidentified senior screener.

The senior Canadian screener initially claimed he took the laptop to lost and found. Neither the laptop, or any record of it being turned in, were found.

The screener's boss became concerned he was not telling the truth. The screener finally admitted taking it home in a bag.

The U.S screener, Ricky German, took the U.S. male passenger's computer. He removed identifying information, wrapped it in his coat and hid it, telling the passenger who lost it he knew nothing about its whereabouts, court documents state.

The Canadian was suspended and hastily quit his job before the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority decertified him. Neither his employer, Aeroguard, nor CATSA tells Ottawa Police.

Memphis Police tell German, the U.S. screener, they'll review airport surveillance video for possible clues. Soon after, German claims he "found" the missing laptop.

Police view the video anyways. German is fired, arrested and charged with theft and making a false statement. Convicted in U.S. Federal Court, he was sentenced to eight months jail on Jan. 27.

[Meatservo]

Robbing us of our dignity isn't enough for some of them, it seems.

[Kilo-Kilo]

Aren't the screeners grade 10 educated, ten to twelve buck an hour employees of third party security companies contracted to man the check points?

[JMACK]

Aren't the screeners grade 10 educated, ten to twelve buck an hour employees of third party security companies contracted to man the check points?

Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA), the federal Crown corporation that oversees pre-flight security operations at the nation's airports.


TSA is definitely a US Fed organization try and go get a type rating in the US finger prints security back ground check yadda yadda yadda the works.

Feds for sure North and South!

[midwingcrisis]

Not only in Canada

http://www.flight-africa.com/2012/02/so ... +Africa%29

[Nark]

Here is a scientific study I did:

My sister is an FA and flies all over the US, however commutes out of YVR.
I fly into YVR, and many other ariports all over North America.
A good friend of mine (who probably lurks here as well) also flies all over NA for a large Canadian 737 operator which utilizes YVR on a regular basis.

We all came to the same conclusion: YVR is the worst airport in North America when it comes to screeners.
Its great to see that the Crown seems to think so too.

[vortac]

The system of random screening pilots by CATSA at bypass screening points across canada is complete and utter nonsense, a massive waste of time, especially that of the flight crews, and a complete insult with respect to the job they perform and the responsibilities that they have.

They amount of frustration and contempt that pilots now hold toward the airport screening system, CATSA or any other security people at an airport is the only result of someone's make work project turned airport circus.

[200Above]

A couple years ago i was going through the ywg airport security, in my uniform. i was waiting for my bag and buddy said "we'll have to look through ur bag", i said whatever, i got nothing to hide.

after many minutes and a couple times putting he bag through the xray, they couldnt find the item that looked suspicious. finally, after finding a hole in the liner of my bag, they found my leatherman which i had lost (so i thought) many months before hand. I said SWEET! that puppy cost me 100 bucks! buddy says sorry sir, it cant go through. i ask him if i could leave it behind and pick it up when i get back. Nope. ..... ok. well what do u suggest i ask, he says the only thing i could do is go back and give it to the ticket agent or it will be confiscated. i looked at the security line, and that was not an option. so i had to leave it, and i would bet, one of those CATSA punks probably has it at home.

with the above said tho, i noticed in yeg that they now have a stand where u can ship items that u cant take through to your destination or whatever. step in the right direction.

(typed on my tablet, sorry for the punctuality and spelling. fat fingers)

[2.5milefinal]

Very few times in the past 10 years have I not had my blood pressure go up while getting 'screened'.
...how many times do they need to check my boarding pass anyway ???

[markymarkl]

Yepper -no comment folks cant post what I want to say!

[Meatservo]

(typed on my tablet, sorry for the punctuality and spelling. fat fingers)

I'm sure as an airline pilot, your punctuality is above reproach. Your punctuation isn't actually too bad either, and I'm sure you are quite punctilious, at least at work.

The leatherman issue really pisses me off. As far as I'm concerned, it should be called a "pilot tool", it's so handy. When I'm halfway to work and I realise I've forgotten it, I will turn around and go get it. I use it every day. I haven't noticed how many of the guys at work have one on their belt, but all of my co-pilots do, and I would bet that at least 3/4 of the other pilots do too.

It's actually one of the many reasons I can't imagine doing airline style flying. I worry that if a CATSA "agent" tried to take my leatherman, I would end up in jail somehow, and probably on the news. On the rare occasion I have to pick up passengers at a terminal that has these a**holes working there, I stay in the cockpit and sulk and send someone else in to deal with the ground people. I can't imagine the rage I would feel if I flew for air canada, had my leatherman stolen by a security ****, and then had to sit in front of a locked door, safe from my passengers in first class who are all armed with the steel cutlery the airline gives them to eat their steak.

It's little demeaning issues like this that erode my ability to get to the end of a work day relatively hate-free. Things like CATSA (and orange "safety vests" while we're on the subject of maddening stupid shit) can make a nice guy kill.

[trey kule]

EDITED
I never get hassled. Just make sure to always position myself behind some beautiful young thing, as they always seem to get picked for the pat downs..
Alas, I too am a victim of the confiscated weapon ...in my case it was a little swiss army pen knife, which despite my best efforts to explain it was for self protection hit the screeners garage sale bin.
As an aside, I recently passed through an international airport where they had a rather novel idea. They took all the confiscated lighters from pax coming in, and put them in a little box with a "free lighter" sign on it for the deplaning pax...I thought that was a rather nice gesture.

[tower controller]

Aren't the screeners .....employees of third party security companies contracted to man the check points?

Yes they are, although CATSA is a federal department, the actual screeners are employed by a security company which contracts them out to CATSA

The following is a list of contracted security firms that operate at airports across Canada:

Central Region (airports in Ontario)

Apply online at:
GARDA Security Screening Inc.

Eastern Region (airports in Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island and Nunavut)

Apply online at:
Securitas Transport Aviation Security Ltd.

Pacific Region (airports in British Columbia, Yukon)

Apply online at:
G4S Secure Solutions (Canada) Ltd.

Prairies Region (airports in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Northwest Territories)

Apply online at:
GARDA Security Screening Inc.

from

http://www.catsa-acsta.gc.ca/Page.aspx? ... er&lang=en


Garda recently took over from a collection of smaller companies and apparently they are one of the biggest in the world in the pre board screening business.

[Colonel Sanders]

Its not like allowing stealing from passangers is a federally sponsored subsidy program

Yes, but perhaps CATSA will argue that stopping this widespread theft will push Canada into a recession?

Don't laugh - a study just paid for by the public sector unions concluded that Canada should not cut any government jobs because the unions say it will push Canada in a recession.

Of course, Canada didn't fall into a recession after the public sector job cuts of the 1990's. As Pierre Poilievre said, "If government spending was the best way to avoid a recession, then Greece would be the wealthiest country in the world"

[lownslow]

I had heard about screeners with sticky fingers before but figure the odds of being the guy who got his wallet lifted worked in my favour. I forget which airport in Ontario it was at but recently when I put my wallet into the bin along with everything else I was carrying, the CATSA screener picked it up and handed it right back to me so it wouldn't have to leave my sight. That seems like a good, positive way to win hearts and minds... Until some jackass builds a wallet bomb, of course.

LnS.

[Topspin]

Ever check craigslist or similar for prices on Swiss Army knives & Leatherman's? Not worth stealing, lucky to get 30 bucks for it. They go to, at least at YVR, the airport chapel and are sold for charity.

They take it away without remorse because they are audited by plain clothes CATSA real government employees. If something gets through, they lose their 'certification' and are suspended without pay until they can prove they're not retarded.

Items on the 'to be stolen list' include digital cameras, camcorders, laptops, tablets and cigarettes. Like that TSA fellow with tens of thousands in prior sales on his ebay account.

It's not a 'twelve buck an hour job' either. Wages are standardized across the entire country and with COLA's and such they max out approx $21/hr. Lot's of them work 7 days, endless overtime sitting at the food court screening starbucks, $70-75k is not an unrealistic gross.

http://iamaw16.ca/wp-content/uploads/20 ... zw1hzu.pdf