Airport Security is Watching You but Who is Watching Them?

When television producer David Gardner recently proposed to his girlfriend during a Christmas vacation at his parents' home in Tucson the moment was perfect except for one key element. "The ring was too big," said Gardner.

Preparing to fly back to Los Angeles, Gardner hid the ring in a pair of rolled-up socks and buried it in the bottom of his suitcase. "I knew I'd be going in and out of my carry-on and felt it would be safer in my checked luggage," he explained. Handing his suitcase to a Southwest Airline sky cab outside of Tucson International Airport, he entered the airport with his new fiancée for the trip home.

Upon unpacking, Gardner was shocked to find the ring missing. His disbelief gave way to anger as he told his fiancée what had happened. "She was devasted," he said.

Gardner found a card in his suitcase stating that his belongings had been searched by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the division of the Homeland Security Agency responsible for airport security. Noticing that there wasn't an I.D. number for the security personnel who opened his bag, Gardner called Tucson International to ask to have the video records checked during the time his baggage was in their care. He was amazed to learn that there were no video cameras operating in the secured baggage areas of the airport.

"I was surprised there wasn't an identification number for the baggage handler who searched my bag, but I still thought it would be easy to determine who had taken the ring. With so many new airport security measures, I just assumed there would be cameras everywhere," Gardner said. "Everyone in a casino is being watched or for that matter, a 7-Eleven. Shouldn't the people who handle our property in an airport be under surveillance too?"