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TSA forces Richmond airport to issue access badge to convicted felon
In today's episode of "what did the TSA do this time?", the agency is under fire for not only hiring a convicted felon, but demanding that his assigned airport issue him an access badge. The unidentified TSA employee was hired by the agency after passing their background checks - but when he applied for his airport badge, Richmond airport turned him down, citing a conviction for robbery when he was 18.
When the airport denied the badge application, the TSA demanded that they reconsider, citing "unspecified consequences" if they refused. To me, this sounds an awful lot like blackmail.
The employee had not mentioned the conviction on his TSA application, and it doesn't look like it it would have mattered, because the TSA claims he actually committed the crime when he was 17, and that they don't really care about a conviction at that age.
The airport access badge is required to obtain access to the "sterile" area of the airport, including the baggage sorting areas and airline parking spots. Of course, the job of a TSA agent also includes passenger and luggage screening - something convicted felons should not be allowed to do if you ask me.
Politicians are now getting involved, and U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor has asked the TSA to clarify their actions. Given the recent bad press for the TSA, it never ceases to amaze me how they continue to screw up, creating even more bad PR. Lesson to be learned? If you are a criminal planning to protect our skies, make sure you don't commit any crimes after your 18th birthday.
What do you think?
| Yes - assuming they paid their price to society | |
|---|---|
| No way - these people are in charge of our security |
Filed under: North America, United States, Airports
Reader Comments (Page 5 of 6)
FOLLOW THE LEADER Feb 7th 2010 12:13PM
HYPOCRITES............THEY ARE JUST FOLLOWING THE PRESIDENTS EXAMPLE...I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY EVERYONE IS SO UPSET....THE LAW EITHER APPLIES TO ALL OF US OR NON OF US
Michael Sexton Feb 7th 2010 5:02PM
People point guns and pull triggers...Some are military...Some are people walking down the street..All are killers. All are willing to take a life.All are able to justify, in thier own minds, the action.Some of them go to jail for it.What does felony have to do with anything.
Diamond Feb 7th 2010 12:16PM
John Madison
You are an EXCEPTION to the rule. It is a statistical fact that 98% of criminals are repeat offenders.
I applaud your integrity and ability to move beyond your past mistake.
That does not excuse the fact that this person LIED on the appication.
I agree, look at the TSA employees. They aren't what I would say the most competent people that inspire confidence and security when fying. I personally think TSA is an idiotic agency. I applied with them a few years ago with a stellar resume and references in the security field. I wasn't even considered for a position. I know 3 TSA employees that worked for me in the past that I let go because of their laziness lack of detail attention and other various perfomance problems.
I guess you get what you pay for?
shack Feb 7th 2010 12:27PM
I just admire all the EX-felons that do get a job and stay out of trouble to lead a normal life . BUT there has to be the so called lawabiders and law makers that have to bring them back down !
John Feb 7th 2010 12:20PM
"Of course, the job of a TSA agent also includes passenger and luggage screening - something convicted felons should not be allowed to do if you ask me."
The author of this article is a bigot. Do you have any idea how easy it is to become a felon these days, for reasons having nothing to do with terrorism? Many "felons" never even hit prison - they had some weed on them at a college party and got probation. Here are some statistics that are the result of an overgrown "justice" system:
* 1 out of every 142 Americans is now actually in prison
* At any given moment, 1 out of every 32 of Americans is either in prison or on parole from prison, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
* If recent incarceration rates remain unchanged, an estimated 1 of
every 15 persons (6.6%) will serve time in a prison during their
lifetime.
Are you really willing to permanently discard people when the meaning of the term "felon" has been totally diluted by laws that turn minor errors in judgment into felonies?
JC Feb 7th 2010 12:27PM
NAZIS. Plain and simple...NAZIS.
Roy Crook May 26th 2010 10:50AM
Now I'm all for our penial system going back to reforming prisonors. I do think that non violent offenders do deserve a second chance. But on the other hand do we really need violent offenders with a possible gruge against the system and quite possibly the rest of society that he thinks put him in prison?
Or maybe we should just make them all cops and bank presidents or even top people on guarding our ammo and explosives that need to be transported across country. Yes it does seem like in our past we have has such in these places and now just learning about some of their ways. We have even had those in our government in top places that don't even know or have any idea of their own misuse of powers. But then again we do get the government institutions that we are willing to have.
I still think that there are good people in those positions that allow power and possible financial gain get the better of them. So if realizing this fact isn't scary enough then sure why should we give those with personality flaws already known jobs thay can make more mistake in judgment. The best example is the head man at the Cost Guard that was fired for taking money and looking the other way.
Angela Feb 7th 2010 10:12PM
How can you form an air-tight opinion on this when you have so little information? Is this man still 18 and committed this crime mere weeks ago? Or is a 35-year-old man, who has had not other incidents with the law? Does the TSA paperwork request only convictions in the last 7 years, as many applications do? Or did he actually omit the information on purpose? Or is it like TSA has said and he was a minor, in which case the record is expunged? It is the opinions of folks such as yourself that prevent "convicted felons" from being able to return to society and become productive members. You say he was convicted of robbery, was that a petty $50 from a convenience store or did he hold up a bank at gunpoint? Men returning from jail after having paid their debt to society according to the laws of the country you live in, cannot support themselves or their families in a legal manner, if people like you won't let them work. And fine, you say this is TSA, our security. But there is always an excuse at every job. And again, should this man be expected to spend the rest of his life working at Burger King because he made a mistake once in his life?
ace Feb 7th 2010 12:50PM
Funny how when the person is rich or famous (Mike Vick, etc) everyone is screaming "everyone deserves a second chance!", but when its just a normal poor member of society, they don't deserve anything! I have a Felony from 30 years ago, from being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and having to go with a public defender who could care less other than getting to his private practice to get rich. The only thing I've had since then is a dwi 17 years ago. But......acording to the poll results, I'm an evil felon and I can't protect YOU, (nevermind all the training I had in security, safety, and crowd management from the coast guard becoming a merchant marine) while 100% idiots with no viable training other than looking at xray machines can and do. TSA screws up all the time, because they are forced to hire morons instead of good qualified people with a blemish on thier record. Funny how the constitution says you can be president with a felony, but you can't screen passengers? 100% foolish idiocy. Think about that next time you get screened by a moron.
Frank Talk Feb 7th 2010 1:12PM
The political officials of this nation who value a fabricated "war on terror" over helping the poor who they are elected to protect serve offices after their convictions, so why can't people who have [paid their debt to society. More people have died and are daily dying as of a structured national policy of keeping a few wealthy, but the majority dependent (poor, impoverished), so the U.S. press should bypass this wag-the-dog fiasco of terrorists are overseas--and coming to get us. Our government is practicing all the terrorism we've seen legalized, killed more of us off (bad medicines approved, wrong death sentences/executions, killer-cops, lynchings, mad scientists experiments, community saturated with street drugs "crack," etc...). These men an female in charge of leag;l issues get umpteen chances, and their families, so why can't the victimized, destitute, systematically underprivileged.
nestmission Feb 7th 2010 12:54PM
One thing the article did not say was how old is this person now? What has he been doing since he was 17? There are lots of things to take into account. I was admissions director for a CNA school for 15 years and had to pull police reports on our young men/women. Nothing before the age of 18 is supposed to show up in the report, but it does. It is like a credit report, after 7 years all your 09's are supposed to come off...but guess what lots of them don't. Before the age of 18 they are supposed to considered kids. I for one would like to know what his felony was, or if it was only one time. Some people do have redeming qualities about them, but there are those that nothing will help. As for this guy working security. I have mixed feelings. As for lying on his app, again if this happened before the age of 18 he does not have to say yes to being arrested. What he needs to do if he has been straight over these last years....more than 5 is to have this expunged off his record. No he does not need some high priced lawyer to do this for him. He can do this himself for about $50. I think we need to be very causious in hiring him in security. But then again have you seen most of the security screeners at the airport? Most of them act like they are on work release anyway!!!
Tom Feb 7th 2010 1:06PM
John,
How many felons do you employee at your two businesses?
hlnwlf1 Feb 7th 2010 1:01PM
I agree with the airport on this one. Convicted felons are not allowed acess to jobs in the military nor are they allowed acces to federal grants or loans for college. We also should not be allowing them access to Federal jobs either. whether they paid their debt to society or not there are still some things that should not be within their grasp. Especially within the grasp of a convicted thief, why would we place our security in the hands of someone who has already violated that trust.
john Feb 7th 2010 1:28PM
First, your comment about convicted felons not being allowed in the military is completely wrong. Waivers for felonies are granted on a routine basis; only in extraordinary cases are they not granted.
Second, hlnwlf1, you're claiming that you've never broken the law - am I understanding you correctly? You've never downloaded a song or movie from a file sharing service (which is a felony)? You've never been aggressive with your state or federal tax deductions - also a felony? Have you ever given a family member or friend a prescription sleeping or pain pill of yours when they needed it? You guessed it, that's a felony too. Do you know anyone (including your children) who have done any of the above (including downloading songs) and failed to report them to the authorities? That's also a felony - it's called misprision of felony (see http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/4.html). These are just tiny examples out of thousands.
You'll probably reply to this saying that you've never done anything that could be remotely construed as illegal, and that's fine. You've even turned your kids' ipods over to the FBI. Hypocrisy seems to be one of the cornerstones of American society. But let's make something clear. The people, like you, who claim to be squeaky clean aren't actually clean. To be sure, you consider yourself a good person, and probably strive to be (as many people, even felons, do). In your mind, it's OK as long as it's you doing it - you have your reasons.
The simple fact of the matter is that you've done things that if pursued by an aggressive prosecutor could land you in jail, prison, or at least on probation. You simply haven't been caught or pursued. That's how the system works. Our laws are designed so that anyone could be arrested at any time, and everyone else can look at those who have been caught and fool themselves into believing that they aren't next.
Red Feb 7th 2010 1:23PM
Why not give a guy a chance? We give politicans, actors, sports hero's a chance but, men who have paid thier debts to society can't be given a second chance.It's a shame young men who have fallen prey to the lie's and foolishniess of their childhood have to reminded that they still can't beat the odds.
Ed Ward Feb 7th 2010 1:12PM
"Take Stuff Away" (TSA) is just living up to its past actions. If they did away with the whole agency, I would feel just as safe!
GB Feb 7th 2010 1:17PM
Isn't the term "convicted felon" redundant? You can only be a felon if you are convicted--no such thing as a non convicted felon.
j david Feb 7th 2010 1:31PM
REALLY PXXX POOR QUESTIONS. NO I DON'T THINK ALL FELONS SHOULD BE HIRED FOR SENSITIVE JOBS-DEBT PAID OR NOT. BUT THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS AND AN OLD "MINOR" FELONY SHOULDN'T BE HELD AGAINST A 17 YR OLD. HOW ABOUT A REAL QUESTION JUST CONCERNING THIS SITUATION. I HIRED A SOMEONE WITH A MANSLAUGHTER CONVICTION (I ASKED HIM TO FILL IN THE BLANK IN HIS EMPLOYMENT BUT HE THOUGHT HE WOULDN'T GET HIRED) - WORKED OUT OK. AGAIN YOUR QUESTION IS SO BOGUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Lewis Wall Feb 7th 2010 1:25PM
Society is not saying that this TSA employee cannot ever get work again. It is saying thtat he has lost the opportunity to work where trust is critical. And trust is critical in airport security situations. He can still work in thousands of jobs that do not require a high degree of trust. He can work in retail, trades, perhaps the medical field. Maybe, next time, he will fill out the application honestly when it asks if he were ever convicted of a felony
Lyn Johns Feb 7th 2010 1:25PM
Do you want your family to fly on a plane after this felon screens the baggage? I don't! What is the TSA going to do next. I guess the question is, what won't they do next. The media is finally calling something to the public's attention that needs a spotlight. How dare the TSA to overide Richmond Airport's dicision to not hire a felon at their airport! I wonder who complained to the TSA and why. Let's find that out also. Sounds suspicious to me and I'm not the media! Don't let that felon anywhere near a job at an airport after all the threats we have lived through. I like that the Richmond Airiport was looking out for my welfare. I would have thought the TSA would do the same! Let's see if we can't new people in the TSA. Looks like we might have to if we want to feel safe while flying!