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Official website of the Department of Homeland Security

2009 Archives

15 May 2009

Orlando Employee Helps Distraught Teen

TSA Weekly

On a sunny Florida spring day, Field Counsel Patty Spivey-Wilson of TSA Orlando exemplified what it means to “serve the public.”

Driving home from work, she noticed a male teenager sitting on the wall of the highway overpass, with one leg hanging on the opposite side. As she pulled over, she observed that he seemed upset and was holding a bloody cloth over his arm.

Spivey-Wilson pulled up and when she asked whether he needed help, the youth said he was going to jump. As he moved the cloth, she noticed what appeared to be cut marks.

12 May 2009

TSA’s Secure Flight Enters First Public Phase

Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced today that beginning May 15 the Secure Flight passenger vetting program will begin asking passengers to enter their name – as it appears on the government issued identification they will be traveling with – when making airline reservations.
11 May 2009

BDO Team Helps Child Find Way Home

TSA Weekly

A 13-year-old boy who used his father’s credit card to book a four-city plane trip was discovered by a team of Behavior Detection Officers at Norman Y. Mineta San José International Airport. But that was as far as he got.

Using his father’s car to drive to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., without the parent’s knowledge, he flew to San Jose, where he was spotted wondering by Howard Temple and Sterling Cuizon.

27 April 2009

TSA Pittsburgh Officers Collaborate With Police

TSA Weekly

At Pittsburgh International Airport, two recent separate incidents resulted in arrests after Behavior Detection Officers (BDOs) collaborated with local law enforcement.

On April 12, Expert BDO Bob Tafelski and Master BDO Natasha LaVolpa identified a man who was wanted by local police for the alleged theft of airport property. Though the man checked in for a flight under an assumed name, the BDOs recognized him from a description and alerted police. He was charged with theft of property.

27 April 2009

Tampa BDO Team ‘SPOTs’ Man Alleged to Have Illegal Drugs

TSA Weekly

Hundreds of pills were found in a passenger’s carry-on bag on April 17 after he aroused the suspicion of a BDO team employing Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques (SPOT) at Tampa International Airport.

07 April 2009

TSA and Liberia Partner to Enhance Aviation Security

Press Release
MONROVIA, Liberia - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Liberia Civil Aviation Authority announced today a plan to enhance aviation security.
31 March 2009

TSA's Secure Flight Begins Vetting Passengers

Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced today the implementation of the Secure Flight program, which shifts pre-departure watch list matching responsibilities from individual aircraft operators to TSA and carries out a key recommendation of the 9/11 Commission. To date TSA has assumed the watch list matching responsibility for passengers on domestic commercial flights with four volunteer aircraft operators and will add more carriers in the coming months.

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