Counter Terror Gazette

The Art of the Pat-down: a hands-on approach to passenger screening

02 Oct 2011

Legal in some locations, unacceptable elsewhere, the physical pat-down is certainly a controversial security measure. John Cordingley looks at industry best practice and some of the cultural sensitivities that have to be taken into consideration.

The term ‘pat down’ is widely used, intimating a random light contact by the searcher on a subject being checked. Some years ago the words used to ask passengers for permission to be searched were discussed in the UK by the industry and the regulator. Asking a passenger if they would submit to a body search may have given them the perception that rubber gloves and orifices may be involved. Conversely it was thought that saying “I need to check your clothing” was a psychological barrier preventing the searcher checking beyond the clothing i.e. the body through clothing. A balanced suggestion was arrived  - “I need to search you” – which told the subject what was required without generating any worrying perceptions and hopefully would enable the security screener to carry out a search of the body through the clothing, which is the required technique.

The advantages of the hands on body search are very obvious; when carried out to an acceptable standard for both parties i.e. screener and the passenger being searched; all those who are travelling by air can feel safe. In an ideal world anomalies can be checked, prohibited items can be discovered, the screener does not feel that they are being overly intrusive and the searched do not feel like they have been interfered with.

Reality is a different story when you consider the millions of people who do require a pat down search. Even when subjects are searched by very professional operators, many feel like they have been assaulted and screeners have to contend with getting very close to and touching someone who may have hygiene issues.

The great advantage for the passenger, screener and the collective safety of the airside and flying population when using Advanced Imaging Technology – body scanners is that any subsequent hands on search is less intrusive. The screener only has to concentrate on any area  identified in the scan thereby being more qualitative in nature.  The subsequent searches are therefore more varied in nature resulting in not only the screeners performing more effective checks, but also in creating a screening system less prone to fatigue and the formation of  bad search habits so easily the result of the more detailed and monotonous whole body pat down search. But even with body scanners there is still a need to hand search babes in arms and PRMs in wheelchairs.

It is well recognised that a good pat down search is a skill which takes some time to master in order to perform it to a high standard. Once that standard has been reached, the challenge for management thereafter is to ensure screeners maintain that level of quality.

A well trained and experienced screener can facilitate a good body search anywhere without any special equipment. Using all their senses they are capable of detecting metallic and non-metallic threats. The classic anywhere scenario would be at the aircraft side where archway metal detectors and body scanners would not be available. The most cost effective technical enhancement may be a hand held metal detector (HHMD). 

A human being, as opposed to technology, can also profile the subject while searching them by engaging them in conversation and observing behavioural indicators. As an example, a colleague recently selected a female passenger for search at random.

During the search the passenger was asked a common question, “where are you going?”, but she did not reply.  So, she asked again and the passenger said “Tenerife”. As she said that my colleague noticed something in her mouth. When challenged as to what she had in her mouth she replied “chuddy” (a local term for chewing gum). My colleague followed this through by saying “That is not chuddy; please show me what it is”. The girl produced a stick of Cannabis wrapped in cling film. Whilst customs were arresting the passenger they commented that this method of smuggling was quite unusual as they normally swallow sticks like this suspended down the throat on a thread attached to a tooth.

On another occasion a security screener was searching a male passenger and chatting with him in order to lighten the mood. While searching the man’s legs he noticed he was not paying attention to his conversation, as he was looking over at another passenger who was having his bag searched. The screener noticed a microexpression on the other passenger’s face that turned out to mean ‘they have found it’ (‘it’ being illicit money). The screener finished the search and asked the passenger if he could identify and collect his hand luggage.  This was searched and more illicit money in large denominations was discovered.

These incidents show that the human interaction which takes place during hands on body searches are very useful in picking up behavioural signs and expressions which may give the screener the gut feeling that something is not right. This benefit, unfortunately, is lost with body scanners.

Technique

The hands on method can vary greatly between countries and even different airports in the same State. Wherever and however it is performed, a quality search is one which is not carried out too quickly. A more deliberate systematic and methodical approach should be adopted which allows the signals from the finger tips to reach to processor in the brain in good time to detect anomalies.

There are differing thoughts as to how hands should make contact with the subject to best detect threats. The flat palm and fingers of the whole hand sweeping down the body in stroking movements or finger tips shuffling over the body are two of the most commonly used techniques; some methods today take the shuffling technique further by adding a twisting movement when checking the arms and legs in order to dislodge any concealed items. Most agree that the edge or back of the hand should be used when checking more sensitive areas.

Today you can see some practitioners of a more intrusive search which explores those sensitive areas using a very positive (discrete touch) technique which in my personal opinion has been overdue for many years considering the level of threat we have been exposed to. After all, many paradigms have shifted driven by incidents which have heightened our perception of the threat.

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