Secondary Security Screening Selection
Encyclopedia
Secondary Security Screening Selection or Secondary Security Screening Selectee, known by its acronym SSSS, is an airport security
measure in the United States
and Canada
which selects passengers for additional inspection. This may also be known as Selectee, Automatic Selectee or the Selectee list. The list contains 14,000 names, as of December 2009.
(TSA) nor the airlines publish the criteria that are used when boarding passes are issued to identify passengers who will be given extra screening or be denied boarding.
Some criteria are:
Since neither the TSA nor the airline run a background check
at the time boarding passes are issued, immigration
status and criminal record
s are not taken into consideration during SSSS. Furthermore, personal information such as a passenger's addresses, employment history, and medical record
s are not taken into account during SSSS and may not even be readily available to government officials to modify the process and increase its validity.
SSSS passengers will go through a more intensive screening process which may include puffer explosive detectors
. Their carry-on luggage may be also be inspected by hand. In the case of film or other items that cannot be X-ray
ed, the agent may perform a test for possible explosive materials. The screener may also use a hand held metal detector
to search the passenger for metal objects.
Airport security
Airport security refers to the techniques and methods used in protecting airports and aircraft from crime.Large numbers of people pass through airports. This presents potential targets for terrorism and other forms of crime due to the number of people located in a particular location...
measure in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
which selects passengers for additional inspection. This may also be known as Selectee, Automatic Selectee or the Selectee list. The list contains 14,000 names, as of December 2009.
Selection criteria
Neither the Transportation Security AdministrationTransportation Security Administration
The Transportation Security Administration is an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that exercises authority over the safety and security of the traveling public in the United States....
(TSA) nor the airlines publish the criteria that are used when boarding passes are issued to identify passengers who will be given extra screening or be denied boarding.
Some criteria are:
- Passengers with a one-way reservation.
- Passengers who pay cash for their tickets.
- Passengers who book reservations the day of their flight.
- Passengers who "no show" a single leg of their flight.
- Random selection, according to TSA spokeswoman Amy Von Walter in 2004, and as suggested by a 2003 DOI newsletter.
- Flight to specific final destinations.
- Flying without ID
- Having one's name on a list of names supplied by the government to the airlines, according to an airline staff questioned.
Since neither the TSA nor the airline run a background check
Background check
A background check or background investigation is the process of looking up and compiling criminal records, commercial records and financial records of an individual....
at the time boarding passes are issued, immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
status and criminal record
Criminal record
A criminal record is a record of a person's criminal history, generally used by potential employers, lenders etc. to assess his or her trustworthiness. The information included in a criminal record varies between countries and even between jurisdictions within a country...
s are not taken into consideration during SSSS. Furthermore, personal information such as a passenger's addresses, employment history, and medical record
Medical record
The terms medical record, health record, and medical chart are used somewhat interchangeably to describe the systematic documentation of a single patient's medical history and care across time within one particular health care provider's jurisdiction....
s are not taken into account during SSSS and may not even be readily available to government officials to modify the process and increase its validity.
Procedure when selected
Passengers who have been selected for this secondary screening will have the letters SSSS or *S* (all capitals) printed on their boarding passes.SSSS passengers will go through a more intensive screening process which may include puffer explosive detectors
Explosive detection
Explosive detection is a non-destructive inspection process to determine whether a container contains explosive material. Explosive detection is commonly used at airports, ports and for border control.-Dogs:...
. Their carry-on luggage may be also be inspected by hand. In the case of film or other items that cannot be X-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
ed, the agent may perform a test for possible explosive materials. The screener may also use a hand held metal detector
Metal detector
A metal detector is a device which responds to metal that may not be readily apparent.The simplest form of a metal detector consists of an oscillator producing an alternating current that passes through a coil producing an alternating magnetic field...
to search the passenger for metal objects.
See also
- No-fly list
- Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening SystemComputer Assisted Passenger Prescreening SystemThe Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System is a counter-terrorism system in place in the United States air travel industry...
- Terrorist Screening DatabaseTerrorist Screening DatabaseThe Terrorist Screening Database or TSDB is the central terrorist watchlist consolidated by the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center and used by multiple agencies to compile their specific watchlists and for screening. The list consists of 400,000 unique names and over 1,000,000 records as of...
External links
- ACLU of Washington: What is the "Selectee List"?
- EPIC: Documents Show Errors in TSA's "No Fly" and "Selectee" Watch Lists
- DHS to Launch Traveler Redress Inquiry Program
Accounts of passengers
- Happening Here – Miscellaneous posts about the No Fly and Selectee lists and being removed from them
- selectee | GurBlogs – Walter F. MurphyWalter F. MurphyWalter Francis Murphy, Jr. was a 20th century American political scientist and writer.-Biography:Born in Charleston, South Carolina, he won a Distinguished Service Cross for his service as a Marine in Korea, eventually retiring with the rank of colonel. He held the chair of McCormick Professor of...
- James Moore. Branded
- Babak Fakhamzadeh. From San Francisco to Tokyo
- Jacob AppelbaumJacob AppelbaumJacob Appelbaum is an independent computer security researcher and hacker. He is currently employed by the University of Washington, and is a core member of the Tor project. Appelbaum is known for representing Wikileaks at the 2010 Hope conference...
Air Space - a trip through an airport detention center