Salt Lake airport nabs weapons galore
Officials at checkpoints have seized 185,078 during past 3 years
That is an average of 190 such items confiscated each day.
It also means that, on average, one of every 73 passengers who worked through checkpoints in that time surrendered some sort of potential weapon.
That is according to U.S. Transportation Security Administration data obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by the Deseret Morning News. It covers the period from February 2002 through September 2004.
Earl Morris, federal security director at the airport, said he is not surprised that 185,000 items were seized there in that period — which would have been enough to arm every passenger on 979 separate, filled-to-capacity Boeing 737s.
"Actually, we take several hundred items on most days of the week" at security checkpoints, Morris said.
"And that's only part of it. We actually find many more. But we allow people who inadvertently bring a pocketknife or something to mail it back to themselves," he says. "They can go to the gift shop and buy an envelope and stamps and bring it back. We put the item in the envelope and seal it while they watch, and then mail it."
That is only one arrest for about every 3,000 potential weapons surrendered.
Morris said, "When people are arrested, it's generally because they tried to artfully conceal something. . . . If they take extra measures to conceal something, like hide a pocketknife in a packet of mothballs, then they will be arrested."
Morris added that people could face civil fines for bringing some very dangerous items, even if it was inadvertent and they did not try to hide them. "If they bring something like a knife with a blade longer than 3 inches" — the airport found at least 3,500 of those in the past two years — "they could be fined between $100 and $500 whether it was intentional or not," he said.
When items are confiscated, Morris said security officers store them in a locked area and make a daily inventory. Once a week, the General Services Administration collects them. Most are destroyed, but some are recycled, Morris said.
No improvement
Despite publicity from the 9/11 terrorist hijackings — resulting from terrorists smuggling just box-cutter razors past checkpoints — and ever-tightening security at the airport, data show that the number of potential weapons seized continues to be high.
"It's disappointing because we have been preaching the same thing for years" about what passengers can and cannot take on board, Morris said.
At Salt Lake City International, placards warn passengers waiting in security lines what is and is not allowed, as do video messages they watch in line. Morris and others often hold press conferences before heavy travel periods warning about what is allowed, and TSA Web sites offer extensive lists.
"But we don't really see any improvement," he said.
Data show that in some ways it is worse.
The number of seized items at the airport nearly doubled from 2002 to 2003 — from 40,765 to 84,501 from 11 months in 2002 to 2003.
During the first nine months of this year, the rate of seized items remained roughly the same as the previous year, with 59,812 items seized from January through September.
Times of truly heightened security and warning do seem to cut down on weapon seizures, data show. In February 2002 — the month of the Salt Lake City Olympics — only 140 weapons were seized. Still, despite all the warnings during the Olympics, one firearm, one explosive device and 15 knives were surrendered at checkpoints.
But just a month after all the extra publicity about security surrounding the Olympics, weapon seizures skyrocketed at the airport — with 3,278 weapons seized, or 23 times as many as the month before. That included four firearms, 48 explosive devices and 1,275 knives.
The month during the past three years when the most weapons were seized was June 2003, when 8,594 potential weapons (or 286 a day) were confiscated. As late as September this year, 5,786 were surrendered (or 193 a day).
What is legal?
Morris said the most common mistake people make "is they just don't take time to stop and think through what they are carrying" and what is allowed or dangerous. "We've had people actually try to bring through chain saws or cans of gasoline," he said.
Also, "You would be amazed at how many people just always carry pocketknives with them and don't think about it before trying to go through security," he said.
He added that items such as knives and guns can actually be taken legally on flights, but not in carry-on luggage. "Guns can actually be taken if they are packed in checked luggage and declared at check-in," he said. "We don't want to stop people from taking such things with them, but they cannot have them accessible during the flight."
An extensive list of items banned or allowed as carry-on (or even checked luggage) is available at www.tsa.gov. Morris said those with questions may also call the TSA locally at 801-524-4032 or 524-5047.
Besides the obvious — such as guns, swords and knives — some items banned from carry-on include: razor-type blades, metal scissors with pointed tips, baseball bats, golf clubs, hockey sticks, ski poles, realistic replicas of guns, hammers, drills, saws, screwdrivers, mace, fireworks, flares, stun guns, fuels, strike-anywhere matches, bleach, spray paint and compressed gas cylinders
Some items that are allowed, even though they may be sharp, are: corkscrews, crochet and knitting needles, round-bladed or plastic butter knives, cigarette lighters (up to two), safety matches (up to four books), nail clippers, nail files, safety razors, plastic scissors, metal scissors with rounded tips, tweezers, toy weapons (if not realistic replicas), umbrellas and walking canes.
E-mail: lee@desnews.com
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