Sikh group has point about SFO screening

A national civil rights organization named the Sikh Coalition has a big problem with security screeners at San Francisco International Airport. The group recently released a report that says SFO is a "worst-case scenario" for turbaned Sikh travelers, claiming this group of passengers is subjected unfairly to second screening as an act of profiling that has little to do with preventing terrorism.
It would be easy to dismiss this as a one-sided view of how federal security screeners — and not airport employees — are conducting themselves. But there are some disturbing facts emerging that lead us to believe there is something amiss here.
The coalition says that it found 80 of 113 airport screening complaints involved additional searches, and 28 of those 80 took place at SFO.
The Transportation Security Administration altered its approach toward travelers wearing turbans. There was a time when Sikh passengers were forced to remove their turbans; the headgear is an article of faith only to be removed in the home and in private. To Sikhs, that's similar to strip searching.
The TSA backed off and travelers wearing turbans were searched only if they failed to clear metal detectors or other preliminary checks.
Since October, the TSA gave screeners discretion on when to further search travelers wearing bulky headgear, taking into consideration things such as action suspicious and travel itinerary. The coalition claims SFO security staff viewed the new guidelines as a mandate, meaning anyone with a turban that looks funny is subject to more screening.
14/05/08 MediaNews editorial/Contra Costa Times, USA

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Categories: Airports May 2008, Foreign May 2008, Safety May 2008