Police Nab LAX Baggage Handlers For Theft- How To Keep Your Bags Safe

Though I've yet to have anything stolen from my suitcase, many people have. I learned long ago not to put anything in my checked baggage that I don't mind parting with, so perhaps that's why they've left my luggage alone. But in spite of numerous stories about TSA and baggage handlers pilfering from travelers, people still put items of value inside their suitcases. I had a friend who lost his laptop that way.

The latest case is out of Los Angeles' LAX, the third worst airport for luggage theft. After too many complaints about theft, LAPD went undercover to nab the thieves. After months of undercover work, they have detained a slew of baggage handlers. They were stealing from bags in all areas of the airport, from the planes, to runways, to the terminals themselves. The police focused mostly on the Tom Bradley International Terminal and Terminal 4, home of American Airlines, and a few Qantas flights.

Police captain Ray Maltez told local station KABC-TV: "We believe that there has been a culture of being able to take property that wasn't theirs, and that's what we want to be able to put a stop to."

It was not clear exactly how many have been arrested.

Police said they had served warrants, raided airport terminals and seized property at 25 different locations in Los Angeles-area cities.

Those arrested were primarily employees or ex-employees of contracting companies hired to handle luggage and do not work for the airport itself, police said.

According to ABC News, there were 25 search warrants, six arrests and 14 people detained.

As of 2012, Miami International Airport topped the list of 20 worst airports for luggage theft, followed by New York's JFK International Airport. Then comes LAX in the number 3 spot. The rest:

4. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

5. Las Vegas-McCarren International Airport

6. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and New York-Laguardia Airport

8. Newark Liberty, Philadelphia International, and Seattle-Tacoma International airports

11. Orlando International Airport

12. Houston-George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Salt Lake City International Airport

14. Washington Dulles International Airport

15. Detroit Metro Airport and Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport

17. Boston-Logan International, Denver International and San Diego International airports

20. Chicago O'Hare International Airport

Although you will never totally prevent theft, there are ways to make sure you minimize the possibility:

A. Put anything of value (jewelry, cash, camera, laptop, iPad) in your carry-on bag, and keep a close eye on the bag as it goes through security. TSA employees have been caught stealing, too.

B. Lock your carry-on bag while on the plane. How often does your bag wind up in an overhead bin seats away from where you are. And you can't trust flight attendants either, they've been known to pocket items left on board.

C. Those TSA locks won't help, so don't think it's safe to stash valuables in checked baggage.

D. Right before you are told to fasten seat belts, and prepare for landing, make sure you have put away all your possessions. Check again in the seat pocket in front of you, under your chair, and in the overhead bins before you de-board.

E. ABC News advises to take photos of your packed bag before you zip it shut, and buy insurance. This will add to the average $3,400 the airlines will reimburse you for delayed, damaged or lost luggage. Not sure how photographing the packed suitcase prior to zipping is proof enough of everything you've packed layers down, but it can't hurt. I would also suggest taking a photo of the zipped up bag in case of damage. I've had many bags damaged along the way. And no proof they were not damaged pre-flight. If you've ever seen baggage handlers, they're pretty rough with other people's property.

Sources: Yahoo News, ABC News,

The Rampant Theft By TSA Airport Security

This is a sobering look into how easy it is for TSA security officers to steal our belongings. This former agent, Pythius Brown, spent 3 years in jail for stealing around $800,000 worth of other people's property over a 4 year period at the Newark New Jersey Airport. In the span of 10 years, around 400 TSA agents have been fired for theft.  That's a heck of a lot of people. Brown worked behind the ticket counters, alone, screening baggage.

In spite of the fact that we are told not to put anything of value in our checked luggage, you would be surprised how many people still do.

Keep anything of value with you, and be hyper vigilant as you go through the security check point.  When I am being screened, I always have an eye on my carry-on baggage, and I remove any metal that I might have on my body prior to going through the check point.

Sad that TSA is so careless in its screening of potential employees, but as Brown explains, it was just so easy he fell into it without much trouble.

Of course it's not just TSA, you also have flight attendants, and baggage handlers that can steal your belongings.

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TSA Pockets Passengers' Change

You know all that spare change that you have in your pockets that  you place in plastic bins or bowls before you walk through security checkpoints in airports to avoid setting off the metal detectors? Many people are walking off without retrieving their coins, and the TSA is pocketing that money. 

A whopping $409,000.00 plus in coins was left behind in 2010, with the most losses in the following major airports:

Passengers at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York left the most change in 2010 ($46,918.06), followed by Los Angeles International ($19,110.83), Hartsfield Atlanta International ($16,523.83), San Francisco International ($15,908.02), and Miami International ($15,844.83), according to the TSA.

Of the $409,085.56- $376,480.39 of it was U.S. currency (from pennies to dollar coins) and $32,605.17 was foreign currency. And that's nothing- TSA has collected over $2.1 million since 2008.
Most people don't really care about small coins, I've seen piles of pennies strewn across parking lots, but those pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters add up, so it's worth holding on to, and the best place to put that change (and all your other metal) is in a plastic bag inside your carry-on before you leave home.
The TSA has allegedly been using the ill-gotten gains to help fund its operations, but Congress is pushing to change that. Florida Republican Jeff Miller wants that money to go to the USO  instead, and introduced a bill to Congress that will do just that.

"Allowing TSA to keep unclaimed taxpayer money for any and all purposes is an egregious breach of its duty to the public that it serves," Miller wrote in a recent letter to House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King, R-N.Y. "This money should be put to good use, and there is no better organization to use this money wisely than the USO."

A House committee passed the measure, next it goes to the full House for approval.

How To Get Through TSA Security Relatively Pain Free

Since 9/11 air travel has become a major pain, and unfortunately it will never revert back to the good old days when we could just walk through security with nary a worry, bags chock full of gifts and goodies over 3 ounces, and all the necesseties we wanted on hand. Now we have to strip down to the bare essentials to ensure a swift check through. It's off with the shoes and any outerwear we might be sporting- and we practically need to send everything through checked baggage. 

There are random searches that we have no control over, some of which are truly insane- like the 95-year-old woman in a wheel chair on oxygen, but apart from that we do have control over whether we will be singled out or not. The best way to ensure smooth flying is to be prepared.

PACK YOUR CARRY-ON BAGS ACCORDINGLY:

First of all check the TSA website, or your airline for the current restrictions. The TSA website has a plethora of useful information on how to get through checkpoints with relative ease. First of all:

Pack your bags in an organized manner. When it goes through the x-ray a jumbled mess, it might make something innocuous look suspicious, and your bag will definitely be checked.

You can still only bring a one quart clear plastic zip bag per person filled with liquids or gels in 3.4 ounce containers or smaller.  Place that bag in one of their bins. If you have medication, breast milk, baby food or formula in larger amounts, let the TSA agent know beforehand.  If you bring anything over the designated 3.4 ounce amount, be prepared to have it tossed out.  For safe measure I put everything in the little bag, including lipstick and makeup.
Put anything that has metal including belts, all your jewelry, body piercings, your watches and small change in a separate bag inside your carry-on luggage or purse.
Leave anything sharp out of your bag, along with certain sports items, flammable items, tools and firearms, unless you want them confiscated. TSA has a list here.

Traveling with liquid food or gifts, put those in your checked baggage. Don't wrap gifts- you will be wasting wrapping paper if asked to remove it.
Empty all your pockets and put those items in your carry-on.

PRIOR  TO GOING THROUGH SECURITY X-RAY SCREENING:
Take off your shoes. TSA now recommends putting your shoes directly on the conveyor belt rather than in a bin.
Take off your jacket or outer clothing and place in a bin.
If you have undeveloped 800-speed film, that should not be x-rayed, take it out and hand to an officer.

Unless you have a laptop friendly bag, remove it and place it in a bin.

BRING PROPER I.D.
Make sure the name on your e-ticket or airline ticket is exactly the same as your identification.


Photo H/T Nomadic Matt