The proper role and scope of government

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NY Times
RON NIXON
August 5, 2013

T.S.A. Expands Duties Beyond Airport Security

<snip>“The T.S.A., huh,” said Donald Neubauer of Greenville, Ohio,
as he walked past the squad. “I thought they were just at the airports.”

With little fanfare, the agency best known for airport screenings has
vastly expanded its reach to sporting events, music festivals, rodeos,
highway weigh stations and train terminals. Not everyone is happy.
<snip>

T.S.A. officials respond that the random searches are “special needs”
or “administrative searches” that are exempt from probable cause because
they further the government’s need to prevent terrorist attacks.<snip>

T.S.A. officials would not say if the VIPR teams had ever foiled a terrorist plot
or thwarted any major threat to public safety, saying the information is classified.
But they argue that the random searches and presence of armed officers
serve as a deterrent that bolsters the public confidence.<snip>

In April 2012, during a joint operation with the Houston police and the local transit police,
people boarding and leaving city buses complained that T.S.A. officers were stopping them
and searching their bags. (Local law enforcement denied that the bags were searched.)

The operation resulted in several arrests by the local transit police,
mostly for passengers with warrants for prostitution and minor drug possession.