San Francisco Airport Takes Security Badges From 29 Felons After Security Checks

AP ^

[governsleastgovernsbest]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Twenty-nine workers whose jobs allowed them access to airplanes and runways at San Francisco International Airport lost their security badges after record checks found that they were felons, airport officials said.

A new federal law requires 420 U.S. airports to compare the fingerprints of employees who work in secure areas with those stored in a national FBI database.

After SFO officials checked the fingerprints of 3,000 workers, they found that 29 of them had been convicted of felonies, said Mike McCarron, an airport spokesman.

Kidnappers, sex offenders and people convicted on gun charges were among the 29 felons. They lost their access to secure areas, McCarron said.

Airport officials said the results did not necessarily show that terrorists could have gained access.

"We've done 3,000 employees, have 13,000 more to do, and of the 3,000 only 29 came back with a felony record, so that worked out to less than 1 percent," McCarron said.

Prior to the new rules, prompted by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, airport workers were required to have a 10-year background check, McCarron said.

However, the checks were left largely to the companies or government agencies that employed them, and generally did not include a check of the FBI database, McCarron said.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

"We've done 3,000 employees, have 13,000 more to do, and of the 3,000 only 29 came back with a felony record, so that worked out to less than 1 percent," McCarron said.

Hey, only 1% of our airport employees with access to planes are felons. What's the big deal?

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

29 were felons with access to planes.

It only took 19 highjackers to kill over 3,000 Americans. It's a big deal.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Assume you understood I was being sarcastic!

[ladyinred]

and of the 3,000 only 29 came back with a felony record

Oh well, then.......! Gosh, what a stupid statement! There should have been NONE was the correct statement! MORON!

[RedBloodedAmerican]

The outcry in Orlando was that making the move to Fed screeners would put all the illegals out of work. Darn the luck, eh?

[Professional]

Kidnappers, sex offenders and people convicted on gun charges were among the 29 felons. They lost their access to secure areas, McCarron said.

They didn't lose their jobs?

[AmishDude]

He was being sarcastic. BTW, did you read what some of the convictions were for? Wasn't a little weed in the car, that's for sure.

[Pern]

I feel much safer (sarcasm), especially since I'm flying home via SFO on the 18th.

[Paul Atreides]

I would be interested to hear how many are affirmative action hires.

[SBeck]

No they made a lateral move to janitorial services which is also in Securicor/Arghenbright's domain (in fact in 1972, when the airlines were ordered to provide 100% screening of passengers - within a 30 day period - the staffing was done by contractors that provided janitors and housekeepers. Nothing against these folks, but that was the precedent that was set and continued up until present day).

[t-shirt]

What a disgrace that we still have criminals. illegal aliens and terror-linked individuals working as airport security, airport mechanics and baggage handlers!

[Yougottabekidding]

At IAH, many employees of cleaning and construction contractors have city-issued ID badges AND ARE ILLEGAL ALIENS. So much for a 10-year bacground check!

[tenderstone jr.]

I wonder if Feinstein will introduce a bill to reverse their felon status.

[Pern]

Great! My next flight goes from SFO to IAH! I feel real safe, now!!!

[William Tell]

From the article: "We've done 3,000 employees, have 13,000 more to do..."

Perhaps we can all make a donation to help out.

I have had to pay for my background to be checked about a dozen times in the last three years in order to exercise my right to keep and bear arms. If only there was some way to donate these background checks...

[Cobra64]

You could go back to the 1960s when there was zero security, and the terrorist/hijack mix from then to today would be the same. Airport security is about as effective as mental masturbation. Nawww, I'll take the latter!

Regards

[MississippiMan]

Friggin' amazing, but I'm DEFINITELY not surprised even a teeny weeny bit. I guarantee you the percentage is far higher than this 1% they've found thus far. Pitiful pitiful pitiful.

Why don't I feel all warm and cozy? Somebody help me out.

MM

[American Preservative]

Paging the FReepers. Paging the FReepers. White courtesy phone...ping! : )

[freeasinbeer]

Me too. I don't suppose you are flying up to Toronto?

[blam]

"I would be interested to hear how many are affirmative action hires."

Yup. Got to be some kind of discrimination going on here. Bet on it! (Disparate impact)

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Send SLC's mayor Rocky Anderson over to cry for them.

[Prov1322]

...and no one has yet posted:

"Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stinking badges."

[I_Love_My_Husband]

The SFO is also filled with immigrants, it's disgusting, people who don't even speak english, willing to look the other way for other illegals.

[glock rocks]

"We've done 3,000 employees, have 13,000 more to do, and of the 3,000
only 29 came back with a felony record, so that worked out to
less than 1 percent," McCarron said.

so there's 120 some odd felons in secure positions left to find. hmmm. no prob... unless
the union sues to stop the investigation. after all, it's san francisco.

hey, what's a hundred felons (illegals) (er, undocumenteds?) between a few
rok's? call rocky and have him warn them...

rocky can help you... bring out your dead.

[Jesse]

It only took 19 highjackers to kill over 3,000 Americans.

As far as I know, not one of the hijackers had a felony conviction.

[DeckTheHallsHolly]

I worry about illegals being blackmailed.

[samtheman]

The President declares Ripper "obviously a psychotic," and asks about the reliability of the human psychological tests instituted by Turgidson. Pained, the General cautions against making any hasty judgments: "I think I'd like to hold off judgment on a thing like that, sir, until all the facts are in...I don't think it's quite fair to condemn the whole program because of a single slip up, sir."

---Dr. Strangelove

[I_Love_My_Husband]

Can't Ashcroft get over here? We need him to nose in to this stuff!

[BlueMoose]

I find this really scarry. The man in charge of security for the FAA in Anchorage was once acussed of stealing Federal property.

[breakem]

What was he doing helping Hillary take furniture out of the wh?

[ODDITHER]

I have a silly question. Were these people convicted of Felonies, served their time, and then were hired? Or were these people felons that were on the run? If I understand it correctly, anyone caught stealing $100.00 or more is a felon, if convicted. Is that going to far? DUI is a felony in some states. Shop lifting is a felony. If you are young and dumb, and then become smarter and older are you going to be branded for life? If we are going to add more and more areas that felons can't be a part of society are we creating a class of nonworking citizens that can never turn their lives around?

[alloysteel]

This is San Francisco we are talking about here - can't these felons get a do-over or a dispensation of some kind? Doesn't hardly seem fair....

But not many things in this world are fair.

[B4Ranch]

They didn't lose their jobs?

Federal employees lose their jobs. You have got to be kidding!

[LiberalBassTurds]

Yikes, thanks for the X-mas travel heads-up bro. Sounds like the same crew that works at SFO as manages City Hall. Did they bust Willie Brown too?

[KneelBeforeZod]

I heard an airport official on TV say the 'oversight' was due to a contractor doing the hiring.

I was just at Moffett Field on Friday. There were a couple of knucklehead employees in the 'visitors center' who hassled us before issuing our pre-approved visitor pass.

After they had earlier said that the forms had to be signed by a section chief, one of the clerks started complaining that the forms had "someone's" handwriting on it. So we had to explain that yes, thats the chief's writing and signature.

Meanwhile, a major was there trying to get some passes for a seminar or something he was setting up on base. Knucklehead #2 began giving him grief about his passes.

The major tells K.H.2 that a third clerk who wasn't currently there had told him to come into the visitors center and get it taken care of . He then tells KH2 her name was " 'Shakira' or something like that, and she was sitting in the desk next to you." KH2 kept saying "theres no one here like that" then after hassling the major for five minutes more she says "oh you must mean Shanika." Apparently Shanika was on one of her lunch breaks and they were just being idiots on purpose with him...

As it turns out, these fools were contractors, and not gubment employees...so I guess "they are contractors" will also be the excuse when one of these morons issues a pass to someone who drives in and blows up the Blue Cube.

[Utah Girl]

The people who were caught were felons who had NOT reported that they were felons. There is a nice little checkbox on application forms that asks if you are a felon or not...

[sf4dubya]

I fly out of SFO often. 50% of the time when I checked baggage, the bag wound up lost for a short period of time or never recovered.

This only happened when I flew into SFO, not out of SFO. This article now proves my suspicions that my luggage was most likely STOLEN on one occasion.