Guidelines On Who Might Be Suspicious: Too Nervous? Too Calm? Blending In? Standing Out? It's All Suspicious
from the everyone-is-a-suspect dept
The ACLU FOIA’d up some guidelines for Amtrak staff concerning how they judge whether or not passengers are “suspicious” in terms of being “indicative of criminal activity” and the list seems fairly broad:
- Unusual nervousness of traveler
- Unusual calmness or straight ahead stare
- Looking around while making telephone call(s)
- Position among passengers disembarking (ahead of, or lagging behind passengers)
- Carrying little or no luggage
- Purchase of tickets in cash
- Purchase tickets immediately prior to boarding
Radley Balko takes this list and then compares it to a list put together by James Bovard concerning what the courts have said is conduct that shows “reasonable suspicion” for law enforcement to dig deeper:
- Being the first person off a plane
- Being the last person off a plane
- Someone authorities believe has tried to blend in to the middle of exiting passengers
- Booking a nonstop flight
- Booking a flight with a layover
- Traveling alone
- Traveling with a companion
- People who appear nervous
- People who appear ?too calm?
- Merely flying to or from a city known to be a major thoroughfare in the drug pipeline
The message is pretty clear: everyone is a suspect. And anything you might do to look not like a suspect is also suspicious. In fact, you’re going to be pretty hard pressed not to look suspicious under these kinds of rules, which is kind of the point.
Part of the problem is the myth out there that there’s a legitimate ability to spot “suspicious” people. Sure, there are some extreme cases where people act strange before committing a criminal act, but the idea that you can scan a group of people and spot the people planning out some sort of criminal activity is a concept greatly exaggerated (often by Hollywood), but it inevitably leads to this situation where law enforcement can more or less pick and choose when they suddenly think you’re “acting suspicious.”
Filed Under: behavioral monitoring, criminal activity, guidelines, law enforcement, reasonable suspicion
Companies: amtrak
Comments on “Guidelines On Who Might Be Suspicious: Too Nervous? Too Calm? Blending In? Standing Out? It's All Suspicious”
The solution is obvious..
..Only board a train or plane when extremely drunk.. That’s not on the list!
Re: The solution is obvious..
Touché. I anxiously await hordes of drunken passengers at the TSA checkpoints. It is going to be epically amusing.
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Obviously you ought to drink whatever liquids you’re carrying before going through “security”.
When breathing becomes suspicious, only criminals will be breathing in the TSA line…
HAIL HYDRA!!!
Re: Re:
You can pass, not suspcious enoug.
“Traveling alone
Traveling with a companion”
Why not just have these two reasons? It makes the list easy to remember, and covers everyone.
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Too long. Make it a one item list: “TRAVELING”. Then if you are traveling you are automatically a suspect.
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I’d be WAY more suspicious of the guy at the airport that is not traveling.
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So now picking someone up at the airport is also suspicious
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Yes.
And dropping someone off at a location from which they can take public transportation to get to an airport is pretty suspicious. Knowing someone that takes public transportation or travels is suspicious too. Shut-ins that do not travel outside of their homes or know anyone that travels could raise some concerns.
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-Traveling
-Not traveling
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You mean like the TSA?
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..the TSA officers..
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You still left one off the list.
Not traveling makes you suspicious.
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If you aren’t traveling you are suspicious.
If you have bilateral symmetry you are suspicious.
If you have DNA you are suspicious.
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Arguably traveling with a corpse is somewhere in between.
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Traveling with a suitcase.
Traveling without a suitcase.
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Just shorten it:
Suspicious Activity: Traveling.
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I think it should be shorter yet:
To be: Suspicious.
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Being born is suspicious
Re: Re: Re:2 Re:
Not being born is also suspicious – can you think of a better way to hide than by not actually existing?
They have missed the obvious indicator of a suspicious person, wearing a law enforcement uniform, and/or carrying a badge.
/sarc (maybe)
If this could mean you can just ignore it all then I’d have no issues. The problem is that this broad set of ‘rules’ enables selective enforcement. Racist TSA agent? Let’s do cavity searches in all black/Asian/Hispanic/[insert different person here]. Doesn’t like a passenger because [reasons] proceed to thoroughly harass him, “legally” (whatever legal means nowadays). Political activist? Nail him. Candidate that goes against established powers? Busted!
Meanwhile the Congress sleeps.
dont you people realise just how close things are getting to what it was reportedly like in Nazi Germany? before very much longer, no one will be able to move around anywhere without having a complete background and body check, then locked away for hours so nothing can change, before setting off on their journey!!
Re: Re:
Your papers please…
When you need nails....
Because all you have is a hammer… well classify EVERTHING as a NAIL!
Damn, Dark Helmet. You are screwed.
If one wanted to travel from here to Mexico or Canada (1000 miles)how could they do it without being tracked.
If the attempted to do it by car there are license plates scanners and photo recognition software for gas stations.
If they try to go by bus or train or air there is the usual TSA level.
One could try horse and buggy but that would be suspicious especially east of the Mississippi.
One could try farm tractor with bush hog but one would still run out of gas.
One could try bicycle and walking but the carrying of sleeping bags again is suspicious especially east of tthe Mississippi.
Track repair car on a rail line might get you there but that is illegal and suspicious if you do not work for a railroad.
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And yet the US/Canadian border has little oversight on the great lakes…
I’m pretty sure they are prejudice against people without a boat.
Re: Re: Anonymous US Travel
Actually, that’s an excellent point; you can travel all over the US undetected, as long as you want to go downriver. Nobody looks twice at someone canoeing. I’ve gone canoeing in the rivers around my state many times, and usually you feel like you’re in the wilderness the whole time, even when you’re passing through a city.
It’s easy to carry luggage in a canoe without drawing attention (especially if you carry it in a cooler so it’s waterproof & floats), and you won’t need to stop for fuel anywhere.
Re: Re: Re: Anonymous US Travel
Canoeing is now suspicious
– DHS
Re: Re: Re: Anonymous US Travel
http://bucktrack.com/Canoeing_Down_the_Mississippi.html
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…license plates scanners and photo recognition software for gas stations…
License plate scanners have been around awhile; it’s only recently that the authorities’ use has become an issue.
But what gas stations have photo recognition that’s available to the authorities? In my area most gas stations don’t want to spend the money for such, software or hardware.
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Hitch-hiking?
Never leave the vehicle in a place where there might be cameras (servo’s etc), and wear a hat/hoodie to keep your face hidden while the driver stops for fuel in those places.
Always leave the vehicle and catch a new ride in places un-surveiled.
Don’t stay with the 1 ride for more than a few hours.
Reminds me of the Patricia Pulling...
THE WHO WHAT WHEN WHERE AND HOW OF TEEN SATANISM…
WHO
1. Adolescents from all walks of life.
2. Many from middle to upper middle class families
3. Intelligent
4. Over or Under Achievers
5. Creative/Curious
6. Some are Rebellious
7. Some have low self esteem and are loners
8. Some children have been abused (physically or sexually)
tl;dr Every kid is a pawn of satan.?.
PS: Isn’t this the usual hysterical line that the reactionary pull. It’s all about the control and has nothing to do with the “issues”.
>use of cash
That one bugs me the most. These days if you don’t voluntarily enter yourself into a database, you are suspicious.
Anonymous travel really is dead.
http://philosecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Death-of-Anonymous-Travel-DEFCON-2009-FINAL.pdf
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Honestly, with the price of airfare these days you have to be a little suspicious of anyone with THAT MUCH cash.
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I have heard people honestly say that paying cash for anything that costs more than a buck or two is suspicious.
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So is purchasing something of little or no value.
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People that paranoid strike me as suspicious, better put extra effort into spying on them.
So let me get this straight, I am a suspect, even when I am wearing my killer clown costume? That is outrageous!
A conspicuous omission from those lists
“learning how to fly a plane but not how to land it”
Unusual nervousness of traveler=
You are afraid of heights
Unusual calmness or straight ahead stare=
You read a book because it is smart when travelling
Looking around while making telephone call(s)=
I am here, where are you?
Position among passengers disembarking (ahead of, or lagging behind passengers)=
You are late or too early at destination
Carrying little or no luggage=
You have book and legally declared bottle of water (because travelling)
Purchase of tickets in cash=
Credit Cards did not work(again)
Purchase tickets immediately prior to boarding=
Phew, You did not miss the plane/train
Always obvious when one thinks for a second…
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You, Sir, have obviously been thinking a lot about how to argue your way around security. Would you please accompany me so that we can find out just why?
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I’m a single guy who lives in Maryland and goes to visit my parents in Miami:
Being the first person off a plane?
That’s the benefit of being a frequent flyer: I got seat A-1, so I’m the first person off the plane.
Booking a non-stop flight?
Yes, because it’s faster and I don’t want to risk missing a connecting flight.
Traveling alone?
Oh, the shame of being 35 years old and not married.
Traveling with a companion?
You got me, I’m married and traveling with my wife now.
People who appear nervous?
My wife hates flying so she’s always nervous when we travel.
People who appear too calm?
I’ve been flying since I was a little kid, so it’s no big deal.
Wait, did I just admit to being a suspicious person in a public forum? Darn it!
If everyone is suspicious then nobody is suspicious
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ahhh, my dear kamper, that is totally beside the point…
we are in the kafka-zone, and the point is to make EVERYONE vulnerable to being jacked up by Empire’s thugs…
it does that very well…
cha-ching
victory number 3879452937734512588 in a row for Empire ! ! !
how do they do it ! ! !
Of course the most obvious sign of suspicion is… scrutinizing lists of signs of suspicion!
I’ve got it. Travel in a Schroedinger’s Box. That way, you’re simultaneously traveling and NOT traveling. Until they look in the box, they can’t determine which quantum state you occupy, and thus you won’t appear suspicious.
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I’m sure a box with a label saying “Do not open or you’ll collapse the wave function” isn’t suspicious at all.
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Schroedinger’s box operated using radioactive materials capable of killing a healthy mammal. If anything should be suspicious, it’s carrying intentionally lethal sources of radiation around an airport.
Re: Re: Schrödinger's probability lich of a cat
Actually the radioactives in Schrödinger’s hypothetical box were rather small. But it included a detector to determine if a particle was released and, if affirmative, a payload to quietly kill the cat (so that its activation could not be perceived outside the box).
The point was to measure a quantum event and then create resulting event on the macro-scale. It raises a question when that quantum event is a probability event (could be one way or the other), how does that affect the following macro-scale event. When the particle-decay is in a probability state, is our hapless cat as well?
So we’re talking a tiny amount of radioactive material. Like a banana.
the nail that sticks up
The main trick to avoiding suspicion is to make yourself as average as possible in every way. Don’t forget that the TSA also performs as a fashion police, so anyone with out-of-date clothing, haircut, or luggage is going to get extra scrutiny.
Re: the nail that sticks up
Naw, they covered that: “Someone authorities believe has tried to blend in to the middle of exiting passengers”
Re: Re: the nail that sticks up
You have to consider statistical probabilities. The first and last person in a large group tends to have a much higher probablility of getting singled out than being somewhere in the middle.
Even many animals instinctively know that the safest place from a pack of hungry predators is in the middle of the herd.
I think the situation might be more a case of someone (who would have been the first person in line) walking slow, getting passed by other travellers, and ending up in the middle of the crowd. That person then becomes a likely target.
Re: Re: Re: the nail that sticks up
Walking slow is pretty suspicious.
Of course, walking slow while looking at an iPad and you can circumvent security altogether…
That headline is suspicious or rather “Suspcious.”
I used to think TSA meant, Thousands Standing Around.
I see that was incorrect. After reading this, it means Thousands Searching Any(body)
Ex Post Facto justification
Making everybody look like a suspect isn’t about being able to pull people out of line based on those criteria, it’s about being able to use OTHER evidence (possibly illegally collected, or at least the type you wouldn’t want to have to defend in court) such as phone records, racial profiling, etc.
That way you can use all the tools at your disposal, then just say, “well, he looked suspicious, and we were right to be suspicious, so you can’t really argue it was unreasonable to be suspicious.”
This is just another brick in the Parallel Construction wall.
Just shorten it:
Suspicious Activity
???
> Purchase of tickets in cash
Using USA legal tender is suspicious. What the fuck?
Re: ???
Well, in fairness, purchasing airline tickets with cash was considered “suspicious” even before 9/11 happened. I am surprised, though — I thought that it was no longer even possible to purchase airline tickets without producing a credit or debit card even if the card isn’t being used to pay for the ticket.
One thing I discovered that will get you pulled over by traffic cops is altering your speed. The instant I see a cop on the side of the highway, I reflexively tend to hit the brakes or check the speedometer, no matter what speed I’m going. (bad decision, since by the time you see them they’ve already nailed you)
One time I checked the speedometer, realized I’m going well under the speed limit (long trip on an empty highway), so I speed up while passing this speedtrap cop, who immediately comes after me (no ticket, just a lot of questions).
Which taught me that either slowing down or speeding up made me a target (and that cruise control is a wise investment).
Another learned lesson: never pass a cop on the highway who is driving under the speed limit.
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So much for cruise control being a wise investment.
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I know that one trick cops use if they don’t have a speed gun handy is to watch the front bumper of the cars. When you hit the brakes, the front bumper moves down. It’s a dead giveaway.
I’ve always been suspicious that speed changes near cops would get you unwanted attention, so I’ve never done it, even when I’m going over the limit (I routinely drive 7 miles over the limit as a compromise. If I drive slower than that, then I’m obstructing traffic and pissing off the other drivers on the road. If I drive faster than that, I’ll probably get a ticket. 7 mph over seems to be the sweet spot.)
“never pass a cop on the highway who is driving under the speed limit.”
I do this all the time, and have never been stopped as a result. But I do tend to laugh at the fact that a cop car going under the limit tends to pile up traffic behind it from all the people who are too afraid to pass.
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“I know that one trick cops use if they don’t have a speed gun handy is to watch the front bumper of the cars. When you hit the brakes, the front bumper moves down. It’s a dead giveaway.”
What do you drive, a 1958 Buick? Most cars on US roads today have considerably firmer suspensions than the Detroit-built “floaters” of decades past that would actually bottom-out on minor dips in the road. Cars with soft suspensions (and especially a high center of gravity and forward weight bias) will indeed dive noticeably when brakes are applied. A Porsche or Lamborghini won’t.
“But I do tend to laugh at the fact that a cop car going under the limit tends to pile up traffic behind it from all the people who are too afraid to pass.”
Maybe because, like me, they’ve gotten bogus speeding tickets in the past and don’t want to get another. My second mistake was pulling over too soon. If I’d gone past the next on-ramp and pulled over next to the speed limit sign, presumably the cop might have changed his mind. (though it can be very risky to keep a cop tailing you with lights flashing for too long)
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I’m confused… either you’re driving a 50+ year old car, or a Porsche/Lamborghini? I haven’t done much driving in the US, but I thought there was a bit more middle ground!
And anyway, you haven’t contradicted John… just because the front bumper dipping is a giveaway for the car slowing down, doesn’t mean that the bumper is guaranteed to dip.
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“Most cars on US roads today have considerably firmer suspensions than the Detroit-built “floaters” of decades past that would actually bottom-out on minor dips in the road.”
Once my cop friend pointed this out to me, I started watching — and it holds true for the majority of cars on the road today. The dip is often only a matter of a couple of inches, but it’s not hard to spot. Of course, it depends on how hard the car is braking.
“like me, they’ve gotten bogus speeding tickets in the past”
The cops in your area write speeding tickets when you aren’t exceeding the speed limit? If that’s the case, I’m not sure how stopping near a speed limit sign would be of benefit since the cops obvious don’t care.
I’d be nervous about passing cops too if they were that corrupt in my area. Or, I might consider investigating if there was some way I could record my speed in a way that acceptable evidence in court, then pass them anyway and hope they write me a ticket so I can dispute it and win. Cops hate having to show up in traffic court.
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I have passed plenty of cops on the highway going under the speed limit without an issue.
shrug
I also I completely think this is post justification for why they found somebody suspicious. Just a big CYA that will literally hit as many people as possible.
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Cruise control set to the speed limit won’t help. I have read of people being pulled over for driving too consistently at the speed limit. The reasoning: if you are smuggling drugs you would want to carefully obey all traffic laws to avoid being stopped. Never mind that some people believe that the speed limit is what it says and set the cruise to it. Just another lame excuse to pull people over who do not give them a reason. Then they bring the drug dog and claim it alerted on the car. Entirely subjective how the dog’s behavior “alerted”. When I was in the Army they brought a drug dog into the barracks. One guy had a small bag of weed in his mattress cover. The dog ran straight to it and barked loudly, growling and shaking the mattress in his teeth. If a drug dog alerts you will absolutely know it. Apparently that is not how the police see it because they seem to have so many false positives. When no drugs are found they will confiscate anything more than a small amount of cash found. Usually not enough to make it worth your legal fees to get it back. They can claim that because you are driving on a highway considered a trafficking route that if you have any money you are probably returning home after selling your stash.
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“Cruise control set to the speed limit won’t help. I have read of people being pulled over for driving too consistently at the speed limit. The reasoning: if you are smuggling drugs you would want to carefully obey all traffic laws to avoid being stopped.”
Remember Aereo? Compliance with the law is now circumvention. Clearly they were trying to circumvent traffic law by complying with the speed limit.
TRAVELING BY CAR
And if you are traveling by car from state to state carrying cash will be suspect and they will take it and ruin your life.
best just to stay home..
Re: TRAVELING BY CAR
Or hide your cash.
Re: Re: TRAVELING BY CAR
I would guess that if authorities find cash stashed inside the car’s door panels, you’re going to wish you had put it in your pocket or purse.
I’ve seen a car get taken apart at the Detroit border crossing once.
Re: Re: Re: TRAVELING BY CAR
The way Detroit cars are made these days, they often just fall apart at that border crossing on their own.
Re: Re: Re: TRAVELING BY CAR
If cops are dismantling the door panels in my car, then it’s pretty much guaranteed that they’re also sending me to jail no matter what. Losing the cash would be the least of my problems at that point.
Re: Re: TRAVELING BY CAR
Hiding cash is suspicious.
Not having cash is also suspicious.
Having too much cash is suspicious.
Playing Johnny Cash music is suspicious.
Being deprived of cash by LEO’s is totally ok.
want to get away with criminal behavior work for the TSA board any plane or train without suspicion.
Synchronicity.
I sucked at going to school.
At one point I looked into why. One of the things I found was the essay question directive Discuss.
e.g. Discuss the causes of WWI.
There are no consistent rules for what Discuss means as an essay question directive. It may mean comparing and contrasting opposing arguments, it may mean illustrating the common dialogue that occurs when choice experts ask that question. It may mean you should just write some stuff and if the grader likes what you said, you get points. Most study guides will present their own idea, or even suggest asking your instructor who will, in turn, likely give you an ambiguous answer.
Discuss is the most commonly used of all essay question directives. More so than illustrate
In short, if the instructor already likes you he or she has cause to decide in advance that your discussion of the topic was adequate enough, or not, regardless of what you write.
Many miles away, there’s a shadow on a door…
Re: Synchronicity.
B+
Bleh. Brainfart.
Discuss is the most commonly used of all essay question directives, More so than Illustrate, Define, Describe, Summarize, List or Compare and contrast.
Re: Bleh. Brainfart.
So are you discussing whether we should all discuss your discussing discussing or would that be a discussion too far given the current discussion? Discuss.
Re: Re: Bleh. Brainfart.
I will not discuss your discussion on discussing discussions
Are they male? Are they female? Are they young? Are they old? Are they short? are they tall?
Makes about as much sense!
Looking around while making telephone call(s)
I do that even when I’m using a landline. OMG, I’M GUILTY OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITY EVERYWHERE I GO!
Unusual nervousness of traveler
Maybe the person is afraid of flying.
Unusual calmness or straight ahead stare
Maybe the person works for the government…
Looking around while making telephone call(s)
Maybe the person wants to know what’s happening around…
Position among passengers disembarking (ahead of, or lagging behind passengers)
Maybe the person is in a hurry.
Carrying little or no luggage
Maybe the person doesn’t like it or doesn’t need it.
Purchase of tickets in cash
Maybe the person only has cash and/or prefers it.
Purchase tickets immediately prior to boarding
Maybe the person likes to keep it simple and fast.
Being the first person off a plane
Maybe the person is in a hurry.
Being the last person off a plane
Maybe the person isn’t in a hurry.
Someone authorities believe has tried to blend in to the middle of exiting passengers
Maybe the person likes people.
Booking a nonstop flight
Maybe the person prefers to avoid multiple flights to reduce the probability of a crash.
Booking a flight with a layover
Maybe the person likes to take a pause.
Traveling alone
Maybe the person could only afford one ticket.
Traveling with a companion
Maybe the person could afford two tickets.
People who appear nervous
Maybe the person is afraid of flying.
People who appear “too calm”
Maybe the person works for the government…
Merely flying to or from a city known to be a major thoroughfare in the drug pipeline
Maybe the person can’t choose the cities.