User:Alternativenonfacist/Security theater

Disadvantages
Anything bolded in this section was either edited or written by me.

By definition, Security Theater practices provide no measurable security benefits, or minimal benefits that do not outweigh the cost of such practices. Security theater typically involves restricting or modifying aspects of people's behavior or surroundings in very visible and highly specific ways, which could involve potential restrictions of personal liberty and privacy, ranging from mild inconveniences such as confiscating liquids over a limited amount, to sensitive issues, such as a full body Strip search.

Critics such as the American Civil Liberties Union have argued that the benefits of security theater are temporary and illusory since after such security measures inevitably fail, not only is the feeling of insecurity increased, but there is also loss of belief in the competence of those responsible for security. '''Organizations such as the United States' Transportation Security Administration (TSA), who have implemented security theater practices, have been found to be highly ineffective, with one 2015 investigation resulting in TSA agents failing to prevent illegal items in 95% of trials.  A follow up study in 2017 found similar results, though the TSA did not release an exact rate of success or failure.'''

not sure to add this or not: Some critics also allege that the TSA has never prevented an act of terror, though it is important to note that no such act has been attempted since the September 11 attacks.

Researchers such as Edward Felten have described the airport security repercussions due to the September 11, 2001 attacks as security theater.

Discriminatory Practices
'''An additional disadvantage of Security Theatre is the potential for biases, which can lead to unequal treatment for certain groups. Airport racial profiling in the United States is an issue that largely began in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the United States, and persists today. '''

'''Documents uncovered by the ACLU found that until late 2012, the United States' Transportation Security Administration (TSA) maintained training manuals that exclusively focused on examples of Arab or Muslim terrorists. In 2022, the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that advanced imaging technologies by the TSA disproportionally selected passengers of minority groups for additional screening, and a follow up report in 2023 found the same issue. '''

'''The ACLU also filed a 2015 lawsuit against the TSA's Screening Passengers by Observation Techniques, or "SPOT" program, and was successful in obtaining thousands of pages in documents regarding the program. The ALCU dropped their lawsuit against the TSA in 2017, but a report published by the organization, as well as reports published by the US GAO and a scientific advisory group respectively found that the SPOT program had no scientific basis for effectiveness. '''