Petty criminals at the airports find the going very easy

Bangalore: Petty crimes like passenger misbehaviour and theft of baggage or cargo at airports or on board the planes are on the rise but are not being reported, says Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). Airlines confirm this but argue that these are too petty to report. Some of these crimes are potential air security threats and can complicate matters in devising safety strategies, said BCAS chief SR Mehra.
Mehra is not talking just about pickpockets. Even manhandling of passengers, passenger misbehaviour, theft of baggage and cargo are being settled internally without being reported to the security regulatory body, the BCAS, or the executive body, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) or even the state police. In cases like these, passengers are compensated and the incident is hushed up, says an official.
There is no precise estimate of the number of these minor crimes but officials say they notice at least one happening at each major airport every day which is enough to cause alarm.
25/02/07 Bhargavi Kerur/Daily News & Analysis

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Categories: airports feb 2007, safety feb 2007