Rochester, N.Y. - Starting today travelers will notice some changes in the way pat-downs are performed. They'll be more intensive and more personal. To some this is a concern. Passing through airport security means a choice: a revealing full body scan or—a pat down-- because in some cases, agents are now allowed to touch body parts that were once off limits.The Transportation Security Administration defends the pat-downs saying they’re designed to address potentially dangerous items, like improvised explosive devices and their components, concealed on the body. "They way you used to pat down a passenger in the airport was with the back of the hands…and you rub it down this way…now we've switched it to the front of the hand…and you go down the body…up to the breast portion, and if it's a female passenger, you're going to see if there's anything in the bra," said Charles Slepian of the Foreseeable Risk Analysis Center.
Anyone who requires additional screening can be subjected to the full pat-down. Many who go through the procedure say it's invasive and even degrading.
Louise Smyth agrees. For her, there's no choice.
"I think its invasive, and not necessary," she said. "I'm 72 years old, do I look like a threat? So, I would opt for the scanner."
Not everyone who goes through security at the Rochester International Airport will have to use the body scanner.
"We have four or five security lines operational," said airport director Dave Damelio. "Only one of them has the scanner,
so if you're in another lane, you're not going to notice a difference."
For those who choose the pat down, there are some options. Damelio says passengers can request an agent of the same gender, for example, a female agent performs a pat down for a female passenger.
