TSA – Medill National Security Zone

Media outlets that used NSJI’s 2013 TSA gun confiscation data for stories

SB Anderson — Wed, 15 Jan 2014 16:16:38 +0000

Some two dozen media outlets around the country have done stories on the Medill National Security Journalism Initiative’s 2013 database of gun confiscations since we posted our story on the data on Jan. 6, 2014.

Links to those stories:

WKYC-TV Cleveland

NBC-5 Chicago

KENS5 Austin

WJLA Washington

Airport gun confiscations soared 20% in 2013

SB Anderson — Sun, 05 Jan 2014 17:40:07 +0000

By SB Anderson

The number of guns confiscated from passengers trying to board planes in the U.S. jumped 20% in 2013 to 1,828, with the Atlanta airport leading the way at 110 confiscations. Five guns were seized on the average day across the nation’s airports.

The vast majority of guns — 84% — were loaded when Transportation Security Administration agents discovered them during security screenings, and of those loaded, one in three had a bullet in the chamber, ready to fire.

The increase over 2012 is the third annual jump since 2010 — and the largest.

Data used in this story was gathered and analyzed by Medill National Security Journalism Initiative from weekly data releases the TSA makes on its blog.

Final numbers that were released by the TSA after we published our tally showed 15 fewer confiscation incidents for the year, or 1,813. While the TSA all along has said final numbers would vary from its weekly blog post data (higher, probably, it had been saying) it is unclear why 15 incidents that had been reported did not make the final list this time or at what airports. TSA has not responded to requests to explain the discrepancy, but has changed its blog disclaimer to say final numbers “will vary slightly,” instead of “will vary slightly (increase).”

Two dozen media outlets have done stories based on our 2013 TSA database. See which ones.

Of the 207 airports at which at least one gun was found, Atlanta had the most with 110, followed by Dallas-Fort Worth (98) and Houston Bush (67). One in four airports had 10 or more confiscations. (See Top 10 list below).

Two types of guns — .380 and 9mm — were the most frequently found. Together, they made up nearly half of the guns confiscated. (See table below).

It is illegal to carry a handgun aboard a commercial airliner; guns must be part of checked baggage and meet certain guidelines. The TSA notifies local authorities when a gun is found at security checkpoints; the local authorities determine whether to make an arrest, issue a ticket or taken other action.

Visit this spreadsheet to view details for each incident, as well as weekly breakdown and charts. The data is also downloadable and you are free to use it, as long as you give credit to Medill National Security Journalism Initiative and include a link to our front page.

In the interactive graphic below, data for each airport plotted on a map. Large red markers are the Top 10 airports. Yellow had the fewest confiscations (under 10) while blue had between 10 and 39. Click on markers to see information for that airport.

Below is a heat map that illuminates location of airports where the most guns were found. Intensity in this heat map runs from lowest (light green) to highest (dark red) based on the number of guns confiscated.

Thanks to NSJI’s Natalie Jones for ongoing data entry support!

(Posted Jan. 6, 2014)

TSA carry-on gun confiscation data 2013

SB Anderson — Sun, 05 Jan 2014 13:50:29 +0000

Example of a local story done with our TSA data.

Data below compiled from weekly TSA Blog updates on the number and type of weapons confiscated during carry-on searches at airports. Data is updated weekly (current data through Dec. 31, 2013). (Download CSV file).

The number of guns confiscated from passengers trying to board planes in the U.S. jumped 20% in 2013 to 1,828, with Atlanta leading the way with the most with 110. Confiscations averaged five per day across the U.S.

Full story on 2013 data.

Data for 2014 will be posted soon.

[field name=”barchart”]

Daily Data

Visit this page for a table that includes data for each incident, by airport.

Download the Data

→ Download year-to-date data. (Click on File | Download As and choose your format).

Thanks to NSJI’s Natalie Jones for help with data entry.

TSA gun data by incident, day and by airport

SB Anderson — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 14:39:10 +0000

The table below shows includes data for each gun found at Transportation Security Administration screening, by airport.

Click on column label below to sort that column. There are 30 records visible at a time; click the arrow key at the bottom to see the next (or previous) set of records.

For weekly table and more details, visit this page.

[field name=”daily-list”]

Download Data

→ Download year-to-date data. (Click on File | Download As and choose your format).

Thanks to NSJI’s Natalie Jones for help with data entry.

Airport gun confiscations up 30% in first half of year; 84% loaded and 25% with bullet in chamber

SB Anderson — Tue, 16 Jul 2013 19:01:30 +0000

About 30% more guns were confiscated at airport security gates in the first half of 2013 than that same period a year ago, a Medill analysis of federal data it aggregates from the Transportation Security Administration shows.

Atlanta, Dallas-Forth Worth and Phoenix airports topped the list, with a combined 15 percent of the 899 guns confiscated by the TSA at 168 domestic airports. Half of the top airports were in Texas and Florida. (See interactive map below).

About 84% of the guns were loaded, slightly higher than a year ago, and a third of those that were loaded had a bullet in the chamber ready to fire.

Confiscations averaged five a day compared to four a day in 2012. June was the highest, with an average 6.3 guns per day; February, the lowest at 3.7. May and June were record months overall and the week of May 15 set a weekly record, with 65 found. Confiscations during 2012 were 17% higher than 2011, data that TSA shared with the Associated Press showed, so the rise in confiscations is on at least a two-year incline.

The most popular guns: 380 and 9mm, which made up nearly half of the weapons confiscated. (See graphic below).

Medill National Security Zone maintains a database of the confiscations by transcribing information from weekly blog postings done by the TSA. It has data going back to the start of 2012. The data is available for download and reuse, as long as credit is given.

It is illegal to bring a firearm aboard a plane, even if the passenger is licensed to carry it. Guns must be packed in checked baggage following TSA guidelines. When a weapon is found at the security check-in, TSA agents turn the matter over to whichever local authority that is in charge of law enforcement at that airport. Some are arrested, others are not.

The data does not take into account monthly or longer fluctuations in the number of passengers screened or changes in the number of people flying.

Top airports

Click each marker for statistics about the airports with the highest number of confiscations. Red markers denote the top two — Atlanta and Dallas-Fort Worth.

COMPARING 2013 TO 2012

[field name=”monthly-comp”]

SIX-MONTH COMPARISON 2012 v. 2013

[field name=”yoy”]

Types of guns

BROWSE BY DAY

Click on column label below to sort that column. There are 30 records visible at a time; click the arrow key at the bottom to see the next (or previous) set of records.

[field name=”daily”]

Thanks to NSJI’s Natalie Jones for help with data entry.

Airport gun confiscations up 14% in first quarter

SB Anderson — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 18:31:54 +0000

A .380 handgun. Nearly 1 in 3 guns seized was a .380. (SOURCE: Wikimedia Commons)

The number of guns confiscated at airport security gates in the first quarter of 2013 was up 14% over last year, with a huge jump in January a key contributor, according to an analysis of Transportation Security Administration data by National Security Zone.

A total of 364 guns were confiscated by TSA agents at U.S. airports from Jan. 1 to March 31 as passengers tried to carry them aboard — 45 more than the first quarter last year. That is an average of four a day.

The number of guns that were loaded was up slightly — 82% vs. 79% a year ago.

Airports with the most confiscations: Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta, Salt Lake City
and Phoenix. (See table below).

Medill National Security Zone compiles a database from weekly TSA blog posts that chronicle gun seizures by day and airport, including the type of gun, whether it was loaded and whether it had a bullet in the chamber. We make our database available for download.

Interactive tables with weekly and daily data are available here.

Firearms may not be carried aboard commercial aircraft, but can be checked as luggage if appropriately packaged. The TSA says it alerts local law enforcement authorities when it finds a weapon at a checkpoint and it is up to the local authorities whether to press charges or not.

SOURCE: Medill National Security Zone analysis of TSA data.

Special thanks to NSJI’s Natalie Jones for help with data entry.

2012 TSA gun confiscation totals by airport

SB Anderson — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 13:13:30 +0000

Get more details on 2012 airport checkpoint gun confiscations.

Total gun confiscations by the Transportation Security Administration at US airports in 2012, along with the percentage that were loaded and the percentage that had a bullet in the chamber.

Click the label on each column to sort on that column. Load additional airports by using the arrow buttons at the bottom.

SOURCE: Medill National Security Zone analysis of data it compiled and aggregated from the Transportation Security Administration.

DOWNLOAD full 2012 data set.

For 2012, TSA finds 1,525 guns at check-in — average of four a day

SB Anderson — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 20:16:06 +0000

Day-by-day

Download data

Airport totals

Weekly chart

The rules (TSA)

Passengers caught trying to carry handguns past security at O’Hare and Panama City airports on Dec. 21 pushed the total number of gun confiscations by Transportation Security Administration screeners past 1,500 for the year, data compiled by Medill National Security Zone shows.

Through Dec. 31, 1,525 guns had been found. (View interactive graphics of weekly totals and individual incidents by date and airport).

The pace of confiscations nationwide was up in the second half of the year compared to the first — 832 confiscations since July 1 vs. 693 from Jan. 1 to June 30.

The total this year is an increase of 16% over 2011 and 36% over 2010.

National Security Zone, part of the Medill National Security Journalism Initiative, compiles its own running database based on a weekly list of confiscations posted on the TSA Blog on Fridays. Data for the final few days of the year were obtained by National Security Zone on Thursday.

Of the guns confiscated, 85 percent were loaded — and 26 percent were loaded AND had a bullet in the firing chamber. The most popular types of guns: .380 caliber; 9mm; and .38 caliber. Those three made up just over half of all those seized.

Airports with the most confiscations: Atlanta (97); Dallas/Fort Worth (80); Phoenix (53); Houston Bush (51) and Fort Lauderdale (42). Those top 5 airports accounted for 25% of all guns.

The first guns of 2013 were found on Wednesday at Fort Lauderdale and Laredo TX airports — both loaded .380-calibers, the TSA reported on Friday, 1/4.

A full list of the Top 15 airports is at the bottom of this story; a list of all airports can be found here; and a sortable list of each incident by day and by airport is available here.

It is illegal to carry a handgun aboard a commercial airliner; guns must be part of checked baggage and meet certain guidelines. The TSA notifies local authorities when a gun is found at security checkpoints; the local authorities determine if an arrest is made, a ticket issued, or what other action is taken.

Monthly Summaries

Click on column label below to sort that column.
[field name=”chart2″]

TOP AIRPORTS FOR 2012

Click on column label below to sort that column. (See complete list of airports here).

[field name=”chart3″]

SOURCE: Medill National Security Zone analysis of data it compiled and aggregated from the Transportation Security Administration.

Explore our interactive map of handguns confiscated by the TSA at airport check-in during the first half of 2012

SB Anderson — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 14:47:42 +0000

Map shows total guns confiscated by the Transportation Safety Administration from January through June, 2012, by airport. Guns are not allowed past airport security and must be sent as checked baggage. Data includes how many guns were loaded and how many had a bullet in the chamber ready to fire. → SEE FULL STORY

= 15 or more guns confiscated = 5-14 = Under 5

[field name=”fusion”]

Data analysis and map by SB Anderson of Medill National Security Zone.

RELATED STORY: Weekly updates of the gun confiscations.

700 handguns, most loaded, seized at airport security checkpoints in first half of 2012

SB Anderson — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 19:38:17 +0000

Just under 700 guns were discovered at U.S. airport carryon baggage checkpoints in the first half of 2012 — and 1 in 4 of them had a bullet loaded in the firing chamber, a Medill analysis of federal data found. All told, 82% of the 697 guns were loaded and 170 of those “chambered.” (View interactive map of the confiscations by airport).

Confiscations by the Transportation Security Administration were up 18% in the second quarter (April-June) compared to the first quarter of the year, the Medill National Security Zone analysis of data compiled from weekly TSA summaries shows. (Download a CSV file of the aggregated data).

Seizures averaged four a day for the period, and Atlanta led the list of airports with the most handguns found at checkpoints, at 44, followed by Dallas-Fort Worth (29), Phoenix (24) and Houston Bush (21). Three were tied at 17 — Dallas, Denver and Fort Lauderdale.

It was not immediately clear how much of that increase might be tied to quarterly growth in overall passenger traffic. But passenger increases only averaged .5% from 2000 to 2010, and were up 2.2% in 2010, federal statistics show. Atlanta, which has had the most seizures so far this year, saw only a 3% increase in passengers from 2010 to 2011.

(Continued after chart)

Airports in four Texas cities combined — Dallas, Fort-Worth, Houston and Austin — made up 12% of all gun confiscations.

What kind of guns were seized across the country?

The highest share were .38 caliber, with 139 found — 1 of every 5.

9mm: 109.

380: 102

22: 88.

Guns may only be flown as checked baggage — in appropriate packaging — and are not allowed to be carried onboard. They must not be loaded.

The TSA says it immediately alerts local law enforcement when it finds a gun in carryon luggage or concealed a person. Local authorities determine if charges will be filed — charges that are more serious for those without weapons permits. If a passenger is given a notice to appear in court at a later date, he or she can continue on to the destination (without the weapon).

“In many cases, people simply forgot they had these items,” the TSA’s “Blogger Bob,” says in his weekly wrap-up of confiscations on the TSA blog. “Just because we find a prohibited item on an individual does not mean they had bad intentions, that’s for the law enforcement officer to decide.”

Various other weapons besides handguns are seized each week at U.S. airports. Those are chronicled weekly in the TSA blog and just in recent weeks have included grenades, knives, axes, stun guns, a bazooka round, throwing stars, a blasting cap and swords. Below: A bazooka round.

(TSA Photo)

View interactive chart of each seizure so far this year.