Although incidents are rare, at airports baggage remains an attractive target for criminal elements often using their cover as baggage handlers - during loading and unloading from commercial aircraft - to steal valuable items well away from public view.
Over the years there have been a number of high profile cases with the authorities often resorting to surveillance technology to catch the culprits in the act. In August 2002, for example, 36 baggage handlers at Milan's Malpensa airport were sacked after an extensive investigation in which the police used hidden cameras to gather evidence of workers tampering with luggage. Searches of suspects' lockers and homes recovered goods, including jewellery, worth an estimated 25,000 euros.
Despite increased surveillance at airports, incidents are still occurring. This was underlined last month by the arrest of eight people at Stansted Airport in London in connection with the theft of small items such as mobile phones and cameras from passenger luggage.
So what additional steps can be taken? Some airlines are now taking positive action to combat the problem by using covert video security systems - with a number of CCTV cameras secreted in the baggage hold - to monitor any activity that occurs during loading and unloading. The recorded video evidence, on a linked video server, may then be used by the airline to raise issues with the employer of a baggage handler should illegal activity be detected and, if necessary, in subsequent prosecutions. Crucially, this also addresses the real difficulty of knowing whether missing items have actually been stolen - or simply lost in transit - and if so where and by whom.
