INCREASING SECURITY

Jason Whitely reports

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DFW INT’L AIRPORT – Despite staring cameras and high security, thieves are ripping off an increasing number of travelers at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

"Internal security really needs to be looked at," said Gilbert Humphrey, traveler.

Someone stole a hard drive out of his checked suitcase last month, which included photos of his two tours in Iraq he had yet to backup.

"That loss of that hard drive took about 15 years of my memories," he said.

News 8 examined six years of crime data at D/FW Airport and discovered a troubling trend. Thefts are on the rise.

It is and has been the most reported crime at D/FW since 2003.

In that year, police took 227 reports not including stolen vehicles, records revealed. In 2008, the number of reported thefts almost tripled to 607.

The total numbers of thefts and stolen vehicles at D/FW are:

2003 – 266

2004 – 364

2005 – 385

2006 – 468

2007 – 534

2008 – 607

D/FW records also showed that few cases ever get solved.

According to reports reviewed by News 8, thieves take jewelry, electronics, laptops and more from electric charging stations. They also target checked bags, even those on X-ray conveyer belt.

“They can be airport employees, TSA employees, airline employees, but those are the people we tend to think about,” Michael Cintron, International Airline Passengers Association. “However, you also have people that work on a buddy system. They may be just travelers.”

He said passengers should be vigilant inside any airport. Besides keeping a close watch on their belongings, he said people should not let their guard down because of the intimidating security or anxiety about travel.

“If you go through security and someone ahead of you is stalled either because they've set off the metal detector or moving slow it may be legitimate,” Cintron said. “It may also be a tactic."

Thieves sometimes work in teams, he added, in order to steal electronics at the X-ray conveyer belt.

"I personally put my laptop last,” he said. “And as I go through the metal detector, I look back and many times it hasn't gone through yet. If someone's going to take it before going through I think it will be a little more obvious."

D/FW administrators told News 8 they take the problem seriously and are already doing three specific things: adding surveillance cameras inside the airport, increasing the police force by 10 percent and stepping up patrols.

"This is a place the size of the island of Manhattan with 225,000 daily residents all moving,” said Ken Capps, a spokesman at D/FW Airport. “And so, in the grand scheme of things, the crime rate is low, but it's something we take very seriously."

Love Field, considerably smaller and less busy than D/FW, hasn’t seen similar crime trends, according to data News 8 reviewed.

The following are all reported thefts and stolen vehicles at Love Field.

2004 – 13

2005 – 18

2006 – 18

2007 – 19

2008 – 12

Humphrey said he doubts he'll see his hard drive again, but warns fellow flyers that airports aren't always as safe as they seem.