How useful are air marshals? Maybe worse than useless.

Let's look at this program
1. There are about 4000 air marshals
2. They are supposed to be incognito, but they fly free so they usually choose first class making it easier for potential terrorists to ID them. One group had their flight canceled so they demanded another airline bump first class passengers so they could get a ride even though the flight already had six air marshals.
Airlines Want to Bump Air Marshals to Coach
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703431604575521832473932878.html

Let's look at some 'successes':
3. 4.2 arrests per year
4. They haven't been on board for any of the recent terrorism attempts against U.S. airlines.
5. Air marshals arrested a Qatari diplomat caught smoking in the bathroom on a United Airlines flight
6. Outside a plane, two marshals in Miami shot and killed a man with bipolar disorder claiming to have a bomb
7. Two marshals arrested a woman for pouring her own drink this month.
8. U.S. Settles Delta Air-Marshal Arrest Case with Apology, Policy Changes.
http://www.allbusiness.com/crime-law/law-special-investigative-forces/10368205-1.html

Let's look at the cost
9. $860 million spent on the service per year
10. $200 million per arrest

Congressman: Air Marshals cost $200 million per arrest
http://boingboing.net/2010/04/08/congressman-air-mars.html
http://duncan.house.gov/2009/06/22062009.shtml

Let's look at the people
11. More air marshals have been arrested since 9/11 (for crimes like smuggling explosives, domestic violence, drunk driving and human trafficking) than the number of people arrested by the marshals.

12. “Since 9/11, more than three dozen Federal air marshals have been charged with crimes, and hundreds more have been accused of misconduct. Cases range from drunken driving and domestic violence to aiding a human-trafficking ring and trying to smuggle explosives from Afghanistan.'' (USA Today)
http://duncan.house.gov/2009/06/22062009.shtml

U.S. Air Marshals arrested in droves
An investigation into the US Air Marshal program released today reveals that since 9/11, more than three dozen marshals have been charged with crimes, and hundreds more have been accused of misconduct, reported the non-profit investigative journalism group, Propublica.

Cases of misconduct range from aiding a human-trafficking ring, to drug smuggling, to pedophilia and child abuse, to attempted murder. The report, written by Michael Grabell and published today in USA Today, reports a number of these shocking crimes as well as problems with the background check process and hiring standards.

One of the more amazing stories reported was of an air marshall named Brian "Cooter" Phelps who wanted to get rid of his ex-wife. To dispose of her, he called a fellow air marshal and tried to hire a hit man nicknamed "the Crucifixer."

Another story involved Michael McGowan, an air marshall who used his position to lure a young boy to his hotel room, took pictures of him naked and sexually abused him.

The report goes on to state that "since 9/11, air marshals have taken bribes, committed bank fraud, hired an escort while on layover and doctored hotel receipts to pad expenses, records show. They've been found sleeping on planes and lost the travel documents of U.S. diplomats while on a whiskey-tasting trip in Scotland...another left his handgun in the plane's lavatory. He realized it was missing only after a teenager found it."
http://ohmygov.com/blogs/general_news/archive/2008/11/13/breaking-news-u-s-air-marshals-arrested-in-droves.aspx

Air Marshal Accused of Rape at Gunpoint
April 22, 2010 2:48 AM
A U.S. federal air marshal was arrested Saturday, accused of raping a woman at gunpoint inside a Seattle hotel room while on a layover for his job.

Lecheton "Omar" Settles, 30, has been charged with rape in the first degree and is being held at the King County jail with bail set at $250,000
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31727_162-20003133-10391695.html

Air Marshals: Undercover and Under Arrest
ProPublica, Nov. 13, 2008, 11 a.m
Shawn Nguyen bragged that he could sneak anything past airport security using his top-secret clearance as a federal air marshal. And for months, he smuggled cocaine and drug money onto flights across the country, boasting to an FBI informant that he was “the man with the golden badge.”

Michael McGowan used his position as an air marshal to lure a young boy to his hotel room, where he showed him child porn, took pictures of him naked and sexually abused him.

And when Brian “Cooter” Phelps wanted his ex-wife to disappear, he called a fellow air marshal and tried to hire a hit man nicknamed “the Crucifixer.”

Since 9/11, more than three dozen federal air marshals have been charged with crimes, and hundreds more have been accused of misconduct, an investigation by ProPublica has found. Cases range from drunken driving and domestic violence to aiding a human trafficking ring and trying to smuggle explosives from Afghanistan.

The Federal Air Marshal Service presents the image of an elite undercover force charged with making split-second decisions that could mean the difference between stopping a terrorist and shooting an innocent passenger.

But an examination of police reports, court records, government reports, memos and e-mails shows that 18 air marshals have been charged with felonies, including at least three who were hired despite prior criminal records or being fired from law enforcement jobs. A fourth air marshal was hired while under FBI investigation. Another stayed on the job despite alarming a flight attendant with his behavior.

This spring, after U.S. embassies, airlines and foreign police agencies complained about air marshal misconduct overseas, the agency director dispatched supervisors on international missions.
http://www.propublica.org/article/air-marshals-undercover-and-under-arrest-1113