TSA and HPD

It's becoming increasingly evident (at least to me) that the TSA isn't terribly effective. From the crime stats in Houston, neither is the HPD (Houston Police Department).

The report states that a man with a Middle Eastern name and a ticket for a Delta Airlines flight to Atlanta shook his head when screeners asked if he had a laptop computer in his baggage, but an X-ray machine operator detected a laptop.

A search of the man's baggage revealed a clock with a 9-volt battery taped to it and a copy of the Quran, the report said. A screener examined the man's shoes and determined that the "entire soles of both shoes were gutted out."

Uh.... HELLOOOOO!

No explosive material was detected, the report states. A police officer was summoned and questioned the man, examined his identification, shoes and the clock, then cleared him for travel, according to the report. A TSA screener disagreed with the officer, saying "the shoes had been tampered with and there were all the components of (a bomb) except the explosive itself," the report says. The officer retorted, "I thought y'all were trained in this stuff," TSA officials reported. The report says the TSA screener notified Delta Airlines and talked again with the officer, who said he had been unable to check the passenger's criminal background because of computer problems.

Stupid question: Why didn't they detain the guy until the COULD check his background.