(CNN) -- Airport transportation security officers are probably the least understood and most maligned of federal employees. Travelers hate them for taking away water bottles and making them take off their shoes. If a story is reported about them, it's along the lines of a little old lady getting groped. They are the victims of unflattering stereotypes that make easy targets for cheap laughs. Even President Barack Obama made a joke about pat-downs in a 2011 State of the Union address. And when the Government Accountability Office found increased Transportation Security Administration officer misconduct, it just ratcheted up their unpopularity. The report was jarring and disturbing -- rising numbers of absenteeism, theft and intentional security lapses. Obviously, these are red flags that can't be ignored.
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Kip Hawley: Airport transportation security officers are misunderstood
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He says infractions are related to being unmotivated and enforcing senseless rules
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Hawley: Officers need to be trained, empowered and allowed to think for themselves
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He says allow banned items, except obvious ones; stop shoe inspections, intrusive pat-downs
Unfortunately, instead of taking on the issue of stopping the misconduct, @placeholder's focus was on how TSA "could strengthen oversight of allegations of employee misconduct," the safe issues of process oversight, management of the accusations and data gathering versus digging into the controversial root causes of the actual misconduct.