In a twisted way, the agents' behavior is actually kind of rational if you think about it. They prefer false positives to false negatives because the cost of a false negative is a successful terrorist attack, whereas the cost of a false positive is an annoyed traveler.

The cost of many false negatives is an overall worse quality of life for everyone, especially for targeted groups, and the enactment of a massive surveillance apparatus to enforce that QoL degradation.

which is the stated end goal of many a terrorist organisation.