OK, I am SLF, but as such...
people who could be coerced (someone could kidnap your family) into carrying naughty things through to hand to the bad guys
Agree 100%, therefore everybody needs to be searched
Why are airport police allowed to 'roam' land/airside without going through the same procedure? They can carry firearms airside!
Yes, but I think they should be searched for additional items. What about explosives? Certainly we can have different policies for pax, aircrew, mechanics, police, yesno?
Who is to say that said policeman would not have his family kidnapped and the same threats made as to you allude to above
Nothing, you are correct. But as above, I can make sure that all s/he has is the gun, not explosives. And maybe an opportunity to alert somebody quietly to his/her calamity.
I understand the sentiment here - at some point you have to trust. But you can and should make sure.
In my mind, the issue here is not the fact that flight crew has to be searched. The issue is inadequate procedures at some airports. Some screeners seem to get a kick out of searching air crew and bossing them around (seen that myself).
Personally, I see no problem with having a separate "crew/personal checkpoint", as some airports already have. Staff it with folks who can actually see whether an ID tag is fake or acurate. Staff it with the same folks ever time so they recognize people. Make sure aircrew/mechanics/etc can give feedback on behavior to a supervisor. This is not that much of additional expense per pax, would make your life easier, and everybody is happy.