US takes a fresh look at aviation security

The US Senate is holding an enquiry entitled Ten years after 9/11: The next wave in aviation security.

The president of the American Association of Airport Executives told the Committee hearing that, “The challenge for the next decade and beyond is to more effectively utilize and link technologies and information that separate and scrutinize true threats to the system from those who pose little or no risk.

 “Efforts must also be made in the aviation environment to keep TSA focused on its primary mission of passenger and baggage screening. Expanding the agency’s mission – particularly to areas already in capable local hands – threatens to dilute already scarce resources.

“The intense pressure on all federal budget resources, continued threats to the aviation system, and growing traffic levels at the nation’s airports make the passenger screening protocol that has been in place since 9/11 unsustainable. We simply don’t have the resources necessary to continue operating a personnel dependent screening system that treats every traveler the same regardless of the risk they pose to the system.

“In our view and in the view of many security experts, one of the key components to improving passenger screening and security is expanding the focus from finding dangerous ‘things’ to finding dangerous ‘people’…

“Recognizing that fact, airport executives and many others have long advocated the adoption of a trusted/known traveler program to better identify and scrutinize potential threats... the trusted/known traveler concept allows for intense focus on individuals who voluntarily provide information prior to their arrival at the airport, freeing resources at screening checkpoints to focus on those for whom little is known. The result is enhanced security and improved efficiency at screening checkpoints.”

And it seems the US is finally engaging with ‘profiling’, a technique rejected for a long while in the US because of concerns around civil liberties.

However here’s an extract from testimony to the Hearing given by TSA Administrator John Pistole:

“Beginning this fall, TSA took steps to expand its behavior detection program that builds on existing Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques (SPOT), which has grown since 2003 to include over 160 airports.

“Under the pilot program, TSOs employ specialized behavioral analysis techniques to determine if a traveler should be referred for additional screening at the checkpoint.

“The vast majority of passengers at the pilot airport checkpoints experience a ‘casual greeting’ conversation with a Behavior Detection Officer (BDO) as they pass through travel document verification. This additional interaction, used by security agencies worldwide, enables officers to better verify or dispel suspicious behavior and anomalies.

“Preliminary analysis from Boston shows an increase in the rate of detection of high-risk passengers. However, additional data is required to understand if the trend seen in the Boston data is statistically significant and replicable at other airports.”

Well of course it will be, if the personnel selection and training are competent. The approach has been well and truly proven elsewhere (especially in Israel) over many years.