Security Analysis: Why Airport Screening Remains a Failure
The addition of almost one million more aviation industry workers and outside suppliers further complicates the safety and security problems that airport management, airlines and government agencies need to cope with. Whether the threat of terrorism or weather complications, airports become dangerously congested whenever a logistics problem is created anywhere in a system that needs to be exquisitely choreographed if aircraft and crews are to be where and when scheduled to move passengers and cargo across the nation and around the world.
Commercial aviation continues to experience an increase in air traffic and at the same time it attempts to cope with increased safety and security demands. Congestion in the air over major airports has pushed air safety to its limits causing delayed departures and arrivals and closer intervals between airliners in flight. Weather problems have caused an inability to position aircraft where they can quickly resume normal flight schedules after a storm. As a result, passengers have been held on board aircraft without adequate services sometimes for many hours before taking off or returning to gates where they are disgorged into already over-crowded airport facilities.
While trying to handle myriad logistical problems, the same security problems that have taxed the resources of government since 2001 for the most part remain an enigma. Satisfactorily screening passengers, baggage and cargo continues to fall short of expectations. The introduction of new technologies and better training methods for airport screeners have not yielded the hoped for better rates of success in preventing contraband from airplane cabins and cargo holds. Faced with seemingly a never-ending list of challenges, airport security has been forced to remain in the same reactive posture it was in on 9/11 almost without exception. Somehow firearms and other weapons still find their way aboard airplanes despite new protocols for screeners and increased supervision of the screening process.
For the past several years, shortages of personnel, equipment and money have been the leading reasons given for screening failures. Increases in all three categories haven’t ameliorated the problems however. It is not likely that there will ever be enough personnel to provide quick and reliable screening for the increasing volume of air travelers and others requiring it. Nor will even reasonable people likely agree upon the kind and amount of technology to safely do the job at screening stations regardless of how much money is provided. Just as we would have failed to prevent crime by trying to ensure that every citizen didn’t harbor some criminal intent, we should accept that we couldn’t predict who among us is likely to commit an act of terrorism in commercial aviation without changing our approach to the problem. Crime prevention is most effective when we can identify risks from those people most likely to try to breach security because they have the means, the motive and the opportunity to do so.
By overreacting to worldwide security alerts, we have been distracted from preventing real aviation terrorism threats. For example, the means and motive to assemble a liquid explosive on board an airliner by a passenger was ignored in an impossible effort to ban small quantities of liquids from two million pieces of passenger carryon each day. The result was a reduction in the overall screening program disproportionate to the threat. We might be far better off by employing a question or two asked by a skilled behavioral specialist to passengers chosen scientifically based on factors such as likely motivation and ability, and then professionally analyze their responses. Yet we under react when an aviation worker carries fourteen guns and eight pounds of marijuana inside the cabin of a passenger flight, an event that represents the much more serious problem of the vulnerability of airliners to mass destruction weapons by airport workers.
Our focus on point of access screening of passengers has failed to achieve good results because the screening is conducted too late in the process. Current screening methods that try to identify in advance passengers motivated to destroy an airliner in flight are hamstrung by political considerations. Profiling terrorists is not easy but it has had its successes. Subjecting candidates to intensive searches after they reach the screening station limits the available search options to public displays of both the targets and the methods, and results in a random selection with limited success rates. Our current screening methods do not lend themselves to effective profiling because they avoid “unacceptable”, even though empirically supportable, selection processes. Though the level of sophistication and training of the current screening population militates against trying to use them effectively to profile, the problem of upgrading airport screening is not insoluble.
Screening personnel in the years ahead should be selected and trained with different goals in mind; we should try to identify the potential bomber before we search for the bomb. The security process needs to start before the passenger reaches the current physical security station. As a result of new technology, false statements made even over a telephone line can be identified with a very high degree of accuracy. New technology now offers great promise for intercepting passengers with the motive and means to carryout an act of terrorism before they have an opportunity to do so. Voice analysis technologies also offer a way to avoid the accusations of ethnic and racial stereotyping that currently inhibit the use of profiling as a tool in airport screening attributable to personal subjective bias. In addition, the endless debate over what constitutes a weapon and how best to find it can hopefully give way to a search for terrorists and other criminals rather than for ice picks and razor blades the use of which as a tool of aviation terrorism in outdated.
With a change in how and why we screen will also come a change in who will do the screening. Screening passengers and workers for motives and means will require additional skills not readily available in the current screening force. As we wrestle with the problem of how to screen airport workers without disrupting the workflow, we need to consider a new approach that searches the mind as well as the body. With so much of our aviation service work being outsourced, screeners with an agile mental set will be required to deal with new faces constantly entering secure and sterile work areas and then subjecting them to screening to ensure that this largely unsupervised workforce does not present an unreasonable security risk. The employment of the knowledge, skills and experience of our large pool of returning veterans who have faced the same risks abroad that we now hope to avoid at home will provide leadership, discipline and effectiveness in successfully monitoring who and what enters commercial airliners form the ramp side.
A new approach to how we think about commercial aviation security is warranted by the many security breaches we still experience and the continued threat of terrorism that we face. Keeping terrorists from attacking airliners requires identifying real human threats as well as their weapons of mass destruction. We simply cannot search everybody and every thing, the numbers are too great and time too short. New protocols, technologies, human skills, and the flexibility to fit the resources to the problems offers much promise for future success in our efforts to prevent commercial aviation terrorism.
Charles Slepian
Post a Comment
99 References
View Printer Friendly Version
Email Article to FriendReferences (99)
-
Response: Alex venice amber rayne nursenurse Alex venice amber rayne nurse ... -
Response: Sania mirza exposing picspics Sania mirza exposing pics ...
-
Response: Ballet leotard and sexsex Ballet leotard and sex ...
-
Response: SelenaspicSelenaspic Selenaspic ...
-
Response: Cumshoting videosvideos Cumshoting videos ...
-
Response: Wwe smack divas comcom Wwe smack divas com ...
-
Response: Pompino matura gratisgratis Pompino matura gratis ...
-
Response: Sexy wavy hairstyles with highlightshighlights Sexy wavy hairstyles with highlights ...
-
Response: Mum sun fucking picturespictures Mum sun fucking pictures ...
-
Response: Artis melayu kinikini Artis melayu kini ...
-
Response: Cost of SexVisited your site and it is great.
-
Response: Sexocean nude picspics Sexocean nude pics ...
-
Response: Free daisy duck hentai picspics Free daisy duck hentai pics ...
-
Response: Model enginer alexandra palace londonlondon Model enginer alexandra palace london ...
-
Response: Nude spinners videovideo Nude spinners video ...
-
Response: Project voyeur and melodymelody Project voyeur and melody ...
-
Response: Lesbian squirterssquirters Lesbian squirters ...
-
Response: Keira knightly boobboob Keira knightly boob ...
-
Response: Inertial navigation system error modelsmodels Inertial navigation system error models ...
-
Response: 1 teen chat avenue comcom 1 teen chat avenue com ...
-
Response: Amber frey nudenude Amber frey nude ...
-
Response: Law lesbian order serenaserena Law lesbian order serena ...
-
Response: Pic of crochet micro bikinibikini Pic of crochet micro bikini ...
-
Response: Seductive bikini modelmodel Seductive bikini model ...
-
Response: Cheney dick gunshotgunshot Cheney dick gunshot ...
-
Response: Lazarus stress modelmodel Lazarus stress model ...
-
Response: Kaila yu hardcorehardcore Kaila yu hardcore ...
-
Response: Nativity girls basketballbasketball Nativity girls basketball ...
-
Response: Stonehenge model kitkit Stonehenge model kit ...
-
Response: Amsterdam nightlife girlsgirls Amsterdam nightlife girls ...
-
Response: Adult halloween jokesjokes Adult halloween jokes ...
-
Response: Free teen titans coloring pagespages Free teen titans coloring pages ...
-
Response: Minnesota offender registry sexsex Minnesota offender registry sex ...
-
Response: Lady bug adult costumecostume Lady bug adult costume ...
-
Response: Lactating boobs picspics Lactating boobs pics ...
-
Response: Snowmen cartooncartoon Snowmen cartoon ...
-
Response: Adult dating services lihue hawaiihawaii Adult dating services lihue hawaii ...
-
Response: Sexy ecards freefree Sexy ecards free ...
-
Response: Nadine coyle sexy picspics Nadine coyle sexy pics ...
-
Response: Losi xxx ntnt Losi xxx nt ...
-
Response: Carabobo gay venezuelavenezuela Carabobo gay venezuela ...
-
Response: Bellucci clip monica nude videovideo Bellucci clip monica nude video ...
-
Response: Anal cure fistulafistula Anal cure fistula ...
-
Response: Freakish penispenis Freakish penis ...
-
Response: Muscular nude hairy manman Muscular nude hairy man ...
-
Response: Spamking teen jessicajessica Spamking teen jessica ...
-
Response: Sex offenders locatorslocators Sex offenders locators ...
-
Response: Same sex infidelity warning signssigns Same sex infidelity warning signs ...
-
Response: Add celebrity link suggest wallpaperwallpaper Add celebrity link suggest wallpaper ...
-
Response: Female muscle absabs Female muscle abs ...
-
Response: Pool hustler moviemovie Pool hustler movie ...
-
Response: free mature sexCool site. And a lot of usefull info.
-
Response: Pantys xxxxxx Pantys xxx ...
-
Response: Manila escort agencyagency Manila escort agency ...
-
Response: Model mugging new yorkyork Model mugging new york ...
-
Response: Staketet s old bbw women 9999 Staketet s old bbw women 99 ...
-
Response: Tit video wobblingwobbling Tit video wobbling ...
-
Response: 1 1250 ebay model shopshop 1 1250 ebay model shop ...
-
Response: Tamiya plastic model coco Tamiya plastic model co ...
-
Response: Abnormal pap smear and normal hvphvp Abnormal pap smear and normal hvp ...
-
Response: Calinda teenstarsmagazineteenstarsmagazine Calinda teenstarsmagazine ...
-
Response: The coin corner 1970 playmatesplaymates The coin corner 1970 playmates ...
-
Response: Christy romano toplesstopless Christy romano topless ...
-
Response: Hairy cunt juggsjuggs Hairy cunt juggs ...
-
Response: Model naga x42gvx42gv Model naga x42gv ...
-
Response: Pee wee gonzalesgonzales Pee wee gonzales ...
-
Response: Atlanta escort georgia gfe ohioohio Atlanta escort georgia gfe ohio ...
-
Response: En la ciudad cesc gaygay En la ciudad cesc gay ...
-
Response: Kara monaco playboyplayboy Kara monaco playboy ...
-
Response: Escort italian transtrans Escort italian trans ...
-
Response: Monica lewinsky nude picpic Monica lewinsky nude pic ...
-
Response: Shanna moakler playboyplayboy Shanna moakler playboy ...
-
Response: Intense orgasm masturbation videosvideos Intense orgasm masturbation videos ...
-
Response: Porn recessrecess Porn recess ...
-
Response: Naked asian mail order bridesbrides Naked asian mail order brides ...
-
Response: Sexy mirokumiroku Sexy miroku ...
-
Response: Philiadelphia philliesphillies Philiadelphia phillies ...
-
Response: Breast augmentation san diego californiacalifornia Breast augmentation san diego california ...
-
Response: The foundations build me up buttercupbuttercup The foundations build me up buttercup ...
-
Response: Dick jacking offoff Dick jacking off ...
-
Response: How to introduce oneself to girlsgirls How to introduce oneself to girls ...
-
Response: Stalin political cartooncartoon Stalin political cartoon ...
-
spray How to increase your female ejaculate spray ...
-
Response: Nude balck teensteens Nude balck teens ...
-
Response: Ah com goddess xxxxxx Ah com goddess xxx ...
-
Response: Antique model lionel trainstrains Antique model lionel trains ...
-
Response: Chinese dogfuckdogfuck Chinese dogfuck ...
-
Response: Model a fire engine wheelie dragsterdragster Model a fire engine wheelie dragster ...
-
Response: Suck DickLook at this site it will be of interest to you to.
-
Response: Aggressive assertive lesbian datingAggressive assertive lesbian dating
-
Response: Anal Sex XXXAnal Sex XXX
-
Response: Click hereThe acidic cycle in your body functions in the following way. When you eat foods that produce acid when they are digested, this acid builds up in your body. When the acid is not eliminated in a timely fashion, it can disturb other cells and get in the way of their ...
-
Response: My model train sitePaying particular attention to Rich B.? s comments, with 40 years in the profession. For a very special application, I need to make mitered cuts on titanium tubing, with finished pieces looking like tapered rings. In other words, the mitered cuts alternate, producing pieces which are. 125? on the narrow side, ...
-
Response: Online Dating TipsI have just foun this kind of online dating tips in a new site. Very interesting and helpfull.
-
Response: Sex CAMs Bot :: Live Adult WebCamsa Robot, Addicted to SEX CAMS and Live Webcam Shows.
-
Response: ak-47 harvesting outdoorDharamshala the destination for the Dalai lama, alos bring in a lot of nefarious bagpack tourists who find it very easy to slip into the upper reaches of the mts into the villages and smoke their heads out. Also sleep and marry with the shepherds and locals. I ahve seen village ...
-
Response: lanny barbie sexThe most amazing 3d hentai and 3d anime free porn galleries anywhere on the net, all galleries updated daily.
-
Response: free adult yellow cartoonTight anime sweeties get their backdoor cherries violated! Plunge into our archive with premium hentai videos right now. (Premium site)
-
Response: porn manga3d porn video, 3d hentai,free galleries
Reader Comments