U.S. Steps Up Airport Screener Surveillance

November 7, 2003

 

U.S. Steps Up Airport Screener Surveillance

CNN

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The Bush administration said Wednesday it was increasing its undercover surveillance of airport screeners after a congressional investigation and an embarrassing incident involving smuggled boxcutters raised troubling questions about aviation security.

Stephen McHale, deputy administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, said his agency would carry out more secret tests of airport baggage and passenger screening staff to see whether they detect simulated terrorist threats.

"Through covert testing, we challenge screeners to detect threat objects at screening checkpoints and in checked baggage, using simulated terrorist threat devices and current techniques," McHale said in written testimony to a Senate committee.

"The covert tests serve as one of many indicators of screener performance."

McHale told the Senate Commerce Committee that the agency is well aware of its problems and is trying to do a better job of identifying vulnerabilities.

"No one element of our systems has a zero failure rate,"

McHale's testimony marked the first appearance before lawmakers by a senior agency official since a 20-year-old college student made headlines last month by smuggling boxcutters aboard commercial planes. The incident prompted a government order to search all aircraft for potential weapons and outraged lawmakers and others when it was revealed the suspect, Nathaniel Heatwole, told the TSA of his plans before he even stepped on a plane.

Heatwole faces federal charges and a possible jail term if convicted.

That incident was preceded by a congressional investigation that concluded the TSA had no effective way to measure the performance of nearly 50,000 passenger and bag screeners at more than 400 U.S. airports. But the TSA defends its performance, saying it has been working right along to revamp oversight and testing of screeners.

"Well before recent events involving smuggling of prohibited items on board aircraft, TSA began to make screener improvements ranging from more robust training to technology to increased management performance and accountability," McHale said.

He said the agency had already tripled the frequency of annual covert tests compared to when the Federal Aviation Administration oversaw security and "we are increasing unannounced testing even further."

Created in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, hijack attacks on New York and Washington, the TSA took over aviation security from the airlines and the FAA.