Friday, October 19, 2007
Officials: Report about O'Hare screenings 'misleading'
The
Chicago (IL) Sun-Times
The Transportation Safety
Administration calls a report claiming security screeners at O’Hare missed about
60 percent of bomb materials and explosives hidden in carry-on items during
recent tests misleading.
According to the TSA report, 60 percent of bomb
materials and explosives hidden in carry-on items by undercover TSA agents were
missed by screeners at O’Hare, according to a release from U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk.
At Los Angeles International Airport, screeners missed 75 percent of bomb
materials, while at San Francisco International, a private screening company
missed 20 percent of bomb materials.
But TSA spokeswoman Lara Uselding,
who said tests are conducted at every airport in the nation, said the leaked
figures actually reflect 2006 test results and things have improved in the past
year.
“We are seeing better test scores at airports than are reflected in
the report. We are doing a wider variety of tests and more tests,” she said.
“Under TSA pay for performance officers must show improvement or be pulled off
the line.”
Kirk, who represents the north suburbs, cited the apparent
security lapses at the nation’s largest airports in calling for a Security
Summit at O’Hare with Homeland Security and TSA officials to schedule
retraining, establish higher standards and upgrade accountability for security
at the nation’s busiest airport, according to a release.
“Their [TSA's]
mission is to protect 75 million flyers at O’Hare and millions around the
country," Kirk said in the release. "This report shows that there are problems
that must be addressed immediately by the Secretary of Homeland Security,
Secretary of Transportation and TSA officials at O’Hare.”
In calling for
a security summit, Kirk said, “I worry that a TSA screener working for the
federal government at O’Hare misses more threats than the private screening
company protecting San Francisco. I am calling on the Departments of
Homeland Security and Transportation to ... correct these security
lapses."
According to Uselding, that’s already happening. “In fall 2005,
TSA began an aggressive focus on improving recognition of improvised explosive
devices (IED). By fall 2006, TSA deployed 5,800 bomb test kits to the field and
today conducts 2,500 IED recognition tests a day. Tests are conducted every day
at every airport at every checkpoint and on every shift.
“Our goal is to
have the workforce so familiar with IEDs and their components that recognition
of them becomes rote. We challenge capabilities to the extreme and we continue
to raise the bar,” the TSA spokeswoman said.
Uselding said the TSA
designs testing with an expectation of failure, so “the results of these tests
are not appropriate for public dissemination.”
Tests are conducted with
“an in-depth knowledge of standard operating procedures and the capabilities of
our technology. If our security officers got it right every time, then we are
not pushing the envelope and challenging them to improve. Every failed test is a
lesson and helps us to build a stronger workforce.”
And the tests get
more and more difficult as security improves, Uselding said. “As scores start to
improve on tests, our security experts change their tactics and devise even more
difficult tests. Once security officers improve to that level of testing
the bar is raised again. By constantly challenging our workforce we create an
ever strengthening layer of security at the checkpoint.”
The City
Department of Aviation and local FAA office refused to comment on the report,
referring all questions to the TSA.
Related Stories:
Screening for
security flaws at LAX [Jul - 2002]
http://archives.californiaaviation.org/airport/msg21942.html
New security lapses haunt Logan Airport [Sep - 2002]
http://archives.californiaaviation.org/airport/msg22993.html
Congress wants airport screening inquiry [May - 2003]
http://archives.californiaaviation.org/airport/msg26039.html
Past FAA Mistakes Should Be Warning To New Security Agency [Jun -
2003]
http://archives.californiaaviation.org/airport/msg26469.html
Security fears at Newark Airport [May - 2004]
http://archives.californiaaviation.org/airport/msg30308.html
Officials won't confirm Las Vegas airport among 15 that flunked
security tests [Sep - 2004]
http://archives.californiaaviation.org/airport/msg32057.html
Reports: Airport Screeners Still Do Poorly [Apr - 2005]
http://archives.californiaaviation.org/airport/msg34648.html
Cheating airport screeners [Nov - 2006]
http://archives.californiaaviation.org/airport/msg39044.html
Undercover agents slip bombs past DIA screeners [Mar -
2007]
http://archives.californiaaviation.org/airport/msg40408.html
Workers at airport cheated on security inspections, IG report says
[Sep - 2007]
http://archives.californiaaviation.org/airport/msg42371.html
Loaded gun found at Tucson airport results in evacuation, delays [Oct
- 2007]
http://archives.californiaaviation.org/airport/msg42516.html
On the web:
TSA Speak - Partie Deux
http://www.californiaaviation.org/weblog/2007/04/tsa-speak-partie-deux