Aviation securityRisk-based security approach on TSA's horizon
Several industry organizations are proposing dividing airline passengers into three categories — trusted, regular, or risky — and treating members of each category differently at airports security checkpoints; the categorization of passengers will be done by taking data that the government and the airlines are already collecting about passengers and bring it to the checkpoint
Proposals to overhaul security checkpoints at airports to take into account the risk profile of each traveler is being promoted by several industry organizations to allay the frustrations of travelers.
A concept that has the support of TSA Chief John S. Pistole divides travelers into three groups: trusted, regular, or risky. The proposals will allow TSA agents to apply different screening techniques based on what is known about the passengers.
Steve Lott, a spokesman for the International Air Transport Association said that “Today we have T.S.A. agents looking at TV screens, but they don’t know anything about the person going through the system. The idea is to take data that the government and the airlines are already collecting about passengers and bring it to the checkpoint.”
A larger trusted traveler program that would allow passengers to undergo a background check to gain access to an expedited security lane at the airport is also being considered by industry organizations. The program streamlines security at the airport for those who pay a premium (“TSA approves for-pay faster security lines at airports” 9 December 2010 HSNW)
“Our security apparatus has already acknowledged that we can create trusted traveler programs,” said Geoff Freeman, executive vice president of the U.S. Travel Association. “Let’s expand on that.”
Ideas proposed by the Travel Association and the International Air Transport Association involve creating three screening lanes with different security procedures based on varying levels of risk. Travelers flagged as potentially risky based on government intelligence and watch lists would receive more intensive scrutiny, using body scanners and interviews with officers trained in behavioral analysis.
Reviews of security procedures at airports come ten years after the creation of the TSA, where ideas are being requested by officials. “If people have ideas, he wants to hear them because he’s looking at ways to make changes,” a TSA spokesman, Nicholas Kimball, said.
One of these ideas was tested last week at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport where a software displayed a generic outline of a human figure as opposed to the graphic images some passengers have expressed outrage over (“Full-body scanner privacy concerns could be easily solved” 29 November 2010 HSNW).
Concern expressed by pilots has also been addressed by the agencies by expediting their screening processes for crew members, based on their trusted status and background checks. TheAir Line Pilots Associationis also calling for a more risk-based approach to screening, not just for the crew but also for passengers.
The International Civil Aviation Organization, a UN body that helps establish aviation policies for 190 member countries, has developed a group to make recommendations about security screening procedures. The differences in security needs across different countries because of capabilities and resources have complicated the process.
“There are also some hard realities that we have to recognize in the security world about the protection of personal information and sensitivities to individual rights,” he said.
Growing national support for a risk-based approach to security may be a step in the right direction according to Robert Poole, director of transportation policy at the Reason Foundation. “For the first time since 9/11, I think we have the conditions where it might be politically possible to have a serious debate about it,” he said.
