Polite Airports
Sunday, 22 March 2009
Don't you hate it when you walk into a store and every employee feels the need to come up to you and ask if they can help you find something? There have been some stores where every aisle has an employee who "wants to help" me. Can't a guy just browse? In a few of those extreme cases, I don't shop at those stores anymore. It's just too much of a hassle.
Now... imagine this same experience at the airport. Every TSA employee that you come across may want to pull you aside and search you.
Recently, the TSA has decided to step up gate searches.
Shortly after 9/11, TSA began random screenings at airport gates. I hated the hassle, but found a simple way to get past it: don't go first. Every flight I took, the first person in line was grabbed and searched. When they finished the search, they grabbed the next person who happened to be standing at the current head of the line. The solution for anyone not wanting to be searched? Wait until they grab a victim, then get in line. While the TSA agents are focused on the search of one person, they totally ignore everyone else in line. Thus, you had a window of about 5 minutes to get in line and through the doorway without being harassed by TSA.
The second selection method depends on profiling. TSA focuses on mannerisms (are you looking nervous, fidgeting, not making eye contact, etc.) and as much as they deny it, ethnicity. (As if this were a choice: You don't want to be a Muslim in an airport. In fact, even being in possession of Arabic writing is suspect at an airport.)
What profiling means: the people who match the profile will always be searched. For example, let's say you get stopped by TSA because you were walking suspiciously (too fast or too slow). They search you and find nothing, then let you go. However, they never told you what you did that was suspicious. (If they told you, then they would be telling everyone what they use for profiling). So you walk on...
Since every TSA employee is trained the same way, the next TSA agent sees you walking suspiciously, searches you, then lets you go. And then the next TSA agent, and the next one... While one person will likely be searched multiple times, other people will not be searched at all.
The only way screening works is if everyone is screened equally. Random samples don't work if the sample rate is low, and are even less effective when the sample isn't random. And profiling does not work when the suspect does not match the profile.
Oh yes, let's put punctuality ahead of security.
And who is Christopher Bidwell? He's not just some random idiot. According to the Airport Council International - North America web page, he is the ACI-NA "Vice President, Security and Facilitation" and "Prior to joining ACI-NA, Bidwell was managing director of security at the Air Transport Association." Yet, here he is, saying that the TSA needs to put scheduling ahead of security.
Having a top priority is a good thing, but TSA needs to know how to address it. Right now, it is just a facade. I mean, seriously, let's look at how TSA implements security:
Luggage theft is not an isolated incident. Every airport, from the big ones in LA and New York to the minor ones, like St. Louis are reporting crimewaves.
It's actually a good thing that airlines are charging for checked luggage -- it cuts down on the number of checked bags and lowers the opportunity for theft.
Now... imagine this same experience at the airport. Every TSA employee that you come across may want to pull you aside and search you.
Recently, the TSA has decided to step up gate searches.
Ed Wyatt said he was waiting to board a March 6 flight from Denver International Airport to Washington-Dulles when a TSA screener "grabbed somebody out of the line, opened up his briefcase and hand-wanded him."
"To me, it's just stupid," said Wyatt of Olney, Md. "Why do you have to screen someone twice?"
Disconnecting Flights
TSA has two ways that they select someone for additional screening. First, they do a random sample. At best, this is one out of every 50 people. In Las Vegas, if there was a table with a 98% chance (49 in 50) of me winning, I'd play there! Imagine if we used this same policy for computer logins: the system only checks your credentials 2% of the time...Shortly after 9/11, TSA began random screenings at airport gates. I hated the hassle, but found a simple way to get past it: don't go first. Every flight I took, the first person in line was grabbed and searched. When they finished the search, they grabbed the next person who happened to be standing at the current head of the line. The solution for anyone not wanting to be searched? Wait until they grab a victim, then get in line. While the TSA agents are focused on the search of one person, they totally ignore everyone else in line. Thus, you had a window of about 5 minutes to get in line and through the doorway without being harassed by TSA.
The second selection method depends on profiling. TSA focuses on mannerisms (are you looking nervous, fidgeting, not making eye contact, etc.) and as much as they deny it, ethnicity. (As if this were a choice: You don't want to be a Muslim in an airport. In fact, even being in possession of Arabic writing is suspect at an airport.)
What profiling means: the people who match the profile will always be searched. For example, let's say you get stopped by TSA because you were walking suspiciously (too fast or too slow). They search you and find nothing, then let you go. However, they never told you what you did that was suspicious. (If they told you, then they would be telling everyone what they use for profiling). So you walk on...
Since every TSA employee is trained the same way, the next TSA agent sees you walking suspiciously, searches you, then lets you go. And then the next TSA agent, and the next one... While one person will likely be searched multiple times, other people will not be searched at all.
The only way screening works is if everyone is screened equally. Random samples don't work if the sample rate is low, and are even less effective when the sample isn't random. And profiling does not work when the suspect does not match the profile.
#1 Priority
The article at USA Today contains many other wonderful quotes:
"I hope the TSA can work with airports and airlines to ensure that flights that may already be late aren't targeted," said Christopher Bidwell, security chief for the Airports Council International trade group.
Oh yes, let's put punctuality ahead of security.
And who is Christopher Bidwell? He's not just some random idiot. According to the Airport Council International - North America web page, he is the ACI-NA "Vice President, Security and Facilitation" and "Prior to joining ACI-NA, Bidwell was managing director of security at the Air Transport Association." Yet, here he is, saying that the TSA needs to put scheduling ahead of security.
Security Inaction
The USA Today article also includes this wonderful quote from TSA spokesman Greg Soule:Soule said the TSA does consider passenger concerns, "but security is our No. 1 priority."
Having a top priority is a good thing, but TSA needs to know how to address it. Right now, it is just a facade. I mean, seriously, let's look at how TSA implements security:
- Tickets. Passengers must have a boarding pass to get in the security screening line. However, many airlines permit passengers to print out their tickets at home. The only time the ticket is checked for validity (valid bar code) is at the gate when the person tears off your seat number and lets your board the plane. Thus, any ticket that looks real is good enough. Using Photoshop, you can easily change the name, date, and flight information on your ticket, and walk past security.
- IDs. The first security checkpoint compares your ID with the name on your ticket. This is good. However, this person never checks to see if your name is on the no-fly list. As long as their blacklight is working, they do an acceptable job with the ID. However, I have never seen a TSA person flip the ID over to see that it is real. (Cheap, fake ID's usually say on the back "Not a real ID".) And if they don't have a blacklight, then they just look at it and compare the name with the boarding pass.
Making matters worse, they never record the ID information. Yes: they checked your ID. No: they have no record that they checked your ID, no indication as to whether the ID is legitimate, and no validation for the information on the boarding pass. Even if the boarding pass name matches the ID, they don't know if the pass is real.
- Stamp. After checking your ID, they stamp or autograph your boarding pass. Nobody checks this stamp or scribble. In fact, most airports usually signs the Frontier Airlines "passenger copy" (found at the top of the home-printed ticket) and not the boarding pass (at the bottom of the page). Again: this is nothing more than busy-work and really offers no security at all.
- Metal Detector and Scanner. This is the only real security in the entire process, and it is lacking. I won't go into details about how to defeat it, but it is easy to get stuff past them. Just look for their inconsistencies. (Alright, why is "peanut butter" in a jar forbidden, but the same stuff on a sandwich is acceptable?)
- Searches. You may be called aside for a search. They could search you, your luggage, or both. However, this is rare and still unlikely to turn up stuff. (Seriously, the bad guys who do get caught smuggling drugs and other banned items, are just more stupid than TSA. That's not saying much.)
- Gate Searches. In 2003, TSA was doing "random" gate searches. A person would be pulled aside and searched before boarding the plane. There were also the "SSSS" tickets, where these letters on a ticket meant Secondary Security Screening Selection. By 2007, the "SSSS" and gate screenings were stopped. But TSA just started the secondary screening process again.
- Cameras. Most airports have plenty of cameras and even some audio recording systems. These are great for tracking a suspect (before or after an event), but do very little to deter someone. In Las Vegas, a single casino may have a thousand cameras around the entry, but only a small staff monitoring them. And some of the visible cameras are actually fake (with real cameras hidden elsewhere). In airports, there are fewer cameras and likely fewer people monitoring them. If you were not acting suspicious enough to get searched, then you're probably not acting suspicious enough to be tracked by the people watching the cameras.
- Other precautions. There are other security steps beyond these overt examples. For example, some airports use dogs, radiation detectors disguised as luggage (and carried by some of the most suspicious walkers I have ever seen), and more.
Isn't It Ironic
Ironically, while the passenger security facade is increased, the behind-the-scenes security is still far too lacking. For example, there are no hard metrics on luggage theft. In fact, some organized crime rings view the security scanners and then tell the baggage handlers what to take.Luggage theft is not an isolated incident. Every airport, from the big ones in LA and New York to the minor ones, like St. Louis are reporting crimewaves.
It's actually a good thing that airlines are charging for checked luggage -- it cuts down on the number of checked bags and lowers the opportunity for theft.
Tips to TSA
Here's some helpful tips to TSA that I hope they seriously consider.- Know yourself. If an employee can smuggle stolen luggage and goods out of the airport, then they can also smuggle something in. Rather than focusing on more ineffective security precautions for travelers, perhaps TSA should focus more closely on the behind-the-scenes activity. For example, why are there more cameras in the terminal than on the tarmac? How can a car drive onto a runway while a person cannot run a few feet past security without triggering an immediate response?
- Track passengers. If you're going to screen IDs and boarding passes, then actually screen them. For example, don't just look at the ID -- actually validate it (scan it in or type in the information and make sure it is a real ID). A police officer in any state can type in my driver's license number and immediately determine if it is real. TSA should do that too.
- Validate information. If passengers need boarding passes, then scan in the boarding pass and make sure it is real. This also allows TSA to track which checkpoint was used by the passenger for entry to the airport.
- Be consistent. If peanut butter is forbidden, then forbid it consistently. If passengers may be searched, then search all passengers. Spot checking is great for quality control in production environments, but not a viable solution for a secure facility.
Comments
Add Comment
Enclosing asterisks marks text as bold (*word*), underscore are made via _word_.
Standard emoticons like :-) and ;-) are converted to images.
E-Mail addresses will not be displayed and will only be used for E-Mail notifications.
