TSA Fails

From USA Today:
"Homeland Security to beef up airport security screening after report"

 

Random covert testing, intensive training and equipment checks are among several changes Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced Monday after an internal investigation found flaws in the nation's airport security screening system. Johnson said he is not at liberty to reveal details of an inspector general report on the effectiveness of the nation's airport security screening system, but he did make reference in a statement released by the Department of Homeland Security to "vulnerabilities" mentioned in the report.  Johnson also announced Monday that, effective immediately, Transportation Security Administration acting administrator Melvin Carraway is being reassigned to serve as head of the DHS Office of State and Local Law Enforcement. Acting deputy director Mark Hatfield will head up TSA until someone is selected to replace Carraway, Johnson said. "I thank Melvin Carraway for his 11 years of service to TSA and his 36 years of public service to this nation," Johnson said.

 

Among the TSA changes Johnson is ordering

• Directing Transportation Security Administration to revise procedures so that they address vulnerabilities mentioned in report;
• That TSA share the results of testing with airport officials across the country;
• Training for all transportation security officers at every airport;
• Directing testing and retesting of equipment used at airports;
• Asking inspector general and the TSA to conduct "random covert testing" of security practices;
• Appointing a team of TSA and DHS leaders to make sure changes are implemented.

ABC News first reported Monday that undercover agents were able to smuggle prohibited items, such as mock explosives or weapons, through TSA checkpoints in 67 out of 70 attempts. ABC cited anonymous officials who had been briefed on the inspector general's report. In at least one test, agents failed to detect a bomb, even after an undercover agent set off a magnetometer, according to The Hill. The undercover agent was allowed to pass through screening with the fake bomb attached to his back -- and after a pat down, The Hill reported. The problems vulnerabilities were detected by a group of undercover agents known as the Red Team who have publicly exposed previous screening vulnerabilities, according to The Hill.

 

^ Anyone who has flown in the past 14 years shouldn't be surprised or shocked at this report. The TSA was created in 2001 to replace the different security contractors at the airports, but the only  difference between the TSA and the contractors are: job security (because they are Federal employees.) We are not any safer now than we were in 2001. That has been proven time and again over the years. The TSA merely bark orders to passengers and do nothing more than check a monitor and occasionally pat someone down. Passengers, on the other hand, have had to step-up. We have to take off our shoes, belts and coats  - even though we have to stand in full body scanners that can see through our clothes - we have to deal with long lines, paying extra for everything (bags, food, etc) and it is even the passengers that have to stop would-be attackers on planes while the sky marshals and flight attendants stand-by and watch. The No-Fly List is a joke and kicks off the elderly and babies while letting on known terrorists. I took all the tests required to join the TSA several years ago and was even offered a job with them, but luckily I had just received a better position and took that one. The TSA, as a whole, is failing and this report shows that fact. As someone who has travelled around the country and around the world pre-9/11 and post-9/11 I have experienced first-hand the different TSA operations around the country as well as the different airport security operations overseas and, to me, the TSA gets a F-. Their customer service is a joke. Their handling of the disabled often borders on criminal. Their professionalism is questionable. I have had friendlier security people in Munich, Dubai, Heathrow, Edinburgh, Shannon, Toronto, Stansted, Paris, Glasgow, Kyiv, Gatwick, Dortmund, Warsaw, Amsterdam, Larnaca, Aruba, San Jose, Frankfurt and Nassau (to name a few places) and they were not only friendly, but also very professional and helpful - especially when dealing with the disabled.) The foreign airports that weren't up to par were Moscow (mainly because no one spoke anything other than Russian) and Kuwait. The TSA, on the other hand, does very little to interact with people - even the disabled - except for barking orders. I have experienced that personally (whether it was directed at me or someone else in line) at numerous US airports: JFK, Newark, Logan, Midway, San Francisco, Dulles, Miami, O:Hare, Anchorage, Dallas, Reagan, San Antonio, Albany, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Denver and Charlotte  (to name a few.) Out of those the worst US airports are Logan and Denver. The TSA needs to be completely over-hauled in both detecting bombs and terrorists as well as customer service. You can do both jobs (looking for threats as well as be professional)  -  - it has been proven in dozens of other countries - including ones that are high-risk terrorist targets  like London.  ^

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/06/01/homeland-security-tsa-screening/28331991/