5Apr/100
TSA Announces Move to Intelligence Based Screening
Following the failed attempt to blow up a Detroit bound jetliner on Christmas day 2009, the TSA imposed tighter security on passengers from 14 specific countries. This policy was controversial as it subjected many innocent people to increased scrutiny solely because they were born or resided in a county on this list. In addition, a large amount of time and resources were being expended to screen people who posed no risk. On April 2nd, 2009, TSA announced that it was moving to a new screening policy based on "intelligence." Now, according to an article at chameleonassociates.com, rather than just looking at a person's country of origin, additional passenger information will be considered such as, "their travel patterns, whether their ticket was paid for in cash, what stops they may be making in their journey, if they are traveling alone, and other behavioral data." Intelligence based screening is widely considered to be the most efficient, non-biased, common-sense screening policy. The difficulty comes in constantly training, monitoring and re-training TSA Officers to maintain the skill set needed to identify and address passengers who pose a potential threat. The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) Government Liaison, Alejandro Beutel, hailed the new policy as, "a significant leap in the right direction."The policy shift has been widely praised. Only time will tell whether TSA can implement it effectively.
You can see further articles on the topic here: http://www.chameleonassociates.com/blog/2010/04/intelligence-based-screening-and-intelligent-screening/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/02/AR2010040204131.html http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/02/us/02terror.html?hp Reliant Security provides security and screening services to clients throughout the western United States. Sincerely, Matthew Cooper, CPP VP Reliant Security
