Armed TSA Screeners? No, Thanks! After the tragic shooting last month at a checkpoint at LAX, in which three TSA screeners were shot, one fatally, the immediate response of TSA union president David Cox was that TSAs workforce should be expanded to include a new category: armed officers with law enforcement status, to protect all checkpoints from such attacks. The new officers would be stationed on raised platforms allowing them to survey the whole checkpoint area. And on top of that, the union is calling for more Behavior Detection Officers, despite there being zero evidence that BDOs can spot people with mal-intent (see previous story). As many observers pointed out, those who are intent on mayhem can easily choose other targets than screening lines if they want to cause trouble. The advantage of existing law enforcement officers on duty at airports is precisely that they can and do roam, covering ticket lobbies, curbside areas, baggage drop-offs, etc. in addition to checkpoints. The unions knee-jerk reaction is typical of political responses to aviation security incidents. The focus is on making 100% certain that this particular incident cannot occur again. But as numerous security experts keep reminding us, there is no 100% security at any conceivable amount of spending, If airports were made 100% secure at huge costs, other targets would be favored: railroad bridges, electrical transmission lines, sports stadiums on game days, shopping malls (as in Kenya), etc. As MIT aviation safety expert Arnold Barnett told the New York Times after the LAX shooting, Wherever you establish a security perimeter, by definition there is stuff outside it. TSA has already grown far beyond the original concept, and mission creep is an ever-present temptation for a host of interests—not just screener unions but equipment vendors, the TSA bureaucracy, and congressional oversight committees. Lets hope everyone can keep their heads and not implement yet another so-called layer of costly, ineffective security theater.
Posted on: Wed, 04 Dec 2013 19:06:56 +0000
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