Word: tsa
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...terrible time for the Transportation Security Administration, the main agency responsible for making the skies secure. The agency has come under fire for failing to issue security rules for the cargo industry, as it was supposed to have done by the end of last year. This week, the TSA is expected to face harsh criticism from members of Congress at hearings on Capitol Hill on that and other issues. Congressmen are expected to charge the TSA with not adequately funding baggage screening systems at some major airports in the U.S. and a mismanagement of tens of thousands of airport screeners...
Fewer travelers are using locks on their checked bags, what with the more vigilant Transportation Security Administration (TSA) breaking open those attached to luggage that has been selected for hand searches. So John Vermilye, a former TSA consultant, created standards for locks that could be easily opened for inspection and then closed. Six brands have been certified, each bearing a red diamond logo and priced in the $5-$10 range. Locks are available now at specialty retailer Brookstone and expected to arrive by early January at Macy's, Samsonite, Burdines, REI and other shops. Manufacturers like CCL Security Products...
...weeks before Loy's departure was announced, the GAO issued two critical reports, one of which said there are "significant weaknesses in the testing and training procedures for TSA airport screeners." The TSA collects too little information on screeners' performance and doesn't yet have a systematic way of training supervisors, the reports found. The inspector general of the DHS discovered that the screeners had been given test answers in order to maximize the pass rate. A classified section of one of the GAO reports suggests that weapons are still making their way past security. And this summer...
Congress is reviewing the TSA's hiring, monitoring and training of screeners, and the agency says it's making changes. A better training program is being put in place for both screeners and supervisors, and all screeners must now be recertified annually. The TSA says it met its self-imposed Sept. 29 deadline for finishing background checks on screeners, whose fingerprints are now on file with the FBI, and it told TIME that it had to let go of 4% of screeners because they did not pass muster...
...federal air-marshal program has also suffered growing pains. In its rush to get cops in the air, the TSA put hundreds of marshals aboard planes without waiting for them to receive final security approval. Initial training was criticized as quick and dirty. And some marshals seem confused about their role. According to an aviation source, a marshal recently searched an emptied plane during a layover, discovered some pot in a passenger's seat back, and demanded that a local police officer arrest the alleged offender. "Have you ever heard of illegal search and seizure?" the miffed cop asked, refusing...