February 2008
A 'facade of security'
Former DHS inspector general is 'concerned at how poorly screeners are doing.'
Clark Kent Ervin
Before 9/11, airline security was largely delegated to airlines and airports, which hired private firms.
Congress created the TSA in November 2001 to secure all modes of transportation, starting with aviation. The agency hired more than 50,000 people to screen passengers and luggage. But Kimberly Kraynak, a lead TSA officer in Pittsburgh and women's coordinator for TSA Local 1 of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents officers, says employees do not receive proper training at some airports. "We've been short-staffed since the beginning," she says.
Larry Tortorich, a TSA training officer and former representative to the Joint Terrorism Task Force who retired in 2006, also says he saw problems from the inside. "There was a facade of security. There were numerous security flaws and vulnerabilities that I identified. The response was, it wasn't apparent to the public, so there would not be any corrective action."
An internal e-mail obtained by Consumer Reports suggests that the TSA might be stacking the deck to try to perform better on covert tests. In April 2006 the TSA's Office of Security Operations sent a memo to numerous security personnel titled "Notice of Possible Security Test." It warned that airport security was being tested by the Department of Transportation in several airports and even gave some clues: The testing couple included a woman who had "an ID with an Oriental woman's picture, even though she is Caucasian. We are getting the word out."
"I continue to be concerned at how poorly screeners are doing on undercover testing," says Ervin, the former inspector general. "The results continue to be dismal."
The TSA has also been the subject of reports of mismanagement. For example, a federal report in 2005 found that a private firm used to hire screeners for the TSA had estimated its fee at $104 million but was paid $741 million, including $1.7 million for the use of a Telluride, Colo., ski resort for recruiting.
Screeners also report that equipment that could help security remains locked up at some airports. "We've wasted millions on machines we're not using," says Don Thomas, a TSA officer in Orlando, Fla., and president of TSA Local 1.
In its annual report card for the TSA last April, the House Committee on Homeland Security gave the agency a C for aviation security and an F for employee morale, a factor contributing to high staff turnover.
Responding to the criticism, Kip Hawley, the TSA's administrator, told Congress in November, "Our workforce is fully engaged." He said that reforms in the agency's personnel system have been aimed at improving staffing issues.
Congress created the TSA in November 2001 to secure all modes of transportation, starting with aviation. The agency hired more than 50,000 people to screen passengers and luggage. But Kimberly Kraynak, a lead TSA officer in Pittsburgh and women's coordinator for TSA Local 1 of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents officers, says employees do not receive proper training at some airports. "We've been short-staffed since the beginning," she says.
Larry Tortorich, a TSA training officer and former representative to the Joint Terrorism Task Force who retired in 2006, also says he saw problems from the inside. "There was a facade of security. There were numerous security flaws and vulnerabilities that I identified. The response was, it wasn't apparent to the public, so there would not be any corrective action."
An internal e-mail obtained by Consumer Reports suggests that the TSA might be stacking the deck to try to perform better on covert tests. In April 2006 the TSA's Office of Security Operations sent a memo to numerous security personnel titled "Notice of Possible Security Test." It warned that airport security was being tested by the Department of Transportation in several airports and even gave some clues: The testing couple included a woman who had "an ID with an Oriental woman's picture, even though she is Caucasian. We are getting the word out."
"I continue to be concerned at how poorly screeners are doing on undercover testing," says Ervin, the former inspector general. "The results continue to be dismal."
The TSA has also been the subject of reports of mismanagement. For example, a federal report in 2005 found that a private firm used to hire screeners for the TSA had estimated its fee at $104 million but was paid $741 million, including $1.7 million for the use of a Telluride, Colo., ski resort for recruiting.
Screeners also report that equipment that could help security remains locked up at some airports. "We've wasted millions on machines we're not using," says Don Thomas, a TSA officer in Orlando, Fla., and president of TSA Local 1.
In its annual report card for the TSA last April, the House Committee on Homeland Security gave the agency a C for aviation security and an F for employee morale, a factor contributing to high staff turnover.
Responding to the criticism, Kip Hawley, the TSA's administrator, told Congress in November, "Our workforce is fully engaged." He said that reforms in the agency's personnel system have been aimed at improving staffing issues.
