In a report released earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general Charles K. Edwards found that the Transportation Security Administration does not handle airport security breaches adequately. After Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, NJ sustained a series of security breaches early last year, one of which included a knife, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) requested that a report be conducted, CNN reported. Although TSA did respond to the situation, the actions taken were inconsistent. Senator Lautenberg said in a statement that the results of the report show "a gaping hole in our airport security system and gives us a framework for how to improve security at Newark Liberty Airport and all across the country.”
The report compared Newark Airport to five other major airports around the country, but those were not mentioned by name in the document. Of the six airports reviewed, Newark responded to the lowest percentage of breaches documented -- 42% -- during the survey period, January 2010 to May 2011, according to NJ.com. In fact, at all six airports combined, only 53% of breaches resulted in a documented effort to fix the issue. Yet, many of the incidents included in the report happened in 2010, and the report mentions that steps have since been taken to reduce vulnerabilities.
Some problems of inconsistency and confusion within the agency affected all of the airports surveyed. The report cites a lack of a comprehensive oversight program and mentions inconsistencies in how incidents were reported. Also, the document says that since both the management of programs and the data collected are not centralized, it is more difficult for the agency to "monitor trends or make general improvements to security.”
The resulting report caused so much alarm that the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee held a congressional hearing on Wednesday to address the issues, reported NJ.com. Representative Peter King (R-NY) made sure to put the issues on the agenda of a different, previously scheduled hearing because, he said, the report “raises serious concerns.”
The agency is working to implement the suggestions mentioned in the report. “TSA is coordinating appropriate revisions to relevant Operations Directives to develop a single definition of 'Security Breach,' addressing (the inspector general's) recommendation," said TSA spokesman David Castelveter. John Pistole, an administrator for the TSA, seems aware that improvements are necessary. “TSA acknowledges that it can further develop and expand its oversight programs for gathering and tracking airport security breaches," he said.
Yet, some people are still nervous about future security threats. "I'm going to tell you right now the next incident is going to come from the ground,” said Rep. John “Chip” Cravaack (R-MN). “It's going to come from the shadow of the aircraft, it's not going to come through the passenger terminal. I'm telling you that.”
Lautenberg summed up the issue by saying, “It is clear that much more needs to be done."
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