US Airport Screeners Missed 95% of Weapons, Explosives In Undercover Tests

An anonymous reader writes: An internal investigation by the TSA found that 95% of agents testing airport checkpoints were able to bring weapons through. In one case, an alarm sounded, but during the pat down, the screener failed to detect a fake plastic explosive taped to the undercover agent's back. ABC reports: "Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson was apparently so frustrated by the findings he sought a detailed briefing on them last week at TSA headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, according to sources. U.S. officials insisted changes have already been made at airports to address vulnerabilities identified by the latest tests. 'Upon learning the initial findings of the Office of Inspector General's report, Secretary Johnson immediately directed TSA to implement a series of actions, several of which are now in place, to address the issues raised in the report,' the DHS said in a written statement to ABC News."

Comments

Security theatre.

[Shaman]

Sometimes I think the governments are simply trying to spend themselves into the kind of debt that breaks the banking system. But that doesn't seem to be happening.

Re:Security theatre.

[fahrbot-bot]

... breaks the banking system.

That's adorable. Banks don't break; they just pat themselves on the back with another bonus pass the failures along to us common folk.

Re:Security theatre.

[TheCarp]

You miss the real point. Those gaurds are not there to stop a real threat, they are not really even there to make people feel safe. They are there because making people feel safe is an easy way to justify jobs.

Jobs redistribute wealth which, granted, several countries could use some more mechanisms for, as the concentrations are a bit scary, but in this case, do it without providing any other benefit other than the redistribution.

However its very popular because its easy to justify and the only people who can point out it doesn't work have to openly admit they took contraband on the train. Basically the same is done here.

In Boston, the MBTA have a theater troupe which setups up at one station each day and insists on swabbing bags for explosives, but of course, if you don't want to be swabbed, you can just walk out and walk the 15 minutes (if that) to the next station.

DHS was never about Homeland Security

[Anonymous Coward]

It was about creating another welfare program.

Re:DHS was never about Homeland Security

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

It's never 'welfare' if it involves defense spending: the spending doesn't have to actually increase security, or deliver a product that actually works(it's even acceptable to putz along for a decade or two until the project becomes so hopeless that it is quietly killed without ever delivering a product); but so long as it's for 'defense' and involves some sort of visible business, it's not welfare.

Since this is bullshit, we simply treat it as axiomatically true, which sidesteps what would otherwise be a tedious and difficult matter of 'proof'.

Re:DHS was never about Homeland Security

[MightyYar]

It was a lot of things to a lot of opportunists, but the main driver in the creation of the TSA was the fear after 9/11. This was an irrational response, since airport security did not "break down" and allow 9/11 to occur - box cutters were allowed on planes because it never occurred to anyone that someone would be able to hijack an airplane with a razor blade.

On the bright side we have another example of how expensive and incompetent the government is at doing a straightforward task. I'm not saying that the private sector would be more competent, but they sure would be cheaper.

Re:DHS was never about Homeland Security

[ahodgson]

Since 95% of the tests failed, it's pretty obvious that there is in fact pretty much no one trying to take weapons on board planes in order to take them down; they would have succeeded multiple times since 9/11 otherwise.

We need you people to multitask...

[rmdingler]

Security theatre is now being asked to be aesthetic andeffective...

Cheese and rice!

This makes me feel safe

[GoddersUK]

I've seen various comments/analysis on other sites about how unsafe this makes people feel. My response was completely the opposite: security is completely ineffective yet it's quite rare for terrorists to blow up airliners. Conclusion: terrorists don't pose a massive threat to our safety and we can do away with all the infringements of our liberties made in the name of safety from terrorists.

Although, no doubt, the government will see it as an excuse to make airport security fondle your bollocks for a minimum of 30 seconds; after all, we've got to stop all those terrorists that aren't blowing up planes from blowing up planes!

Re:This makes me feel safe

[AthanasiusKircher]

Sure, you might get a few hundred casulties and the loss of a plane and possible some casulties on the ground.. there are far worse things they could do. Black Friday at a Wal-mart? Sporting events, train stations..

Yes, this is the obvious thing. I recall after 9/11 when people were actually freaked out by such possibilities. I had a couple friends who didn't even want to go to shopping malls for a few months, because there was fear that any large congregation of people could be a target.

And then what happened?? Nothing.

And people stopped worrying about all those other possibilities....

Also, a fun stat on that "sure you might get a few hundred casualties" with a loss of a plane. Keep in mind that TSA is not free either. And I'm not just talking about cost or special scanners (whether they have medical consequences or not) or groping.

I'm talking about how everyone was saddened after 9/11 about how much of a waste it was -- that so many people had "lost their lives" in their prime.

Well, guess what? Run the math on the 600,000,000 passengers who board flights in the U.S. every year or so. For every minute/person the TSA wastes, that equates to roughly 1000 years of people's lifespans wasted cumulatively.

If the TSA wastes 5 minutes on average for people standing in line and going through extra security crap, that's 5000 years of lifespans "lost" every year when people could be doing something else, being productive in their own lives. (And that doesn't even take into account how much time is wasted because people arrive early at airports just in case of a long security delay.)

This may sound like a silly analysis, but it's time we're all forced to give out of our lives for no apparent reason just to board a plane.

One could thus argue that the TSA is already wasting "hundreds of lives" every year, even if a plane doesn't go down... we don't need the terrorists to do it.

Re:Grandmas and Toddlers

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah. This is important! If you have a gallon bottle of dangerous explosive liquids you must dump it to the trashcan at the checkpoint. Yes, the one that is by the long queue of people waiting to get through the check. That trashcan is made of superplastic than neutralizes all dangerous substances. Watch out citizen! Have your passport ready! Don't have too much liquids ready! (unless you keep it in your pocket, hand, or anywhere the security won't notice)

More like 57% effective

[pr0t0]

According to this poll http://www.harrisinteractive.c..., about 57% of frequent flyers believe the current TSA procedures are making it safer to fly. The other 43% recognize them for the theatrics that they are.

Sure, they find their fair share of fake novelty hand grenades and medieval weaponry in checked baggage. They even once saved a plane from the pudding cup my daughter left in her backpack (which naturally earned her a pat-down). But what the TSA was really doing was keeping a major mode of transportation operational for a brief time of uncertainty. As with all things government, the project's scope began to creep and pockets got lined while we stood in a line to have our pockets felt by a creep.

57% think the TSA is money well spent. That is the metric by which the TSA measures itself.

Re:Government union workers

[gstoddart]

So do CEOs and politicians.

Re:Grandmas and Toddlers

[XxtraLarGe]

Not to mention keeping our airplanes safe from containers of liquid larger than 3.4 ounces. Who knows what a terrorist might do if he smuggled 4 ounces of shampoo aboard a plane!

That could be a bomb, throw it in the garbage over there!