Challenges Remain for Airport Security

It was only in August when the Government Accountability Office (GAO) told the Department of Homeland Security they’ve only made moderate progress in securing the commercial aviation system. What has the DHS done since then? In a new article, one expert gives the DHS his own report card.

In an opinion piece on the Hawaii Reporter website, Jim Kouri, fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police, says DHS and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) have made progress in “many areas related to securing commercial aviation.”

Not only had TSA already met 17 of the GAO’s 24 performance expectations, but Kouri says the administration has since “turned its attention to, among other things, strengthening passenger prescreening; more efficiently allocating, deploying and managing the transportation security officer (TSO) – formerly known as screener – workforce; strengthening screening procedures; developing and deploying more effective and efficient screening technologies; and improving domestic air cargo security.”

But Kouri says that while these efforts have helped improve aviation security, there are still a lot of challenges ahead. “For example, TSA has faced difficulties in developing and implementing its advanced passenger prescreening system, known as Secure Flight, and has not yet completed development efforts,” he says.

To read the full article, click here: http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?43881789-7059-4490-bfb9-b207b090950f