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DHS's efficiency

Almost immediately after the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, transportation safety became an important focus for the government. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) were created. Now, these two agencies work together to prevent further terror attacks using the nation’s transportation system in conjunction with transportation systems of other countries. This is done in many different ways from establishing and maintaining a terror watchlist to inspecting the luggage of passengers. While there have been some near misses, there have not been any other aviation associated terror attacks in the United States since 2001. However, the same cannot be said for other countries around the world, and many attacks have occurred in on other modes of transportation such as subways and other trains. Some challenges still remain both in the United States and around the world including the use of new technologies such as biometrics to identify passengers, more efficient vetting and screening methods at airports and transportation hubs, cost-effective solutions to screening air cargo and freight, and better coordination among state, local, federal and international aviation security agencies. The focus of this research paper is aviation security and how efficient the DHS and the TSA are at maintaining aviation security.

The DHS’s aviation security policies focus not just on flights within the United States, but also those going to international locations. According to DHS website regarding Aviation Security, they are attempting to “raise the baseline for aviation security across the globe by implementing enhanced security measures, both seen and unseen, at all last-point-of-departure airports in 105 countries around world” (DHS). Some of the measures that the DHS uses around the world to protect aviation passengers include passenger screening, personal electronic device screening, and increased security patrols around aircrafts and passengers (DHS). These measures are taken with flights originating in other countries with destinations in the United States.

International passengers flying to the United States may receive increased scrutiny associated with their electronic devices, luggage, property, and person. DHS says these measures “raise the global aviation security baseline” and are the result of intelligence gathered by DHS, the FBI and other government agencies over a period of time (DHS). This intelligence indicates that scrutiny of these specific areas is the best way to prevent further terror attacks associated with U.S. aviation. “Terrorist groups continue to target passenger aircraft, and we have seen a web of threats to commercial aviation as terrorist pursue new attack methods” (DHS). To keep Americans safe, the DHS works with the security agencies of other countries, which, in turn, results in better aviation security in those countries too.

The TSA’s focus is on those passengers both domestic and international who pass through TSA security checkpoints in airports around the United States every day. According to Bart Elias, John Fritelli and David Randall Peterman of the Congressional Research Service, there are four policy objectives for the TSA when it comes to deterrence and protection:

(1) ensuring the trustworthiness of the passengers and the cargo flowing through the system; (2) ensuring the trustworthiness of the transportation workers who operate and service the vehicles, assist the passengers, or handle the cargo; (3) ensuring the trustworthiness of the private companies that operate in the system. . .; and (4) establishing a perimeter of security around transportation facilities and vehicles in operation. (Elias, Fritelli and Peterman 1)

The first three objectives focus on preventing attacks from within the transportation system, and the fourth one focuses on preventing terrorist attacks from outside the system.

While the DHS and the TSA aim to prevent terrorist attacks on all transportation modes, the TSA’s main focus is aviation security. William Russell, Acting Director, Homeland Security and Justice testified before the House of Representatives in June of 2019. He explained that at the nearly 440 TSA-regulated airports in the United States, all passengers, their property and their checked luggage are all screened before they can board an aircraft. In fact, even before they can enter some areas of an airport. One method that the TSA uses is behavior detection to identify high-risk passengers. “Through the end of fiscal year 2016, TSA’s behavior detection screening process was a stand-alone program that used specially trained behavior detection officers to observe passengers at the screening checkpoint and engage them in brief verbal exchanges” (GAO 2). Based on the conversation, the behavior detection officer would either allow the passenger to board the plane or he would refer them for additional screening or contact a law enforcement officer. Because of fears about racial or ethnic profiling, the behavior detection officer position was eliminated in 2017. Now the behavior detection officers work alongside other TSA agents to screen passengers. If a passenger’s behavior causes alarm, the behavior detection officer can use the skills in which he or she was trained to question a passenger and decide if the passenger should be allowed on the plane or if law enforcement should be notified. This is just one of the many ways TSA agents work to keep American aviation passengers safe.

The DHS works to keep Americans safe by considering the threats that may come into the United States from other countries. The TSA works to keep Americans safe from threats that may exist and that are meant to terrorize passengers on planes originating in the United States. Based on the results—no further aviation terrorist attacks since 2001, and several thwarted—the two agencies appear to be doing their jobs in an effective manner.

Works Cited

DHS. "Aviation Security." 25 February 2019. Department of Homeland Security. Web. 20 September 2019. <https://www.dhs.gov/aviation-security>.

Elias, Bart, John Fritelli and David Randall Peterman. "Transportation Security: Issues for the 116th Congress." Congressional Research Service (2019): 1-22. Federal Acquisition Services (FAS). 20 September 2019. <https://fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R45500.pdf>.

GAO. "Aviation Security." Testimony Before the Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives. Washington D.C.: General Accounting Office (GAO), 4 June 2019. 1-18. Web. 20 September 2019. <https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/699485.pdf>.


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