(CNSNews.com) – The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) spent approximately
$900 million over the last 5 years for behavior detection officers to identify
high-risk passengers but, so far, according to the General Accountability
Office (GAO), only 0.59% of the passengers flagged were arrested and among
those not one was charged with terrorism – zero.
In 2003, the
TSA started testing its Screening of Passengers by Observation Technique (SPOT)
program, which was then fully deployed in 2007. About 3,000 behavior detection
officers (BDO) “had been deployed to 176 of the more than 450 TSA-regulated
airports in the United States” by fiscal year 2012 (Oct. 1, 2011 – Sept. 30,
2012), according to the GAO.
Those BDO
officers are trained to “identify passenger behaviors indicative of stress,
fear, or deception and refer passengers” and their baggage for additional
screening, reported the GAO in its Nov. 8, 2013 report, Aviation
Security: TSA Should Limit Future Funding for Behavior Detection Activities.
Since 2007, the
TSA has spent approximately $900 million on the SPOT program, said the GAO.
During the SPOT
screening, the TSA’s behavior detection officers are supposed to look for and
identify “high-risk passengers based on behavioral indicators that indicate
mal-intent,” said the GAO. The BDOs can refer the passengers to a law
enforcement officer (LEO) for further investigation. From there, if warranted,
a passenger (or passengers) can be arrested.
In a statement
for the Subcommittee on Transportation Security, Stephen M. Lord, the director
of homeland security and justice issues at the GAO, said that in fiscal years
2011 and 2012, for the 49 airports the GAO analyzed, there were 61,000 SPOT
referrals, meaning that many passengers apparently displayed “behavioral
indicators that indicate mal-intent.”
From that
number, 8,700 (13.6%) were referred to a LEO. And from those LEO referrals, 365
(4%) “resulted in an arrest,” said the GAO.
That 4% of
61,000 SPOT referrals is 0.59%. In other words, for the SPOT referrals, 99.41%
were not arrested. For the 0.59%, none were arrested for “terrorism.”
For that 0.59%
arrested, the GAO stated the following in a footnote: “The SPOT database
identifies six reasons for arrest, including (1) fraudulent documents, (2)
illegal alien, (3) other, (4) outstanding warrants, (5) suspected drugs, and
(6) undeclared currency.”
CNSNews.com
asked Director Lord if it were accurate to report that of those 365 persons
arrested, not one was arrested for “terrorism”? Lord answered by
e-mail: “This is accurate for the arrests but please see footnote 98 and 99 on
page 45 of the full report (GAO-14-159) as TSA believes
that some of these referrals to law enforcement might be related to terrorism
but has no supporting documentation or system to track the basis for these
referrals.”
Footnote 98
says: “TSA was unable to provide documentation to support the number of referrals
that were forwarded to law enforcement for further investigation for potential
ties to terrorism.”
In his
statement, Director Lord said, as explained in the November 2013 report, “TSA
cannot demonstrate the effectiveness of its behavior detection activities, and
available evidence does not support whether behavioral indicators can be used
to identify threats to aviation security.”
The report
concluded by recommending that “TSA limit future funding for its behavior
detection activities,” but “DHS did not concur with our recommendation.”
Source: CNS
News, November 25, 2013 - 6:14 PM
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/michael-w-chapman/tsa-spent-900-million-behavior-detection-officers-who-detected-0#sthash.hA3pZXAE.dpuf
Comments:
The $900 million cost of arresting 365 airline customers averages
$2.47 million per arrest. I wonder how many were convicted of anything. I arrest my case.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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