Sociology

Life in US has changed drastically post the 911 attacks. One of the most seriously affected industries was Aviation. The entire aviation industry fell on the face post the attacks. The need for new rules and regulations to negotiate with any future attacks was germinated. One of the priorities for the authorities was to set up a concrete shield at the airports to prevent future attacks. Ever since the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001 (ATSA) was implemented the Transport Security Administration is struggling to completely galvanize the new principles.

The problem for TSA starts within the organization. Going by the figures TSA employs almost 50,000 people. But employees seldom stay and work for TSA for a long period of time. Instead it has been seen that the jobs at TSA are very volatile.

Airport security screeners have some of the worst job turnover of federal workers despite a 100-million effort to improve salaries and work duties, a USA TODAY analysis of federal data shows. (Thomas Frank, 2252008)

One in five screeners left between Oct. 1, 2006, and Sept. 30, 2007, federal Office of Personnel Management figures show. The turnover rate was identical the year before. Attrition for the rest of the federal government was 8 in 2006-07.

Twenty percent (turnover) is pretty high, former Homeland Security Department inspector general Clark Ervin says. You want people who are as sharp and experienced as possible, and thats why its a concern.

Screener departures leave airport checkpoints chronically short-handed, says Rebecca OBryan, who last month left her full-time screener job at San Jose International Airport. Youve got these inexperienced people who are really slow using the equipment. It slows everything down. (Thomas Frank, 2252008)

The employs primary grouse is working in TSA is like getting cooked in a pressure cooker. The milieu is extremely tense at the airports. The job takes a toll on their bodies as they always have to be on their toes either frisking passengers or loading baggage. To add fuel to the fire they come across a range of non cooperating customers every day. The tough schedule multiplied by immense pressure equals lesser people joining TSA.

Even though constant efforts have been made to maintain and enhance the functioning at TSA yet people seldom choose to work here for long. Most of the screeners working in TSA are part timers who quit this job after finding it mundane and enervating. Instead they chose more lucrative jobs of homeland security or police department. Subsequently the TSA has to take up less experienced undergrad who also struggle to adapt to the arduous working conditions.

The role of TSA has always come under severe criticism. People often quip as to whether it is easier to pass a thread through a needle or pass through the security screening of TSA. Surprisingly people think that the latter is easier to do so.

The TSAs erratic policy on photo id rules exhibits the negligence of TSA officials over the years. Initially, TSA allowed people with expired if cards and or people who have lost their id cards to
pass through a second screening and then board the plane. One can easily argue if it can offer a smoother passage for a terrorist to an aircraft.

But just when I was thinking the height of stupidity was over TSA offered me one more chance to crib about their photo id rule. I wonder if TSA thinks that terrorist will come with a badge written on their ticket and request to kindly arrest them. The terrorist are smart enough to buy a ticket in some other persons name and then check in online and take the print out of the same ticket. Then she can easily edit the name and forge a photo id or even carry his original id and easily pass through the security gates. The TSA matches the photo id with the name on the boarding pass.

The no fly list is by far the biggest drawback in the scrutiny of the passengers. It is rather a gimmick.  The no fly list is a list which prohibits flying of people who are under suspicion and watch list is a list which keeps the list of various other suspects.  Both the lists house more than 1 million names with representing the identities of almost 400,000 people. It is bit strange to learn that out of 6 billion people in the entire world TSA feels that 1 million people are supposedly terrorists.

The no fly list looks hosts names of people who are false positives. These are common American citizens who are beleaguered by the TSA officials. The names are put by untraceable links in the government. The law prevents people who are spuriously posted on this list to challenge this decision in any way. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals does not permit no-fly passengers to sue the FBI in any such cases. Thus they have no way to prove their innocence.  

The failure of TSA in cracking down the Nigerian terrorist who planned to detonate a bomb aboard the Delta airlines on 25th December 2009 further proved it correct. Umar Farouk Mutallab, a 23 year old young hailing from an affluent family has allegedly planted the bomb aboard the Northwest Airlines flight 253(Delta airlines). He failed to detonate the bomb causing burns and pop up sounds. He was overpowered by fellow passengers.  

The TSA was castigated for its failure. The job of TSA is always on the edge. People joked about TSA calling its security cover a mere poster. There were two bombs ticking. One that the alleged Nigerian Bomber planted on the airplane and the other one placed to showcase the malfunctioning of TSA. It has exposed the loop holes in the working of TSA.

After the Christmas attack the TSA plans to induct newer full body scanners to reveal naked picture of the traveler. But revealing naked picture scanner and spending billions of dollars cannot eclipse the naked truth of TSA. According to experts the astonishing aspect is that even full body scanners cannot detect explosives.

The image of TSA was severely hampered post the Christmas attack. The TSA was stigmatized for doing nothing before and after the alleged bomber made its way onto the plane. It still maintained the threat level to orange both before and after the attacks. All it did was increase a few officers at the major airports and increase the number of watch dogs at major international airports. People also questioned the multimillion dollars offered to TSA in order to upgrade the Screeners and other security devices. Security expert Bruce Schneider HYPERLINK httpwww.schneier.comblogarchives200912separating_expl.htmlnails the core incompetency For years Ive been saying only two things have made flying safer since 911 the reinforcement of cockpit doors, and the fact that passengers know now to resist hijackers.

So what has the TSA done in response to the attempted attack Theyve HYPERLINK httpgizmodo.com5435188leaked-homeland-securitys-post-underwear-bomb-airplane-rulesskylinetruesxtold airlines to make passengers stay in their seats during the last hour of flight. Theyve made it verboten for passengers to hold anything in their laps, again only during the last hour of flight. Perhaps most hilariously telling, theyve forbidden pilots from announcing when a plane is flying over certain cities and landmarks.

There is no other way to interpret it The TSA is saying clearly that they cant prevent terrorists from getting explosives on airplanes, but by god, theyll make sure those planes explode only when the TSA says its okay.

TSA notoriety is not limited to their failures but also their efficiency. Their staff is often believed to have very little knowledge about the rules and have come in the bad books of many people because of their rude and unethical behavior. There are endless cases which showcase the inefficiency of TSA.

Some of the recent cases that have cropped up are related to their inefficiency in allowing the liquids. This issue has also come a lot in the limelight because of the number of travelers carrying medication. Angela Cox, mother of 2 kids found the clumsiness of a TSA official when he did not allow cough syrup for her 3 year old son. She had to get in touch with the airport Supervisor who clarified the official that 4 ounces of liquid is allowed inside a plane. Angela was so much exasperated that she blames the TSA for the pandemonium at the airports. Angela retorts as to why common sense is so uncommon in TSA officials.

The TSA is grinded between the controversial discussions of security vs. Privacy. In retrospect, there was a woman who was asked to remove her navel ring by the TSA officials at the Newark airport after she failed to pass the metal detector. As a result several questions were raised on TSA. It was castigated for this act and accused by the media of violating the modesty of a woman. But one thing that people forget that it is because of these stringent laws set by TSA that the country is protected from any kind of terrorist attack. People take security at the airports for granted. But this is not always the case.

Some of the employees of TSA brought TSA into disrepute by playing acrimonious pranks on some of the innocent travelers. It was witnessed that that security officials plant some kind of powder into the bags of travelers which looks similar to a narcotic drug or powder for anthrax and then just for sheer fun they demand explanation from the traveler. Incidents like these portray the nave attitude of the security officials at the airport. In some cases the officials of TSA were caught on the other side of law when they were found guilty of stealing things from travelers bags.

The failure of screeners to detect fake bombs on many occasions questions the huge investments made by the government in the name of security. Not just bombs people have also witnessed that TSA officials are keener in getting rid of their toothpaste where as their pocket.

Knives make way through the x-ray machine. The TSA officials were caught napping on several other occasions. The TSA officials have also been found in spending on a lot of things which were not necessary.

This is also not case that government is not cognizant about the security lapses. It has come under the scrutiny of U.S President Barack Obama. Government is doing its bit to improve the working of TSA. The Government thinks that it has allotted the sufficient funds to DHS and TSA and considers its job done. But one thing that Government cannot ignore that TSA is its own brain child. It needs to keep in check every move that TSA makes.  

A HYPERLINK httpoversight.house.govdocuments20080111092648.pdf t _blankcongressional report issued last week outlined the failure of the Transportation Security Administration to secure a special Web site designed to help travelers whose names appeared erroneously on the airline watch lists. It turns out to be a situation that wreaks of multiple ethical lapses that ultimately put sensitive information at risk. Though the Web site was taken down and hosted on Department of Homeland Security servers, what is most interesting is how the site was initially contracted out to a third party to build and manage. Heres a situation where a government site was to host potentially sensitive information. But the contract was awarded without competition with specifications drafted so only one Web design company (Desyne Web Services) could qualify for the job. To make matters worse, the job of oversight at TSA was conducted by a former employee of Desyne, Nicholas Panuzio, according to the report.

Information being hosted and transmitted via the site included Social Security numbers, telephone numbers, addresses, birth dates and birth place. The site was launched on October 6, 2006, and was not taken down until a blogger, Chris Soghoian of the University of Indiana, discovered the vulnerabilities after February 13, 2007. The site wasnt encrypted, it wasnt hosted at a government domain and transactions werent conducted securely.                          (Robert Westervelt, 01152010)

The TSA needs to subscribe to the saying When the going gets tough then the tough gets going. It cannot afford to relax. It needs rebuild the confidence among the common people specially the Muslims. If the TSA is planning for any success in near future then it cannot simply rely on intelligence. It needs to chart out a full proof concrete plan to shield against the terrorist. The TSA has to bridge the gap between the securities vs. privacy. It has to prove what it is meant for and improve its performance. It cannot afford lapse in performance as there are lives involved.                                            
Last but surely not the least it must realize that Great things are not done by impulse but by a series of small things brought together. TSA plays a pivotal role in driving the aviation industry. Expecting the TSA to overhaul the entire system is a bit too much to ask. Instead it must revolutionary reforms at the grassroots level. It needs to create an atmosphere where employees enjoy working. It needs to revamp its infrastructure. It needs to make sure that that the funds are allocated properly in acquiring the sophisticated equipments. The jobs offered should be on par with the industry standards and in some cases TSA should come forward to set its own benchmark both in terms of remuneration as well as job satisfaction.