On Q Professional Investigations

As soon as next year, a driver’s license may no longer be enough for airline passengers to clear security in some states, if the Department of Homeland Security has its way.

Federal officials said they would soon determine whether Transportation Security Administration agents would start enforcing a 10-year-old law that required states to comply with a set of federal standards when issuing driver’s licenses.

The issue is quickly intensifying, and the debate over identification and privacy has grown after the recent terrorist attacks in Paris and California.

But some states have bitterly opposed these requirements out of privacy concerns, and more than a dozen have passed laws barring their motor vehicle departments from complying with the law, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The new standards require more stringent proof of identity and will eventually allow users’ information to be shared more easily in a national database.

Privacy experts, civil liberty organizations and libertarian groups fear the law would create something like a national identification card.

Federal and state officials have been arguing for years about the merits of the law, called the Real ID Act, which was enacted by Congress in 2005 on the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission. Its proponents argue that it is a necessary tool to reduce identity theft and fraud, and enhance the nation’s security.

The federal government cannot force states to adopt these identification standards, but it can gain compliance in other ways. In October, it began requiring that visitors to military bases, nuclear plants and federal facilities produce a driver’s license from a state that complies with the law, or show another form of government ID, like a passport.

But the biggest leverage the government has over the states is commercial air travel.

The Department of Homeland Security said it would provide a schedule by the end of this year for when airport screeners would start accepting only driver’s licenses that complied with federal standards. It said that 120 days’ notice would be given before starting to enforce the law at airports.

Read More

Congress warns: ‘Commercial flights still major target for terrorism’\

Lawmakers of the House’s Transportation Security Committee warned on Tuesday that commercial airline flights remain a “major target for terrorism” and that dangerous “gaps in security” screenings could lead to a terrorist attack.

However, the director of TSA’s Office of Global Strategies, Joseph Terrell, offered few answers, leading to frustration and a contentious back and forth during the afternoon hearing.

These lawmakers grilled Terrell, seeking to determine how major security gaps at overseas airports could lead to an attack on the homeland.

The hearing comes less than a month after Islamic State terrorists downed a Russian commercial airliner with a bomb as it flew over Egypt.

The administration official was unable to provide answers about how Congress can increase security, telling lawmakers in a moment of candor, “Perhaps I need some time to think about it and get back to you.”

The attack on the Russian Metrojet airliner represents “a shift in the threat against aviation” posed by the terror group, according to Rep. John Katko (R., N.Y.)

“There remain gaps in security that needs to be addressed,” he said, citing “serious lapses in security vetting among aviation workers with access to secure and sensitive areas of airports.”

“I remain very concerned with the at the overall state of airport access controls.” Katko said, claiming that officials are “ignoring open back doors at airports.”

Rep. Kathleen Rice (D., N.Y.) also expressed concern about the threat posed to commercial airliners, noting, “the threat of terrorist attacks is very real and the risk is very high right now.”

“Commercial flights are still a major target for terrorism,” she added. “We cannot afford to get comfortable or complacent right now. … There are terrorist groups and radical individuals targeting aviation.”

However, Terrell, a top official at the TSA, had little to provide in the way of answers and recommendations on how to mitigate the threat.

Terrell said that when it comes to monitoring foreign airports and employees working at them, there is little the TSA can mandate due to restrictions implemented by foreign countries.

Though international regulations are in place to when it comes to screening measures, U.S. “authority does not extend into these other states, and quite often there’s a bit of resistance to what is being perceived as extraterritoriality of our requirements,” he said.

Katko was not pleased with these responses, demanding several times that the TSA official tell Congress how it can help the security agency get the oversight authority it needs to boost security.

“If a mechanic breaks bad they could do something on an airplane, a problem that could only manifest itself once they’re in the air,” Katko said. “Those are the types of things I’m concerned about, finding the needle in the haystack, the lone wolf, which is so vexing here in the United States with our higher standards. I worry about it doubly so in foreign countries, where their standards may not be as high as ours.”

Airline officials have expressed their concerns about these types of vulnerabilities in closed door meeting with Congress.

“They were certainly concerned about that. It’s one thing they were very concerned about,” Katko said. “Different countries have different standards for screening. It really is a gaping vulnerability.”

Terrell found it difficult to address this issue, eliciting anger from Katko.

“According to you then there’s nothing else we need to do,” the lawmaker said. “You’ve not told us one thing in all the testimony today of anything that needs to be shored up internationally that we can help you with.”

“With all due respect,” Terrell responded, “what we have really is just a continuum on our part of continuously trying to elevate standards.”

“I understand that,” Katko responded, asking again: “Is there something we can do to help you or do you not need our help?”

Terrell demurred.

“I’m an operation guy, sir. As far as what Congress can do for us I would best leave to others,” he said. “I haven’t thought that one through. Perhaps I need some time to think about it and get back to you.”

View Source

Erie Community College is on the map for helping to keep our country safe. The school is now training TSA agents throughout the northeast to help crack down on Homeland Security-related issues.

TSA is pushing for many of its students to obtain a mini-certification, taking multiple courses at ECC. The local community college is now training agents at some of the biggest airports in the northeast.

ECC began teaching counter-terrorism related issues in 2005, as a result of the September 11th attacks. From there, the Homeland Security Certification Program began at its Law Enforcement Training Academy.

In 2009, ECC and TSA teamed up to offer certain courses for 18 agents with the Buffalo Niagara International Airport. Those courses include Introduction to Homeland Security, Intelligence Analysis & Security Management and Transportation to Border Security.

TSA then approached ECC about making courses available online for its agents at smaller airports throughout New York State. It then expanded to New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont.

This semester however, the program grew by leaps and bounds. TSA allowed employees from JFK, LaGuardia and Logan Airports in New York City and Boston to enroll in ECC’s courses.

“We’re the only homeland security certificate on the board at SUNY, and it increases are enrollement, plus it gives us marketability,” said Richard Washousky, ECC’s Vice President of Academic Affairs.

In all, ECC teaches students from 38 different airports in six states. Instructors include a former FBI agent, a former Naval Intelligence Officer and a Buffalo Police captain with post 9/11 training.

Current enrollment is at 150, but the school hopes to increase that by 20 percent by next fall.

One of the big challenges remains altering the courses to current events, in an era when counter-terrorism concerns are on the rise.

“I’m sure it’s incorporating in their discussion forms what happened, what failures were made, what are the cracks on the system so we can safeguard against this,” said Ed Hempling, the Academy Director of the Law Enforcement Training Academy. “They’re going over those issues, what we can do to better secure our country.”

Hempling explains that even the way terrorists strike has changed. “The well-planned well thought out attacks that preceded 9/11 that went on for a couple years, to these lone wolf attacks inspired by extremists,” Hempling stated.

The TSA pays for its agents tuition and class related costs as long as they have been employees for at least six months and are in good standing. Agents are then able to take other online courses to obtain the 30-credit Homeland Security Certification.

A fourth course is expected to be added in the fall of 2016, focusing on leadership in emergency management.

View Source

A record number of guns were found in passengers’ carry-on luggage at airport security checkpoints during one week in September, according to the Transportation Security Agency.

TSA agents discovered 67 guns in carry-on luggage in airports across the country during the week that ended Sept. 17, according to the agency, which said the tally for the week broke a previous record of 65 firearms found during one week in May 2013. Of those 67 guns, 56 were loaded and 26 had a round chambered, according to the TSA.

Throwing stars, stun guns, gunpowder and belt buckle knives were also found during the second full week in September, the TSA said.

“Unfortunately these sorts of occurrences are all too frequent which is why we talk about these finds … This is a friendly reminder to please leave these items at home,” the TSA says in its weekly disclosure of weapon discoveries. The TSA adds that most passengers who pack heat in their carry-ons have “no ill intent.”

“In many cases, people simply forgot they had these items,” according to the TSA.

Guns and gun parts are prohibited in carry-on luggage, but passengers can check these items if they declare them with the airline, according to the TSA. Those who don’t follow the guidelines can face fines up to $11,000.

Read More

LOS ANGELES— Union officials for police at Los Angeles International Airport gave its support Friday for new legislation that would ban the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) from allowing non-law enforcement personnel to wear metal badges.

The Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers’ Association (LAAPOA) issued the statement commending language in a Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill currently under consideration by lawmakers in

Washington, which includes an amendment that prohibits funding for TSA uniforms that include badges that resemble law enforcement badges.

While TSA screening agents are not sworn officers, the agency reclassified screeners as “transportation security officers” in 2005 in order to boost morale among its ranks. In 2008, the TSA did away with the embroidered logos and provided its screeners with metal badges.

But veteran law enforcement agents like Marshall McClain, President of the LAAPOA, say bestowing the title of “officer” to TSA screening agents and giving those screeners police-styled metal badges has granted agents the outward appearance of law enforcement authority – which they do not possess.

“The main mission of TSA agents is to screen passengers and baggage at the airport,” said McClain. “These screeners have not received law enforcement training and do not perform police functions at our airports so why would we ever allow them to wear police-like badges?”

The LAAPOA also supported a decision by TSA in Jan. 2014 not to arm its officers in the wake of the Nov. 1, 2013, shooting at LAX.

The Appropriations Committee bill will go to the full House floor for a vote in the coming weeks.

View Source

The Transportation Security Administration is looking to airlines for customer service tips.

The Department of Homeland Security agency plans to set up a new Twitter account, @AskTSA, to respond directly to customer complaints and questions, according to a new solicitation.

Though its public affairs office currently uses social media to “communicate messages/information to the general public,” other brands, “including airlines, use social media in a different way: communicating directly with their customers, answering questions and resolving issues in real-time,” the solicitation said.

American Airlines’ Twitter handle, @AmericanAir, for instance, has 1.13 million followers and is used to respond publicly, and directly, to individual customers. In one case, on Thursday afternoon, @AmericanAir tweeted directly at a customer to “please advise a crewmember” when she took to Twitter to complain about a potentially faulty cooling system.

The solicitation could be part of TSA’s broader efforts to connect with customers digitally. The agency already has an Instagram account with roughly 303,000 followers, where it often posts photos of confiscated items, such as a set of throwing star weapons discovered last week at Alexandria International Airport in Louisiana. (TSA posted the image with the hashtag #TSAGoodCatch.) The agency’s main Twitter account, @TSA, created in 2011, has more than 46,000 followers.

The notice comes a few days after travel website Travelmath released an analysis of Twitter users’ sentiments toward TSA, using an algorithm to rank Twitter mentions in the United States as positive, negative or neutral. Among states that had enough TSA mentions to process, “nearly three times as many had a negative sentiment than a positive one,” that report said. (Words such as “confiscate,” “grope” and “rude” were among words frequently mentioned in those tweets, according to Travelmath.)

Though TSA’s solicitation is “for market research only,” the agency is searching for small businesses who can provide a Web-based customer engagement platform that up to 10 TSA staffers can log onto concurrently, according to the posting on FedBizOpps.

The Web platform must have many functions, including a “robust content repository to store pre-approved content, canned responses and approved images,” and an “interactive dashboard to engage in real time, one-to one conversations without ticket assignment,” according to the solicitation.

The goal, according to a TSA statement provided to Nextgov, is to “improve the traveler’s experience through one-to-one conversations on Twitter to actively assist customers before, during and after their travel.”

But it’s unclear what the timeline is for @AskTSA, and if TSA even owns the handle — TSA officials could not be reached for interview. Though the handle exists, it has no avatar, bio or tweets, and has so far racked up only two followers.

View Source

Charles “Chuck” Bolen said that in his 10 years living in the Washington, D.C. metro area he had never seen as much rain fall as he did on April 30, 2014. So it was fitting that on that day of remarkable events, Bolen would do something memorable as well—save a passenger’s life.

An Assistant Federal Security Director – Law Enforcement at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Bolen just finished resolving a firearm situation at one of the checkpoints when he was told that someone needed immediate help.

“As soon as I saw the person slumped in the chair, I knew he needed attention right away,” said Bolen, who spent nearly 15 years in law enforcement before joining TSA in 2002. Bolen felt a weak pulse and noticed the man’s discoloration becoming increasingly severe.

Realizing that the man’s condition was declining rapidly, Bolen sprinted to grab the nearest AED machine. With help from Federal Air Marshal Brian Stout, they worked together to apply the AED machine. After a single attempt, the machine advised to begin CPR. Bolen initiated chest compressions and continued administering the life-saving action, even after first responders arrived on scene.

“When moments like this happen, you just react,” said Stout, who did three combat tours in Iraq as a Marine Infantry Sergeant. “We knew we didn’t have a lot of time and just got to work doing whatever we could to keep the man alive.”

Luckily, their quick, collaborative actions paid off. While in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, the man’s heart started and stopped several times, but today he’s alive after recovering from triple bypass surgery.

Office of Security Operations Director of Field Operations Scott McShaffrey called the actions “inspiring and heroic.”

View Source

Although you may not intend it—and whether it’s been earned or not—there’s a good chance you’re leaving cash tips for the Transportation Security Administration at the airport.

In their rush to get to their destinations, travelers left $638,142.64 in coins and currency in the bins and bowls at airport checkpoints in 2013, according to TSA data. That was almost $107,000 more than what passengers left behind in 2012, and more than $150,000 than 2011.

A spokesman said it appears that the growth in left behind spare change will continue, a suspicion borne out by 2014’s figures: left behind change surged to nearly $675,000 last year, new TSA figures show.

So what exactly happens to all that money? According to federal law, TSA gets to keep it and spend it on anything the agency determines will help civil aviation security.

However, if you’re not interested in inadvertently tipping Uncle Sam, you can empty your pockets of small change before you get to the checkpoint. The best place for it is in a pocket or pouch that fits inside a purse or carry-on.

Still, some airports have alternative ideas. In Denver, Phoenix and Columbus, Ohio, there are pre-security collection boxes by the checkpoints, where travelers can donate spare change to local nonprofits.

Denver International Airport started the trend in early 2013 with change collection containers placed before several checkpoints. In two years, the airport has collected over $170,000 in spare change to support homeless programs through Denver’s Road Home charity.

Last spring, Fifth Third Bank set up three “Empty Pockets, Full Plates” collection stations near checkpoint entrances at Ohio’s Port Columbus International Airport. In the first six months, the spare change raised about $1,000 to support the Mid-Ohio Food Bank.

Just before all those Super Bowl fans came to town, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport kicked off its spare change collection program, with boxes set up in front of several security checkpoints.

During February alone, more than $1,000 was collected to help fund USO operations at the PHX airport, said airport spokeswoman Heather Lissner.

And in Sweden, travelers with spare change can donate to the Sweden Red Cross by playing video games at the airport.

Custom-made consoles recently installed at Stockholm Arlanda Airport and Göteborg Landvetter Airport offer travelers the opportunity to pay classic arcade games Ms. Pac-Man, Space Invaders and Galaga, in exchange for coins in any currency.

View Source

Two men from Chicago suburbs and a Florida man were arrested over the past week for trying to bring firearms onto airplanes at Midway and O’Hare airports, police said.

In the latest case, Leo M. Kurylo, 44, was charged with boarding aircraft with a weapon after he was arrested around 9:45 a.m. Saturday at Midway Airport, according to a statement from the Chicago Police Department’s Office of News Affairs.

Kurylo, of 700 block of East North Broadway Street in Lombard, was going through screening at a security checkpoint at Midway when Transportation Security Administration officials discovered an unloaded .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol inside his carry-on bag, according to the statement.

Police were called to the airport, and Kurylo was taken into custody.

On Sunday, Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil set bail at $10,000 during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building.

The gun was spotted in a zippered pocket of Kurylo’s computer bag as he was on his way to board a Southwest Airlines flight to Las Vegas, according to a prosecutor.

When asked about it, Kurylo confirmed the gun belonged to him and said that when could not find his weapon, he reported it missing to Lombard police Feb. 7.

The prosecutor said Kurylo has a valid firearm owner’s identificaition card.

Kurylo’s attorney said he is an environmental engineer who graduated from Somonauk High School and has degrees from Northern Illinois University. He is scheduled to appear in court again Feb. 20.

Read More

SEA-TAC AIRPORT, Wash. – Brand-new screening measures are in place at Sea-Tac Airport ahead of the busy Thanksgiving holiday travel rush. TSA is now using specially-trained bomb-sniffing canines at security checkpoints.

As passengers walk by with their luggage, the working dogs have the ability to sniff out explosives, including components to make a bomb. Then, the canines will alert their handlers if a passenger needs to be checked out for something suspicious.

“We know from intelligence and from experience that explosives are the number one threat against aviation, and so we can stop those from getting pass security check-points everyone can feel a little safe,” said TSA spokesperson Lorie Dankers.

Because they are working dogs, travelers are asked to not pet the dogs or give them treats.

Screening for and stopping prohibited items, especially knives of all sizes, continue to be an issue TSA agents see at checkpoints, which slows down the check-in process.

Among the items surrendered at Sea-Tac Airport checkpoints this week were a pair of 3-foot-long novelty scissors, blades that fold out from credit card-size holders, power tools and an ice axe.

To get through security smoothly and faster, TSA recommends dressing light and double-checking all carryon bags for any prohibited items.

The TSA still occasionally spots people trying to bring firearms through security. If you’re packing a firearm, it must be unloaded and inside a locked, hard-sided container in your checked bag. You cannot carry a firearm, firearm parts or ammunition on the plane with you. Realistic replicas of guns are also banned from being carried on, but rifle scopes are allowed.

View Source