Security Briefs - Aug. 29 - Sept. 4
The Latest Headlines:
- New York Adds Border Officers
- TSA Still Developing CAPPS II
- Senate Comes Back to Work on Security Bill
- Congressman Seeks Air Marshal Hearings
- Trade Groups Upset With Proposed Security Fee
- Customs Testing Anti-Terror Checks in Florida
- TSA Still Developing CAPPS II
New York Adds Border Officers
New York Gov. George Pataki said he will reassign 120 state troopers to commercial vehicle enforcement and patrols at Canadian border crossings in March as part of the state's heightened counter-terrorism efforts.The redeployment is possible because the State Police Academy has doubled the size of its incoming class to 220 cadets. The additional 120 positions are in addition to 100 officers added to border security after Sept. 11.
New York has several of the busiest crossing points along the northern border. More than 721,000 trucks cross into the United States at the Peace Bridge near Buffalo, making it the second busiest commercial gateway with Canada. Eric Kulisch
TSA Still Developing CAPPS II
Although months behind schedule, the Transportation Security Administration continues to develop CAPPS II, or second-generation Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System, to "deter, prevent or capture terrorists" before they board an airplane, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.Government officials believe this system will form the core of a new framework in aviation security that will focus on people rather than baggage and will one day extend its use to screen truckers, railroad conductors, subway workers and others whose transportation jobs involve the public trust.
However, the program will not be ready for live testing until next year, months later originally planned. And, the Post said, it remains unclear when the system will have a meaningful impact on security at the nation's airports. Transport Topics
Senate Comes Back to Work on Security Bill
The Senate returned Tuesday after nearly a month’s vacation to take up work again on a bill to create a new Homeland Security Department, the Associated Press reported.The AP said Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D – Conn., the chief sponsor of the Democratic-backed bill in the Senate, gives the security bill high priority. The current White House homeland security chief, Tom Ridge, said he is hopeful of a compromise between Senate Democrats and Republicans who by and large support a bill passed by the Republican-controlled House.
Ridge also said that he is confident a bill will be completed by the November elections, AP reported.
One key feature of the bill that the White House is looking for is far-reaching flexibility in hiring and personnel decision-making, while Democrats are seeking to apply existing hiring rules to the new department.
Ridge said that if a bill did not include hiring flexibility, he would recommend that President Bush veto it, AP reported. Transport Topics
Congressman Seeks Air Marshal Hearings
Amid reports of low morale and a mass exodus from the Federal Air Marshal program, a member of the House aviation subcommittee has asked government investigators to look into the problem, USA Today reported Tuesday.In a letter dated Aug. 30, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) asked the Department of Transportation’s inspector general to investigate whether the program is being run efficiently and effectively, the paper said.
The letter cited a report in USA Today that as many as 250 air marshals have resigned and the program has lowered its standards in order to flesh out its ranks.
Officials at DOT and the Transportation Security Administration have denied there are problems with the program, but DeFazio said he just wants to ensure that government funds are not being misallocated. Transport Topics
Trade Groups Upset With Proposed Security Fee
A proposed fee on U.S. imports and exports to pay for cargo security is drawing the ire of two major trade organizations, the Journal of Commerce reported.Fees added to imports and exports could limit the amount of cargo heading in and out of U.S. ports, decreasing the demand for trucking demand for those routes.
The American Association of Exporters Importers and the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America have both expressed their displeasure with the fee of $15 to $20 per container that has been proposed by Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.), the JoC said.
John Simpson, president of the AAEI, said that his group is opposed to the fee in part because they think it may be diverted and not spent on increasing security, the JoC reported. Transport Topics
Customs Testing Anti-Terror Checks in Florida
The U.S. Customs Service has been putting trucks in South Florida under intense scrutiny as it tests a plan to screen more vehicles nationwide, the Associated Press said Friday.Since Sept. 11, trucks have received close scrutiny out of feat they could be used as a tool for terrorists.
“Operation Borderlands,” as the program is being called, had law enforcement officers from local, state and federal agencies checking cargo containers loaded at Port Everglades for explosives and bioterror agents.
Similar checks have been taking place at the Port of Miami since July, AP said.
Customs hopes this will become a blueprint for anti-terrorism inspections nationwide, AP said. Transport Topics
