Security & Safety Briefs - May 19 - May 25

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The Latest Headlines:

• International Unveils Theft-Deterrent System
• Port Protections Need Improvement, N.Y. Times Says
• US-VISIT Program Needs Better Technology, Post Reports

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International Unveils Theft-Deterrent System

Truck maker International Truck and Engine Corp. said Monday it became the first commercial truck manufacturer to offer factory- installed electronic theft-deterrent and tracking systems for medium- and heavy-duty trucks.

The company unveiled the International Aware Vehicle Intelligence system, which can track trucks around the country, at the Homeland Security Summit in Washington Tuesday.

"We've developed a system that helps prevent truck thefts or can track a truck’s location at all times," said Rob Swim, the company's director of vehicle center marketing.

With the system a truck can be started, but users must enter an access code within seven seconds or the engine will shut down. The delay is a safety feature for drivers who may have to move a truck a short distance in an emergency situation. Transport Topics

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Port Protections Need Improvement, N.Y. Times Says

The Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to get help from importers and foreign ports to block weapons smuggling into the United States have been hampered by flaws, the New York Times reported Wednesday.

DHS, which oversees border security, has reduced its U.S. inspections of cargo coming from 36 foreign ports and 5,000 importers but has failed to determine if most of the importers have tightened their security measures, the paper said.

A Senate panel is scheduled to hold a hearing on the matter Thursday.

DHS’s Customs and Border Protection agency is charged with port protections and is aware of the critiques of the program, some of which have been helpful, one CBP official told the Times.

CBP Administrator Raymond Bonner called cargo containers the “potential Trojan horse of the 21st Century,” at a speech in January, the Times said. Transport Topics

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US-VISIT Program Needs Better Technology, Post Reports

The US-VISIT program, set up to screen visitors to the United States, is being limited by technology shortfalls, the Washington Post reported Monday.

Although the government has spent or budgeted nearly $1 billion on the program, the system is being built on top of old databases, the Post said.

The program requires foreign visitors to the United States to be fingerprinted electronically, but the government expects fewer than 3% of visitors to be enrolled in the program, the paper said.

The program is part of the Custom and Border Protection agency’s quest for a "virtual border," the Post said.

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