Screeners at Newark fail to find 'weapons'

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From: Kurt Albershardt <[email protected]>
Date: October 30, 2006 1:12:19 PM EST
To: [email protected]
Subject: Screeners at Newark fail to find 'weapons'

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Screeners at Newark fail to find 'weapons'

Agents got 20 of 22 'devices' past staff
Friday, October 27, 2006
BY RON MARSICO
Star-Ledger Staff

Screeners at Newark Liberty International Airport failed 20 of 22  
security tests conducted by undercover U.S. agents last week, missing  
an array of concealed bombs and guns at checkpoints throughout the  
hub's three terminals, federal security officials familiar with the  
results said.

The tests, conducted Oct. 19 by U.S. Transportation Security  
Administration "Red Team" agents, also revealed significant failures  
by screeners to follow standard operating procedures while checking  
passengers and their baggage for prohibited items, said the  
officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because it is against  
TSA policy to release covert-test results.

"We can do better, and training is the path to improved performance,"  
said Mark Hatfield Jr., Newark Airport's federal security director,  
declining to address specifics. "Test results are not a grade or a  
scorecard; they are a road map to perpetual improvement; any other  
characterization is simply misleading. We have to challenge ourselves  
to do better every day and be relentless in that pursuit."

The poor test results at Newark come after heightened security  
procedures that the TSA put in place at U.S. airports in August,  
after authorities in Great Britain said they foiled an attempt by  
terrorists to blow up trans-Atlantic flights using liquid explosives.

One of the security officials familiar with last week's tests said  
screeners at Newark missed fake explosive devices that were hidden  
under bottles of water in carry-on luggage, taped beneath an agent's  
clothing and concealed under a leg bandage another tester wore.

Additionally, the official said screeners failed to use hand-held  
metal detector wands when required, missed an explosive device during  
a pat-down and failed to properly hand-check suspicious carry-on  
bags. Supervisors also were cited for failing to properly monitor  
checkpoint screeners, the official said.

"We just totally missed everything," the official said.

When the tests are conducted, undercover agents hide prohibited items  
on their bodies or in their checked and carry-on luggage in an effort  
to slip those items past screeners.

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