International flights bound for the United States continue to be
targets of terrorist activity, as demonstrated by the October 2010
discovery of explosive devices in air cargo packages bound for the
United States from Yemen. The Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) is responsible for securing the nation's civil
aviation system, which includes ensuring the security of U.S.-bound
flights. As requested, GAO evaluated (1) the steps TSA has taken to
enhance its foreign airport assessment program since 2007, and any
remaining program challenges; (2) TSA's assessment results,
including how TSA uses the results to guide future efforts; and (3)
what opportunities, if any, exist to enhance the program. To
conduct this work, GAO reviewed foreign airport assessment
procedures and results, interviewed TSA and foreign aviation
security officials, and observed TSA conduct a foreign airport
assessment. While these interviews and observations are not
generalizable, they provided insights on TSA's program. This is the
public version of a sensitive report GAO issued in September, 2011.
Information that TSA deemed sensitive has been omitted.Since 2007,
TSA has taken a number of steps to enhance its foreign airport
assessment program, some of which were taken in response to GAO's
prior recommendations. However, challenges remain in gaining access
to some foreign airports, developing an automated database to
better manage program information, prioritizing and providing
training and technical assistance to foreign countries, and
expanding the scope of TSA's airport assessments to include
all-cargo operations. TSA has various efforts under way to address
these challenges. Based on GAO's analysis of TSA's foreign airport
assessments conducted from fiscal year 2006 through May 2011, some
foreign airports complied with all of TSA's aviation security
assessment standards; however, TSA has identified serious
noncompliance issues at a number of foreign airports. Common areas
of noncompliance included weaknesses in airport access controls and
passenger and baggage screening. Moreover, GAO's analysis showed
variation in airport compliance across geographic regions and
individual security standards, among other things. However, TSA has
not yet taken steps to evaluate its assessment results to identify
regional and other trends over time. Developing a mechanism to
evaluate its assessment results could help support TSA's priorities
for aviation security training and technical assistance, inform its
risk management decision making by identifying any trends and
security gaps, and target capacity building efforts. Opportunities
also exist for TSA to make additional program improvements in
several key areas. Providing TSA decision makers with more specific
criteria and definitions could provide greater assurance that such
determinations are consistent across airports over time. In
addition, there are opportunities for TSA to increase program
efficiency and effectiveness by, for example, conducting more
targeted foreign airport assessments and systematically compiling
and analyzing security best practices. Taking such actions could
help TSA better focus its assessments to address areas of highest
risk, and identify security best practices and technologies that
may be applicable to enhancing the security of both foreign and
domestic airports. GAO recommends that TSA develop a mechanism to
evaluate its assessment results to identify any trends, and target
resources and future activities; establish criteria for determining
foreign airport vulnerability ratings; and consider the feasibility
of conducting more targeted assessments and compiling information
on aviation security best practices. DHS agreed with the
recommendations.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
