... who is the man at the center of what the paper calls “patdowngate”, the latest U.S. reaction to the terrorist threat. Pistole, who took the helm at TSA in June, is a 27-year FBI veteran who took over an agency that had been without an administrator for too long. He has been a man of action and one not afraid of criticism – as one might expect of a career FBI man, he makes no excuses.
For anyone who closely watches TSA activities and airport screening, the interview sheds little new light. In it Pistole admits that “we are fighting yesterday’s battles” and says that the pat-down furor of late suggests “we’ve probably reached the public limit” when it comes to invasive practices at the screening line. In other words, our body cavities are safe for now.
The most interesting part for me was Pistole pointing out that TSA is expanding its use of undercover agents to monitor security lines for unusual behavior. However, he like his predecessors continues to draw the line at “profiling”.
I’ve been to numerous presentations on profiling, most recently this fall at the ASIS International security convention in Dallas, during which I heard Zvi Kremer, managing director of EstablishNet International, LLC speak on the topic. Interestingly, each time I walk away from one of these sessions I always have the same reaction – that is, why don’t we utilize this tool more?
As Kremer points out, we already do profiling everyday in various aspects of our lives – think credit checks. It only seems to become a controversy when it involves security, he says. Another example: The “known shipper” program is a form of profiling.
The mission, he says, is prevention, not response. What is needed, he adds, is an “alert trigger” which provides a practical solution for identifying different levels of threat, rather than throwing all our resources at everyone getting on an airplane. The one common element is intent. “It’s the one element that will always be there,” says Kremer.
“Profiling is about information,” he says, and applying that information to a set of pre-determined processes that then help determine the allocation of resources for further screening. Such an analysis follows “very structured rules,” he says. “Part of the misperception is that it’s all about gut feeling.” Rather, it’s a combination of the agents, the information, and technology. It’s about putting the resources against the highest threat.
The major concern in the U.S. regarding profiling is that it may violate an individual’s civil rights. One has to ask, how far is that from where we are today … your choice, share your body’s naked image or stand by for groping.
Thanks for reading. jfi