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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
I’m sure that, officially, the reason for not releasing covert-test results is so that the Bad Guys don’t know how crappy our security is. I’m also sure that, unofficially, the reason is so that the Good Guys (a\/k\/a the Citizenry) don’t know how crappy our security is.<\/p>\n
\n“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.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
I would like to suggest that every high school student create a rubber stamp of the above and slap it on all their crappy test papers. I’m sure it will be just as persuasive.<\/p>\n
Note, for the record, that Newark was the airport that the United Flight 93 hijackers boarded from. The TSA has been in charge of security there since 2002.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Once again, TSA screeners fail to find all sorts of potentially dangerous stuff. But God help you if you’re carrying a full-sized bottle of shampoo! Screeners at Newark Liberty International…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-homeland-security"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":27579,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/04\/25\/i-feel-safer-4.html","url_meta":{"origin":9807,"position":0},"title":"I feel SAFER!","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 25-Apr-12 9:27pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Obviously I simply didn't slip the screeners a large enough bribe to get them to let me pass with my teeny-tiny keychain knife that one time.If I mentioned that LAX has the most obnoxious, dictatorial, and surly TSA screeners of any airport I travel through, would you be surprised? Embedded\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4236,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2003\/10\/10\/homeland_insecu.html","url_meta":{"origin":9807,"position":1},"title":"Homeland insecurity","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 10-Oct-03 8:53am","format":false,"excerpt":"Partisan sniping aside, 9\/11 provided ample sentiment among the populace to go along with increased security measures -- if they seem serious, and if they're well-managed. And then there's this...","rel":"","context":"In "Homeland Security"","block_context":{"text":"Homeland Security","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/politics-law\/homeland-security"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2020,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2002\/03\/26\/the_highest_lev.html","url_meta":{"origin":9807,"position":2},"title":"The highest level of security","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 26-Mar-02 6:34am","format":false,"excerpt":"The inspector general of the Dept. of Transportation has been running tests of airport security since 9\/11. What's been found -- during a period when the highest level of security...","rel":"","context":"In "Homeland Security"","block_context":{"text":"Homeland Security","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/politics-law\/homeland-security"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32933,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/03\/27\/what-if-they-come-after-you-with-a-pointed-stick.html","url_meta":{"origin":9807,"position":3},"title":"What if they come after you with a pointed stick?","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 27-Mar-13 3:18pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Far be it from me to defend the TSA most of the time, but this is precisely it:'In addition to matching U.S. regulations with international rules, Pistole said the intent of allowing folding knife blades up to 2.36 inches long, or 6 centimeters, was to allow screeners to focus on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3360,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2002\/12\/16\/too_good_to_be.html","url_meta":{"origin":9807,"position":4},"title":"Too good to be true","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 16-Dec-02 6:23am","format":false,"excerpt":"Well, I've continued to be pleased with security at DIA, with short lines, and friendly but thorough screeners. But ... ... evidently at least one of those is going away,...","rel":"","context":"In "Homeland Security"","block_context":{"text":"Homeland Security","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/politics-law\/homeland-security"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11670,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2007\/07\/22\/because_you_know_its_not.html","url_meta":{"origin":9807,"position":5},"title":"Because, you know — it’s not like fluids designed to ignite are a danger or something …","author":"***Dave","date":"Sun 22-Jul-07 8:16am","format":false,"excerpt":"Well, here's a news flash. 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