Most fake bombs missed by screeners
Updated 10/22/2007 11:14 AM
By John Zich, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Security screeners at two of the nation's busiest airports failed to find fake bombs hidden on undercover agents posing as passengers in more than 60% of tests last year, according to a classified report obtained by USA TODAY.

Screeners at Los Angeles International Airport missed about 75% of simulated explosives and bomb parts that Transportation Security Administration testers hid under their clothes or in carry-on bags at checkpoints, the TSA report shows.

At Chicago O'Hare International Airport, screeners missed about 60% of hidden bomb materials that were packed in everyday carry-ons — including toiletry kits, briefcases and CD players. San Francisco International Airport screeners, who work for a private company instead of the TSA, missed about 20% of the bombs, the report shows. The TSA ran about 70 tests at Los Angeles, 75 at Chicago and 145 at San Francisco.

DHS Inspector General Criticizes TSA Controls of Screener Badges, Uniforms, and ID Cards
By Matthew Harwood
10/20/2008 -

The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Inspector General (IG) Richard L. Skinner criticized the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for not having proper policies to keep track of employee uniforms and badges at the nation's airports in a redacted report released Friday.

The TSA "does not have adequate controls in place to manage and account for airport security identification display area badges, uniforms, and identification cards provided to its employees," the report's executive summary read. "Unauthorized individuals' access to those items increases an airport's level of risk to a wide variety of terrorist and criminal acts."

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The IG's report cited three primary failures by TSA. First, the agency did not notify airport SIDA badge offices when employees left their job to ensure that display area badges were retrieved or returned to the office. Second, TSA did not record or track whom the uniform was given to, nor collect the uniform after an employee left the agency or protect and account for surplus stocks of uniforms. Finally, the IG criticized TSA for not keeping accurate records for identification cards or for ensuring that the cards were returned and destroyed when an employee left the agency.

"The Nation's airports face potentially increased risk because TSA is not adequately controlling airport SIDA badges, uniforms, and ID cards issued to TSA employees," the report warned.