“The Inspector General and TSA will continue to conduct random covert testing to improve airport security to identify potential system gaps and vulnerabilities,” Mayorkas said.
On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it has revised Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) screening procedures following TSA’s failure to identify mock weapons and explosives in 67 put of 70 tests across the United States.
Mayorkas explained TSA will conduct training for all its officers and supervisory personnel to address the specific security vulnerabilities identified by the screening tests.
Mayorkas added that Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson has ordered that all TSA screening equipment in use at airports be re-tested and re-evaluated to ensure it operates at the highest possible standards.
“The Secretary [Johnson] has appointed a team of TSA and DHS senior leaders to ensure timely implementation of these actions,” Mayorkas said.
US Congressman Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said that over the past six years, TSA has utilized $540 million for baggage screening equipment and many more for training.
Following the security screening failures, TSA Administrator Melvin Carraway was reassigned to the DHS’s Office of State and Local Law Enforcement.
In May 2015, the Government Accountability Office said in a study that the TSA has yet to eliminate a number of problems in passenger security screening. The report found that security checkpoint personnel made errors in screening passengers, and TSA did not have a process in place to evaluate the causes of the failures.
