AVIATION SECURITY Last session’s recap • General definitions of safety & security • A few characteristics of security • AVSEC • All made to safeguard civil aviation against unlawful interferences • ICAO annex 17 & ISARPS • Cost of security Francis Lasalo Ngonga
PASSENGER SCREENING SYSTEMS • Popularity of commercial flying brought numerous challenges • e.g. offences and certain acts committed by pax aboard aircraft • Effects of such acts include: Jeopardizing/endangering the: • Safety of aircraft in flight • Safety of other passengers and property on board Francis Lasalo Ngonga
Cont. of Passenger screening systems • The Tokyo convention of 14 December 1963 dealt with this issue as follows: • Level one: State of registry and State of Landing if the act • Affects the state’s security and interests or • Committed by or against nationals of that state. Francis Lasalo Ngonga
Cont. of Passenger screening systems • Level two Pilot in command (PIC) given power to: • Restrain and disembark • Request or authorize crewmembers or other passengers to help • Deliver or handover offender(s) to a competent authority Francis Lasalo Ngonga
Cont. of Passenger screening systems • Level three State of landing obligated to allow: • Distressed aircraft right to land • PIC to disembark passengers • Take in disembarked passengers and/or perpetrators • Retain aircraft and dispose/release aircraft when appropriate • Incriminate or extradite perpetrators if agreements exist Francis Lasalo Ngonga
PASSENGER SCREENING SYSTEMS • Preventing the entry of pax likely to cause offences and or any other unwanted act became a prime concern to civil airline operators • This was the ‘birth’ of passenger screening systems Francis Lasalo Ngonga
PASSENGER SCREENING SYSTEMS • Basic philosophy • Assessment of an individual to rule out the risk of threat • In the process there may be the necessity of further investigation • Sometimes process is referred to as pax profiling • The process involves: • Looking for suspicious patterns i.e. those suggesting risk • Use of data mining techniques i.e. collection of all available information on an individual Francis Lasalo Ngonga
Cont. The process • Sources of information include: Credit card transactions, mobile phone, usage, fixed, telephone usage, previous airline reservations, any previous surveillances e.g. at airports, etc • In short you get total awareness information (TAI) • Collected TAI helps compute a numerical risk estimate for each pax Francis Lasalo Ngonga
Cont. The process • Pax with values greater than an ‘assessed threat value’ are selected for screening • Process greatly interferes with personal privacy • Hence faces a lot of opposition and or resistance from human rights groups Francis Lasalo Ngonga
TYPES OF PAX SCREENING SYSTEMS • Sophistication has been increasing over the years • From simple systems to complex systems using fairly advanced computer software programs • Use of CAPPS quite common • Computer Aided Passenger Prescreening Systems Francis Lasalo Ngonga
Cont. of types of pax screening systems • US commenced use of CAPPS I in 1998 • Design of CAPPS II commenced around 2004 • Usage has not commenced due to the initial intense opposition to privacy concerns • Had too much surveillance incorporated on to it • Seen as a creation of punishments by both parties – i.e. observer & observed Francis Lasalo Ngonga
Cont. of types of pax screening systems • CAPPS I flagged 6 of the 19 terrorists of the Sep 11, 2001 attacks • 3 others had been questioned for false travel documents • N.B. Use of biometrics for positive identification has been adopted by ICAO Francis Lasalo Ngonga
Cont. of types of pax screening systems • Machine screening includes: • Metal detectors • Hand held or walking through metal-detector portals • Triggering the metal detector leads to a body search • Electronic screening – introduced into the US in 1973 • Body searches Francis Lasalo Ngonga
Challenges of passenger screening • Difficulties associated with body searches: Searching favourable hiding places not easy e.g. Crotch areas, armpits, waist, ankles, anuses etc (case of Ronda Brent – 2001) • Physical body states – not comfortable: e.g. Disabled, elderly, sick-ling etc • El AI system of interrogation and or stripe search not favoured by passengers • Airport & airline staff • Diplomats Francis Lasalo Ngonga
Challenges of passenger screening • Pax screening in general has not been smooth as it is not liked • Some pax want to deliberately test the capability of the security staff • Developing friendlier and effective CAPPS has given scholars a night mare • Now developing SSPSP Sequential Stochastic Passenger Screening Problem Francis Lasalo Ngonga
CONCLUSIONS • Pax understand they will be searched • Security personnel have the ‘last chance’ to prevent a catastrophe • Proper training & duty dedication is a must Francis Lasalo Ngonga
Clarifications, questions and feedback Thank you very much for your attention and cooperation Francis Lasalo Ngonga
