TSA behavioral screening at airports is little better than guessing and has wasted $1 billion since 2007, a Government Accountability Office report has found.
The report found that the Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques program, under which agents spot suspicious passengers and engage them in conversation, is not effective in screening potentially dangerous travelers.
The House Subcommittee on Transportation Security will hold a hearing about the report on Thursday.
"In the wake of last week’s tragic shooting at LAX, we have a responsibility to re-examine existing TSA security policies and programs, in order to identify practical, risk-based steps that can be taken to strengthen coordination between local law enforcement and TSA, and to prioritize security measures more effectively," Richard Hudson, the subcommittee chairman, said in a statement today."
The SPOT program puts 3,000 behavior detection officers at 176 airports, and costs more than $200 million a year.
