The Government Accountability Office once again slammed the Transportation Security Agency and their use of “behavioral indicators” when screening passengers at airport security checkpoints, citing a lack of evidence to support the notion that the screening method “can be used to identify persons who may pose a risk to aviation security.”
It’s the second time in about four years the government watchdog has been critical of the TSA’s use of behavioral indicators as a screening tool, which uses nonverbal cues such as “assessing the way an individual swallows or the degree to which an individual’s eyes are open,” when trying to determine if an air traveler has “mal-intent.”
Specifically, the GAO asked the TSA to provide research showing the behavioral indicators agents were looking for were based on sound evidence. In response, the TSA cited 178 documents, but the GAO said only three of those documents provided “valid evidence” using generally accepted research standards.
The issue has been contentious in recent years. For example, in February of this year, the ACLU published a paper titled, “BAD TRIP: Debunking the TSA’s ‘Behavior Detection’ Program” that said the program “creates an unacceptable risk of racial and religious profiling.”
The GAO had also been critical of the program in a 2013 report. As a result, the TSA scaled back the number of behavioral detection officers from about 3,100 full-time employees to 2,600, generating “a reduction in annual operating costs of about $35.4 million.” Also after the 2013 report, the TSA reduced the number of indicators that could be used.
The report noted the TSA had already reduced funding for the screening program recently, and recommended the security agency, “continue to limit funding for the agency’s behavior detection activities until TSA can provide valid evidence that demonstrates that behavioral indicators,” can be used effectively.
