updates-news

10,000 airport security workers to get higher clearances

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:45:52 +0100

By Kate Bolduan and Mike M. Ahlers, CNN

February 12, 2010 5:25 p.m. EST

The TSA hopes to grant "secret" clearance to 10,000 airport workers over the next two years.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

TSA says access to "secret" intelligence will help them better detect threats
Change does not apply to airport security screeners
New clearances will be above "confidential" but below "top secret"

RELATED TOPICS

Transportation Security Administration

Washington (CNN) -- The Transportation Security Administration is upgrading security clearances for 10,000 of its airport personnel, giving them access to "secret" intelligence to help them better detect threats and stop terrorists, the agency said Friday.

To date, the agency has granted access to secret-level classified information to 744 front-line supervisors, managers and behavior-detection officers. It now hopes to be able to give that clearance to all 10,000 supervisory personnel in the next two years, it said.

The change does not involve airport screeners, the people responsible for inspecting people and luggage at airport checkpoints.

"It's a natural progression," TSA spokeswoman Sterling Payne said. "It's the next step in professionalizing our work force. What this will do is give them a leg up and a little more detail than what they're getting in the [current] briefing."

The change will empower the employees and make sure they have up-to-date and accurate information about intelligence threats, she said.

The majority of the agency's headquarters managers already have secret- or higher-level clearances for classified information.

James Carafano, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said it is a good idea to increase the number of aviation security officials with access to intelligence.

The move could decrease the chance that information will be leaked because employees who are given clearance are trained to treat the information appropriately, he said.

Officers also must undergo additional background checks before receiving the upgraded status, the agency said.

The Transportation Security Administration said personnel granted security clearances are educated about their responsibility to protect classified information, sign a non-disclosure agreement and take annual refresher training.

Under the federal government's system of classifying information, "secret" clearance is above "restricted" and "confidential" but below "top secret."

Randall Larsen, director of the Institute for Homeland Security, was enthusiastic about the expanded base of people with access to "secret" intelligence, saying it is particularly needed by behavior detection officers, who look for travelers exhibiting unusual behavior.

"Just think, if we had pulled that Christmas bomber aside and spoken to him for just a few minutes, he would have never gotten on that plane," Larsen said.

But support for the move isn't universal.

"Our members are screaming because the problem is, as it always has been, that [airline pilots] are being left behind," said David Mackett, president of the Airline Pilots Security Alliance. "I'd much rather have the critical information get to the flight crews" and flight attendants, he said.

Mackett said airport security personnel "see passengers for several seconds, and yet they're not sharing [information] with air crews who see them for several hours."

He also said the TSA has "a very high turnover rate" compared with that of flight crews, so sensitive information will migrate away from the government.

Mike Karn, security chairman for the Coalition of Airline Pilots Association, agreed that flight crews should receive "secret" information, saying terrorists have proved that they can still get on aircraft.

"You have to strengthen them all the way up to that last line of defense," Karn said.

Man Arrested in Newark Airport Security Breach Pleads Not Guilty

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:46:31 +0100

Jan. 9: Haisong Jiang, 28, is lead out of the Port Authority Police building at Newark Airport.

NEWARK, N.J. — A lawyer for a Chinese graduate student charged with a security breach at Newark Liberty International Airport that led to worldwide flight delays entered a plea of not guilty Tuesday and defended his client as "simply a lovesick man who made a mistake."

Haisong Jiang's lawyer, Eric Bruce, entered the plea in Municipal Court to a charge of defiant trespassing. The misdemeanor charge carries a fine of up to $500. Bruce also sought a delay to review surveillance video and any statements Jiang made to authorities.

Authorities say Jiang, a Rutgers University student, entered a restricted area at the airport Jan. 3 to see off his girlfriend. The breach shut down a busy terminal, delayed or canceled about 200 flights around the world, affected an estimated 16,000 travelers and may have cost airlines millions of dollars as the terminal was emptied and passengers were rescreened.

Jiang was arrested Jan. 8.

Bruce said Tuesday that his client was sorry for the incident but declined to explain why he decided to plead not guilty.

"All Haisong Jiang wanted to do was kiss his girlfriend goodbye," Bruce said. "He's certainly not a security threat. He's simply a lovesick man who made a mistake, and he deeply regrets that."

Authorities caught up to Jiang at the home he shares with other graduate students after identifying him from airport surveillance video, which showed a man ducking under a barrier while a security guard was away from his post.

The guard, an employee of the federal Transportation Security Administration, has been suspended. The TSA says it's evaluating its security practices.

Jiang, 28, is a doctoral student in a joint molecular biosciences program at Rutgers. He has been in the U.S. since 2004.

Jiang's arraignment came on the same day a 27-year-old man was due in a Detroit courtroom on charges he breached security at Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Monday.

Authorities say the man, identified in a criminal complaint as Kaylan L. Policherla, was arrested after walking through a passenger screening checkpoint without a boarding pass and refused to obey security officers.

Security response in N.J.

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 04:32:50 +0100

By Tom Davis/Statehouse Bureau

December 31, 2009, 6:36AM

NEWARK -- Bomb-sniffing dogs and gun-toting police officers will be conspicuous at the region’s airports and train stations this weekend as part of a local security clampdown following a failed attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound jet last week.

Security measures will be stepped up at New Jersey train stations and NJ Transit facilities, including the deployment of K-9 units and additional state police personnel, Governor Corzine announced Wednesday.

Ed Murray/The Star-LedgerDorothy Paluck and her husband Thomas Paluck check in at curbside at Terminal C at Newark Liberty International Airport on Saturday.Similar steps — such as the deployment of K-9 units — will be taken at the region’s three major airports and the PATH transit system, all of which the Port Authority operates.

While there is no known threat in the New Jersey area, local officials will “assure the safety and security” of the hundreds of thousands of travelers who will be flying in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport or riding on local train lines this weekend, Corzine said.

“We will also increase the number of officers patrolling our roadways to be on the lookout for impaired drivers or any abnormal activity,” Corzine said.

Corzine’s steps come after Al Qaeda, the terrorist network behind the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, claimed it was also behind the attempt to bomb a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian passenger, was arrested Friday after he allegedly tried to bring down the Northwest Airlines flight, carrying 289 people.

President Obama and other prominent officials said the incident proved that the nation’s homeland security protections are flawed, and some have called for sweeping changes while urging people to remain alert and vigilant.

Senate President Richard Codey called on Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to resign her post Wednesday and make way for a more experienced law-enforcement official to take the reins of the nation’s Office of Homeland Security.

“In New Jersey, we’ve seen firsthand the cost of terrorism from the Sept. 11 attacks, and we’ve been rightfully outraged over political appointees involved in our own state’s security and anti-terrorism efforts,” he said. “We live in dangerous times, and we cannot afford mistakes when it comes to state or federal homeland security decisions.”

Corzine, in turn, urged any holiday travelers witnessing anything “out of the ordinary” to call the Homeland Security Hotline at 1-866-4-SAFENJ, or e-mail tips@njhomelandsecurity.gov.

“Let’s make this a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend, and I wish everyone a healthy and happy New Year,” he said.

It Doesn't Pay To Be Phony

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 18:07:15 +0100

NJ State Police Arrest Fake Security Trainer
www.privateofficer.com

WEST TRENTON NJ Feb 2 2009 — An investigation by members of the New Jersey State Police Private Detective Unit resulted in the arrest of John Paradiso, 42, on Wednesday, Jan. 28. According to a release, Paradiso resides at 125 Barry Drive North, Highland Lakes. The investigation, led by Detective Michele Adlassnig, revealed Paradiso allegedly accessed a State Police Security Officer Registry database by means of a fraudulent logon ID and password. Paradiso would represent to potential security officers that he was certified by the New Jersey State Police to provide requisite...(read more)

Private Security Forces Assume Greater Responsibilities

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 17:57:52 +0100

Private security to handle N.J.'s nuke plant patrols
CourierPOstOnline.com • December 27, 2008

TRENTON — National Guardsmen and State Police will no longer patrol New Jersey's three nuclear power plants.

State Attorney General Anne Milgram says that enhanced private security and a new video monitoring system at the plants will suffice. The video monitoring system used has thermal imaging capabilities and can provide views of the perimeter. It feeds images directly to the state's Regional Operations and Intelligence Center.
National Guardsmen have patrolled outside Oyster Creek in Forked River and the Salem and Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Stations in Salem County since October 2001. During the last seven years, Oyster Creek and Salem/Hope Creek have spent more than $82 million combined on capital security improvements.

New York eliminated National Guardsmen at four upstate power plants in May.

New Precision Website

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:45:38 +0100

New Precision Website