Passenger Profiling, Imperfect Screening, and Airport Security

摘要

The need for greater airport security has recently led to major changes in passenger screening procedures. One important change is the development of a computer-assisted passenger pre-screening system (CAPPS Ⅱ), a tool to select passengers for screening which is currently being considered for implementation. When boarding cards are issued, CAPPS confirms passengers' identities, performs criminal and credit checks, and retrieves additional information, such as residence, home-ownership, income, and patterns of travel and purchases, used to construct a predicted threat rating. Passengers with elevated ratings are subject to searches and baggage inspections and may be questioned. Some other passengers are searched at random. Such profiling measures have been challenged in lawsuits alleging unlawful discrimination. A second change in airport security has been an effort to select higher-ability screeners and to improve their training (see e.g., U.S. General Accounting Office, 2004).