Case Study 1:  Security vs. Efficiency

"Security is the enemy of efficiency."                                                            -David Levinson   The Transportationist

"The key is to think of security not in absolutes, but in terms of sensible trade-offs, whether on a personal or global scale."                                     -Bruce Schneier  Beyond Fear

Source: www.tsa.gov

Introduction:

Security is one of the most hotly debated topics related to transportation policy and planning today.  Due to the association of transportation security with terrorism, homeland security, and the policies of the current administration, much of this debate has been emotional and highly politicized.  Unbiased assessments of the efficiency of our current transportation security policies and empirical figures/studies that have not been contested by one organization or another can be hard to come by as a result. Regardless of one's views, however, the billions of people and millions of tons of cargo that travel along global transportation networks each day necessitates that ensuring the security of these systems is a priority for governments and organizations at all levels.  Transportation security is necessary not only to ensure travelers' safety and enhance national security, but also to support the economy and protect supply chains.  It is the level of security necessary to achieve these goals, the appropriate methods for achieving them, and whether trade-offs made in the name of security are well-balanced that are the fundamental subjects of the debate.

Sources: Left - pbase.com Below - tsa.gov

Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, transportation security policy in the United States has changed dramatically.  One of the most dramatic changes occurred on November 19, 2001 when Congress passed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA). This Act established the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the federal agency now responsible for securing all modes of transportation in the United States.  Since its creation the TSA's security policies and methods have been criticized for being inefficient and ineffective.  This case study will present a brief history of transportation security policies and approaches in the United States, assess some of the strengths and inefficiencies of current TSA policies, present examples of other countries' approaches to transportation security, and propose several policies that may help better balance security and efficiency in transportation.

Readings: Security vs. Efficiency Case Study Report This is our group's summary of the transportation security versus efficiency debate.  This report provides a brief history of transportation security policy in the US, presents several case studies illustrating efficiencies and inefficiencies in the current airline security system, outlines several security policy alternatives, and concludes with several discussion questions. Everything We Know About Security Is Wrong An interview with Bruce Schneier, Minneapolitan and world renowned security expert.  This article pinpoints some of the inefficiencies of our current airline security system and is a nice introduction to the concept of "security theater".  Mr. Schneier is generally critical of the TSA and says that we have made "bad security trade-offs" that make the system more inefficient but not necessarily more safe. Carnival Booth: An Algorithm for Defeating the Computer-Assisted Passenger Screening System (Only read the Introduction, Defining CAPS, and Policy Recommendations sections) This is mostly a technical statistics/computer science oriented paper, but the sections outlined above give a good   overview of the Computer-Assisted Passenger Screening System (CAPS), which has been a controversial program.   This article also addresses the issue of whether it is more efficient/effective to invest in technology or people. Terrorism and Transportation Security This article briefly outlines some of the events that have driven the formation of our current transportation security system.  It is primarily a summary of the articles included in a symposium on transportation security in the wake of 9/11. (Since we couldn't make you read all of the articles, this is a good introduction to some of the security/efficiency debates that are going on regarding multiple modes.)  The authors have a slightly more pro-security point of view.

Discussion Questions: - Is security the enemy of efficiency? - How can we weight security concerns against efficiency needs? - Are we making good or bad security tradeoffs?  Efficiency tradeoffs? - Is it possible to develop decision and/or performance criteria to define, achieve, adn maintain a balance between security and efficiency? - What are your thoughts on the terms "security theater" and "carnival booth"?  Can security theater help increase efficiency tradeoffs at times?  Do these terms only add fuel to the fire? - Is a life-cycle approach a useful or practical way to describe policy? - Can systems be truly secure in the presence of uncertain risk?

CE5212 - Transportation Policy, Planning, & Deployment Prof. David Levinson Anna Arciszewska, Jessica Horning, Patrick Phenow, Ryan Wilson