In today’s briefing with reporters, Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano outlined some of the ways airport security will change following the White House review of the Christmas Day bombing attempt. Hundreds of new full-body scanners will be deployed across the country, she said, and new pat-down techniques will be taught to security screeners around the world to help prevent future incidents like Flight 253.
The new emphasis on checking under clothes is part of what Napolitano called “new layers” of security at all levels of passenger screening following the attempted bombing.
“It is advanced screening technology. It is the magnetometers with which people are so familiar. It’s explosive detection technology. It is canines and increased use of canines. It’s behavior detection officers. It’s increased law enforcement presence, both uniformed and undercover,” she said. “It’s that series of layers that we will be adding to the security we already have at our domestic airports in the wake of this incident.”
At least 300 new full-body scanners will be added to U.S. airports this year, Napolitano said. But the primary deterrent for security officers over overseas will be the art of the pat-down, which Napolitano said can sometimes fall on the wrong side of the “balance” of “issues about personal privacy.” The Secretary said the U.S. plans to dispatch trainers across the globe to make sure it’s done right.
“Here in the United States, we train officers on how to properly conduct a pat-down. They do it other countries around the world, as well,” she said. “Part of the initiative that we are undertaking is to make sure that that kind of training and capacity is built in continents around the globe.”
