Kip Hawley, former head of the Transportation Security Administration, says airport security is broken and should be fixed.
Hawley, who headed the agency from 2005 to 2009, contends that the TSA became too rigid after its creation a decade ago and blanketed airline passengers with unnecessary screening.
Instead, Hawley said Thursday, the agency should focus more on high-risk threats that could cause a catastrophe.
For example, he said, knives no longer pose a threat because cockpit doors on airline planes are hardened and locked. So the list of prohibited items should drop to guns, bombs and toxicants, he said.
He also would encourage airlines to drop baggage fees in exchange for lower government taxes so that fewer bags are carried on.
"The amount of time we spend fishing through bags and pulling out prohibited items is a waste," said Hawley, who spoke at George Washington University's Homeland Security Policy Institute.
Instead, Hawley said, the TSA should monitor passenger behavior for threats and reward officers who take initiative to find threats. He would encourage more random security checks.
He said the TSA should "act now to make some major changes" to avoid the routine criticism of the agency and resistance to security measures such as routine patdowns.
Hardly a week goes by without complaints.
For instance, Rep. Francisco Canseco, R-Texas, complained that a TSA officer patted him down so aggressively last week in San Antonio that it hurt, so he pushed the officer's hand away. After sorting out the dispute, law enforcement officers didn't file charges against either man.
John Pistole, the current TSA chief, has been focusing more attention on the riskiest travelers. In the past year, the agency also has reduced patdowns for children and the elderly, and it has provided faster screening at some airports for passengers who provide more information about themselves.
"The agency is moving away from one-size-fits-all screening to progress toward improving both security and the passenger experience," said Sterling Payne, a TSA spokeswoman, who added that the TSA has "the utmost respect" for Hawley.
Contributing: AP
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