Access Control
& Security Systems

The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) has issued a report outlining security improvements in transportation since Sept. 11, 2001. Here are some highlights of testimony given before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation:

AIR

• Installed bulletproof cockpit doors;
• Hired a federal passenger and baggage screening work force;
• Expanded air marshal force from 32 to several thousand;
• Trained several hundred pilots to carry weapons in the cockpit;
• Required background checks for those who have access to secure areas of the airport;
• Established a 45-day waiting period for aliens seeking flight training; and
• Required 911 capability for onboard passenger telephones.

SEAPORTS

• Established programs to board and inspect high-risk vessels;
• Developed vessel identification system;
• Deployed new mobile gamma ray imaging devices to inspect contents of cargo containers;
• Established the "trusted shipper program;" and
• Deployed U.S. inspectors at foreign seaports based on agreements with 18 countries.

MASS TRANSIT

• Distributed $3.4 million in grants to more than 80 transit agencies for emergency response drills;
• Required security assessments at 36 largest transit agencies; and
• Offered technical assistance to transit agencies on security, emergency plans and response drills.

Want more on transportation security? Visit www.transportationsec.com, home of AC&SS sister magazine Transportation Security.

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