The federal government's approach to enhancing airline security -- collecting personal and financial information about passengers -- wastes resources by treating every passenger and bag as equal threat risks, says a new study from the Reason Public Policy Institute, Los Angeles.

The study calls on the Department of Homeland Security to scrap the computer-based passenger profiling system (CAPPS), which Congress ordered revamped after the Sept. 11 attacks, and to carry out screening in proportion to the estimated risk.

According to the report, if the risk-screening system is adopted, not all travelers would be required to remove laptop computers from carrying cases and fewer passengers would face physical pat-downs and shoe removals at checkpoints. The government should discard the assumption that every passenger is equally likely to be a terrorist and every bag is equally likely to hold a bomb, the researchers said.

The Reason Institute study recommends the Transportation Security Administration prioritize development of a "registered traveler" program to expedite screening of low-risk passengers while intensifying the scrutiny of people who might be threats. People who volunteer for the registered traveler program would agree to undergo criminal background checks as well as inquiries into their employment, financial and travel histories in exchange for less scrutiny and hassle at airport checkpoints. "Risk-based screening means focusing more attention to identifying potentially bad people," said Robert Poole, project director at the Reason Institute.

For more information, visit www.rppi.org.

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