9/11 and Airport Security
How Security Has Changed
Melvin T. Rice III
2/21/12
U.S. History
Mr. Jackson
How Security Has Changed
“Please take off your shoes before entering the line to speed the process. Place all electronics, coins, wallets, jewelry, cell phones, and metals in the grey bins. Be sure to unpack any laptops and tablets before sending your bags though the scanner. When you walk through the metal detector, be sure to keep your arms at your sides and avoid touching the walls. Make sure you are not wearing any metals that could set off the detector. Thank you and have a nice flight.” Sound familiar? This is how rigorous airport security is present day. The 9-11 attacks caused such a huge shock to America’s security that they had to rethink everything; they had to change the whole system that the American people believed would keep the safe. The question is though, how did they change it? Were the changes for the better? And how safe is are the American people now after the changes have been made? Since 9-11 America’s securities throughout all airports have been drastically changed for the better, there have been advances in technology, employee training, airport layout and more. Thanks to the 9-11 attacks security experts were able to learn from their mistakes and create a system that keeps airport terrorism to a minimal level.
If one were to take a walk through the airport 11 years ago and compare it to how it is now, they would find multiple differences, from the people working there to the machines they worked with, everything would be different. For now, let’s look at the people, "ten years ago airport police were viewed as a little more than custodians"Those who were hired did not have the ability to detect things that could be harmful to the plane of its passengers, things like knives, bombs, guns, poisons and other dangerous substances. This lack of skill was the result of “constant turnover in the workplace coupled with poor training due to unattractive
Melvin T. Rice III
2/21/12
U.S. History
Mr. Jackson
How Security Has Changed
“Please take off your shoes before entering the line to speed the process. Place all electronics, coins, wallets, jewelry, cell phones, and metals in the grey bins. Be sure to unpack any laptops and tablets before sending your bags though the scanner. When you walk through the metal detector, be sure to keep your arms at your sides and avoid touching the walls. Make sure you are not wearing any metals that could set off the detector. Thank you and have a nice flight.” Sound familiar? This is how rigorous airport security is present day. The 9-11 attacks caused such a huge shock to America’s security that they had to rethink everything; they had to change the whole system that the American people believed would keep the safe. The question is though, how did they change it? Were the changes for the better? And how safe is are the American people now after the changes have been made? Since 9-11 America’s securities throughout all airports have been drastically changed for the better, there have been advances in technology, employee training, airport layout and more. Thanks to the 9-11 attacks security experts were able to learn from their mistakes and create a system that keeps airport terrorism to a minimal level.
If one were to take a walk through the airport 11 years ago and compare it to how it is now, they would find multiple differences, from the people working there to the machines they worked with, everything would be different. For now, let’s look at the people, "ten years ago airport police were viewed as a little more than custodians"Those who were hired did not have the ability to detect things that could be harmful to the plane of its passengers, things like knives, bombs, guns, poisons and other dangerous substances. This lack of skill was the result of “constant turnover in the workplace coupled with poor training due to unattractive
Cited: DeGeneste, Henry I., and John P. Sullivan. Policing Transportation Facilities. Springfield, IL: C.C. Thomas, 2004. Print. Taylor, Alycia B., and Sarah Steedman. "The Evolution of Airline Security Since 9/11." Security Training. CPO, Dec. 2003. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. <http://ifpo.org/articlebank/evolution_of_airline.html>. McCamey, William P. Editorial. Journal of Security Administration. 2002. Print. McClure, George. "IEEE-USA Today 's Engineer." 02.12 Ieee-usa Today 's Engineer. 2007. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. http://www.todaysengineer.org/2005/Jun/security.asp Outline c. 2009, liquid bomb hidden in underwear got past security scanners (resulted in new scanner technology [millimeter wave technology]) 4 [ 1 ]. DeGeneste, Henry I., and John P. Sullivan. Policing Transportation Facilities. Springfield, IL: C.C. Thomas, 2004. Print. [ 2 ]. Taylor, Alycia B., and Sarah Steedman. "The Evolution of Airline Security Since 9/11." Security Training. CPO, Dec. 2003. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. . [ 3 ]. Choi, Charles Q. "Have Post-9/11 Airport Screening Technologies Made Us Safer?" Http://www.scientificamerican.com. Scientific American, Sept. 2011. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. . [ 5 ]. 6 Roberts, Alex, Jessica Bader, and Brett Flora. "Frontline: Airport Scanners Invade Privacy." The Western Front. The Western Front, 09 Nov. 2010. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. . 7 DiSalvo, David. "Europe Bans Airport Body Scanners For "Health and Safety" Concerns." Http://www.forbes.com. Forbes, 11 Nov. 2011. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. . 11McClure, George. "IEEE-USA Today 's Engineer." 02.12 Ieee-usa Today 's Engineer. 2007. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.