Profiling is not New

Post the December 25th failed bombing attempt on Northwest Flight 253, folks are taking a new look at best practices in aviation security.  The notion of behavioral observation or, dare I say profiling is once again at the fore, mostly because this method is a highly effective and efficient component of any security system.  Behavioral observation is not new.  It’s been used with success by many agencies across the globe.  Here are a few examples, starting with what considered the ‘gold standard’:

Israeli model. No country in the world has perfected behavioral observation techniques for aviation security as has Israel.  There is a lot to learn from the security process that has efficiently protected its airlines and airports against an immense and constant threat.  Here are the basic elements at the heart of the system that’s been in used for decades:

• Identify suspicion indicators amongst people, objects and situations.
• Conduct security interviewing (profiling) geared towards refuting or finding suspicion indicators.
• Integrate behavioral observation with screening procedures and other counter measures.
• Uses a highly articulated SOP for detecting suspicion indicators, determining threat, and deploying effectively.
• Uses training simulations and programs that teach security officers to apply adversarial thinking to aviation security.
• Employs a management structure and concept that enables the constant maintenance of alertness and motivation in its staff.

Europe and United Kingdom. Following the Lockerbie bombing in 1988, European and British airports instituted behavioral observation procedures for U.S. air carriers bound for the United States.  These procedures involved security interviewing of passengers prior to check-in in order to identify indicators of potential terrorist operations.  In 2002 at Charles DeGaulle Airport in Paris, Richard Reid a.k.a. the Shoe Bomber was identified as suspicious by a security officer using behavioral observation.  To the officer, Reid’s story, overall appearance and demeanor indicated hostile intent.

Canadian Border Services Agency.  The CBSA has long been using behavioral observation techniques or what they refer to as “targeting” to identify individuals or cargo that may be involved in smuggling, human trafficking, criminal or terrorist operations.  The use of targeting for this purpose has proven to be immensely effective and has resulted in preventing many illegal activities from entering Canada.  The sheer number of people and freight passing through Canadian borders requires that CBSA focus on identifying indicators of intent.  They accomplish this via targeting and behavioral observation.

Various International Law Enforcement Agencies. Law enforcement agencies in a wide variety of countries have been using behavioral observation since their inception.  Police officers draw on their “street experience” to identify indicators that correlate with criminal activity.  In a way, they develop a sixth sense for detecting crime in the making.  The difficulty law enforcement faces when confronting a suspicious situation is in establishing the legal grounds for intervention.  As an agency tasked with enforcing laws, their objective is by definition reactive.  A law can only be enforced after it was broken.  Terrorism in this regard proves an even greater challenge given that a terrorist will avoid criminal activities until the moment of execution of the terrorist act.  It is also very difficult to prove terrorist intent without concrete evidence (weapons and hostile acts).  Nonetheless, the basis for behavioral detection is there.

U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Since 2004, the TSA has been slowly integrating behavioral observation programs into its aviation security operations.   The SPOT program is built around indicators that are mainly related to body language and micro-facial expressions and physiological attributes.  The SPOT program has proved to be effective specifically in the case that took place at the Orlando Airport where a would-be terrorist/criminal was apprehended with a suitcase full of pipe bombs.  He was deemed suspicious by an alert SPOT officer.  Enhanced screening was applied and the bombs were found via x-ray.  This was the most clear cut case of terrorism prevention success by the TSA since its inception, and it is attributed to behavioral observation.
Profiling, by whatever name, has been in use for some time.  Used in conjunction with technology and integrated intelligently into a comprehensive security procedure, profiling offers the best chance we have at mitigating threat.