From the ABC website. I agree with this report, rather than Carmody's.
More airport security 'won't stop terrorists'
Posted Wed Dec 30, 2009 1:35pm AEDT
Updated Wed Dec 30, 2009 2:27pm AEDT
A former Customs officer has called on the Government to resist pressure to beef up airport security in the wake of the attempted plane bombing in the US.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, allegedly tried to set off a bomb hidden in his underpants as his Northwest Airlines flight approached Detroit on Christmas Day.
Writing on ABC Online's The Drum, former Customs officer Allan Kessing says any likely response to the incident would look like action, but would "do nothing to deter and capture serious terrorists".
And he says most airport security measures, including metal detector searches, are a waste of time.
Mr Kessing says the most effective counter-terrorism measures take place long before a suspect arrives at the airport, so increased security levels would be a "waste of resources".
"Behind the scenes, far more effective measures have been undertaken which cannot, and should never, be discussed publicly," he said.
"It is delusional to imagine that safety or security will be provided by extended restrictions on the overwhelming majority of the public.
"While 100 per cent security is impossible, much is done, quietly and unobtrusively, by Customs and other federal agencies, using known and well-tested risk assessment techniques."
Mr Kessing says he is confident Australian security forces would have detected Abdulmutallab "before he came within cooee of Lagos airport".
"Several recognised risk factors, not including his father warning the authorities or being on a danger list, were obvious," he said.
"Any one of these warning bells would have been deafening to Australian Customs, using current procedures and systems. More than one would have woken the dead."
And he says most airport security measures are mere "window dressing".
"Physical screening after passing Customs is utterly futile, and only serves as the window dressing [and] public relations beloved of politicians and loathed by the public."
He says metal detectors that target ordinary people are "a bit like losing a watch in Melbourne and looking for it Sydney because the weather is better".
"There can be few airline passengers who haven't been bemused or annoyed by the inane restrictions on items and impositions on people - grandmothers forced to remove shoes and belts to pass through metal detectors and intrusive examination of handbags and personal items.
"Low-hanging fruit is not usually worth picking."
Mr Kessing says security staff responsible for baggage checks and metal detectors are "usually low paid and relatively poorly trained, if at all".
"Private businesses are responsible for the security staff that outgoing passengers, after passing through the Customs passport control, encounter for the carry-on baggage X-ray checks and personal metal detectors," he said.
"These staff are not sworn officers, but employees of commercial companies, often sub-contracted from a variety of sources."
Federal Transport Minister Anthony Albanese recently announced a review recommending a relaxation of the rules on what items can be carried in cabin luggage.
Low-risk items listed in the review include umbrellas, nail clippers and knitting needles.
After the attempted terror attack on the Amsterdam to Detroit flight on the weekend, Mr Albanese defended the changes, saying they would not reduce security.
And the link ...
More airport security 'won't stop terrorists' - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)