The computer assisted passenger prescreening system (CAPPS) was developed in the late 1990s as an additional tool used to keep our commercial aviation system safe and secure. The CAPPS system is an algorithm designed to predict who might be a security risk to the aircraft or its passengers. The information that the CAPPS system bases its decision on is classified. It is commonly believed, however, that actions such as buying a one-way ticket, paying for a ticket in cash, or purchasing a ticket at the last minute will trigger the system.
The TSA screeners use the information gathered from the CAPPS system to determine if passengers require additional system or should be denied boarding. Of the nineteen September 11th hijackers, only eight were selected by CAPPS for additional screening.
Since 2001, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has proposed two successors for the CAPPS system - CAPPS II, whose development was canceled in 2004, and Secure Flight. Both systems would incorporate commercial data into the system. Commercial data is information collected about individuals by groups such as credit reporting agencies and includes information directly linked to an individual (name, address, phone number). TSA believes that by including commercially available data into the Secure Flight program, it will provide a more complete picture of the passenger. In addition, TSA hopes such data will reduce the number of false positives flagged by the system.
In November, it was announced that the Department of Homeland Security had also be using a computerized system to prescreening international passengers since 2002, without notifying the public or Congress. The Automatic Targeting System (ATS) using computers to scan the records of passengers traveling in and out of the United States, including American citizens. Although the system is designed to hold onto the information for 40 years, there is currently no system in place to allow passengers to fix incorrect information in the system.
NBTA believes that TSA must develop a successor to the CAPPS program. The CAPPS program currently returns too many false-positives, forcing too many law abiding citizen to work through a complicated maze of bureaucratic steps in order to clear their names from the list.
However, any successor to the CAPPS program and the ATS system must be able to prove they can protect the passengers in two key ways. TSA must be able to prove that any new program is not only secure but also has the ability to protect the privacy of the passengers. In addition, the new program must have a simple redress system. A redress system would allow passengers to correct erroneous data that may have landed a passenger on the no-fly list. A properly functioning redress system would allow passengers to quickly correct their information in the new system.
In January 2006, Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff and Secretary of State Rice announced the Secure Borders and Open Doors initiative which included a proposal for “one stop” redress for travelers ensnared on the watch lists. This initiative promises a government-wide traveler screening redress process to resolve questions if travelers are incorrectly selected for prescreening. NBTA fully supports the effort undertaken by both the Department of State and Department of Homeland Security to develop a system that utilizes current technologies to expedite passenger redress.
For additional information, please contact Shane Downey at sdowney@nbta.org.