Non-Subscriber Extract
SITC chief calls for 'less predictable' security at airports
By Carol Jenkins and Ben Vogel
29 October 2008
Airport security needs to be less predictable and less reliant on technology if it is to defeat terrorism, according to a former head of the Police International Counter Terrorism Unit.
Speaking exclusively to Jane's, Steve Swain said that current security arrangements at airports are "too predictable and transparent".
Swain is now the chief executive officer of the Security Innovation Technology Consortium (SITC). He believes that airports need to make use of innovative technology but should not rely on it as a panacea on which to base their security activities.
"Airports across the world have archway metal detectors, baggage x-ray machines, vapour machines and a whole host of other technology, yet I haven't heard of one terrorist who has been detected in this way," he said. "Rather than spend millions of pounds on technology, we need to be asking ourselves: How effective is it proving to be against the terrorist?"
It is his view that airlines could carry out increased profiling of passengers to filter out low-risk travellers before they reach the airport.