In addition, TSA worked to develop procedures to ensure screening  resources are focused on passengers determined to be high risk and  passengers about whom TSA has less information while expediting the  screening of passengers TSA has assessed as being lower risk based on  information it has on such passengers. Since October 2011, TSA further expanded the known traveler  populations eligible for expedited screening. These include (1) inclusion on a TSA PreTM list of known  travelers, (2) identification of passengers as low risk by TSA’s Risk  Assessment algorithm, or (3) a real-time threat assessment at the airport  using the Managed Inclusion process. Passenger Eligibility Based on Real Time Threat Assessments Using Managed Inclusion Process

Managed Inclusion is designed to provide expedited screening to  passengers not deemed low risk prior to arriving at the airport. These layers include (1) the Secure Flight vetting TSA performs to  identify high-risk passengers required to undergo enhanced screening at  the checkpoint and to ensure these passengers are not directed to TSA  PreTM expedited screening lanes, (2) a randomization process that TSA  uses to include passengers into TSA Pre™screening lanes who  otherwise were not eligible for expedited screening, (3) BDOs who  observe passengers and look for certain high-risk behaviors, (4) canine  teams and ETD devices that help ensure that passengers have not  handled explosive materials prior to travel, and (5) an unpredictable  screening process involving walk-through metal detectors in expedited  screening lanes that randomly select a percentage of passengers for  additional screening. The Department  of Homeland Security did not concur with this recommendation; however,  in August 2014, TSA noted that it is taking actions to optimize the  effectiveness of its behavior detection program and plans to begin testing  this effort in October 2014. As a result of this work, we  recommended in January 2013, among other things, that TSA take  actions to comprehensively assess the effectiveness of canine teams. TSA Should Ensure that Its Effectiveness Testing of the Managed Inclusion Process is Conducted in Accordance with Established Methodological Practices

TSA officials stated that they tested the security effectiveness of the  individual components of the Managed Inclusion process before  implementing Managed Inclusion, and determined that each layer alone  provides an effective level of security. However, we have previously conducted  work on several of the layers used in the Managed Inclusion process,  including BDOs, ETD, and canine teams and raised concerns regarding  their effectiveness and recommended actions to address those  concerns. However, TSA could not  provide us with specifics or a plan or documentation showing how the  testing is to be conducted, the locations where it is to occur, how those  locations are to be selected, or the timeframes for conducting testing at  each location. We have previously reported on challenges TSA has faced in designing  studies and protocols to test the effectiveness of security systems and  programs in accordance with established methodological practices. Ensuring its planned effectiveness testing of the Managed Inclusion  process adheres to established evaluation design practices will help TSA  provide reasonable assurance that the effectiveness testing will yield  reliable results. As noted earlier in this report, because expedited  screening is voluntary, not all passengers who are eligible necessarily  use expedited screening. For example, a passenger may be traveling with  a group in which not all passengers in the group are eligible for expedited  screening, so the passenger may choose to forgo expedited screening. TSA also noted that it began achieving the 25  percent of passengers receiving expedited screening goal in November  2013 and attributed reaching this goal to an increase in the number of  participating air carriers from seven in July 2013 to nine in November  2013, an increase in the number of airports where TSA PreTM dedicated  screening lanes are available to over 100 airports in October 2013, the  implementation of TSA PreTM Risk Assessments on a flight-by-flight  basis in October 2013, and the increased use of Managed Inclusion in  October 2013. Conclusions

TSA’s new methods to assess passenger risk, such as TSA PreTM Risk  Assessments and Managed Inclusion, have significantly increased the  use of expedited screening. To ensure that TSA’s planned testing yields reliable results, we  recommend that the TSA Administrator take steps to ensure that TSA’s  planned effectiveness testing of the Managed Inclusion process adheres  to established evaluation design practices.
Why GAO Did This Study

TSA screens or oversees the screening of more than 650 million passengers annually at more than 450 U.S. airports. In 2011, TSA began providing expedited screening to selected passengers as part of its overall emphasis on risk-based security. Specifically, by determining passenger risk prior to travel, TSA intended to focus screening resources on higher-risk passengers while expediting screening for lower-risk passengers.
GAO was asked to determine how TSA implemented and expanded expedited screening via TSA Pre✓ TM . This report examines, among other things, (1) how TSA has developed, implemented, and used expedited screening, (2) how TSA assesses passenger risk, and (3) the extent to which TSA has determined the Managed Inclusion system's effectiveness. GAO analyzed TSA procedures and data from October 2011 through January 2014 on expedited screening and interviewed officials at TSA, airport authorities, air carriers, and industry associations about expedited screening.

What GAO Found

Since the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) implemented its expedited screening program—known as TSA Pre✓ TM in 2011, the number of passengers receiving expedited screening grew slowly, and then increased about 300 percent in October 2013 when TSA expanded its use of methods to increase passenger participation, such as conducting automated risk assessments of all passengers. In conducting these assessments, TSA assigns passenger scores based upon information available to TSA to identify low risk passengers eligible for expedited screening for a specific flight prior to the passengers’ arrival at the airport.
To assess whether a passenger is eligible for expedited screening, TSA considers (1) inclusion on an approved TSA Pre✓ TM list of known travelers; (2) results from the automated risk assessments of all passengers; and (3) threat assessments of passengers conducted at airport checkpoints known as Managed Inclusion. Managed Inclusion uses several layers of security, including procedures that randomly select passengers for expedited screening, behavior detection officers who observe passengers to identify high-risk behaviors, and either passenger screening canine teams or explosives trace detection devices to help ensure that passengers selected for expedited screening have not handled explosive material. Prior to Managed Inclusion’s implementation, TSA relied primarily on approved lists of known travelers to determine passenger eligibility for expedited screening.
TSA has tested the effectiveness of individual Managed Inclusion security layers and determined that each layer provides effective security. GAO has previously conducted work on several of the layers used in the Managed Inclusion process, raising concerns regarding its effectiveness and recommending actions to TSA to strengthen them. For example, in January 2013, GAO recommended that TSA take actions to comprehensively assess the effectiveness of canine teams. TSA subsequently addressed this recommendation by conducting the assessment. In October 2014, TSA planned to begin testing Managed Inclusion as an overall system, but could not provide specifics or a plan or documentation showing how the testing is to be conducted, the locations where it is to occur, how these locations are to be selected, or the timeframes for conducting testing at each location. Moreover, GAO has previously reported on challenges TSA has faced in designing studies to test the security effectiveness of its other programs in accordance with established methodological practices such as ensuring an adequate sample size or randomly selecting items in a study to ensure the results can be generalizable—key features of established evaluation design practices. Ensuring its planned testing of the Managed Inclusion process adheres to established evaluation design practices will help TSA provide reasonable assurance that the testing will yield reliable results.
This is a public version of a sensitive report that GAO issued in September 2014. Information that the Department of Homeland Security deemed sensitive has been removed.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that TSA take steps to ensure and document that its planned testing of the Managed Inclusion system adheres to established evaluation design practices, among other things. DHS concurred with GAO's recommendations.