Profiling and Airport Security

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Recommended: Terrorism in the future

The world is living in a post 9/11 era. Since that September day, security measures have heightened and extra precautions are in place to prevent something of that nature from happening again. The terrorists involved in 9/11 appeared to be shockingly similar to a typical American Citizen. However, their behaviors from that week prior were alarming. Examining the terrorists who have become more prevalent in the last twenty years, there are several things in common with all of them. Their profiles all have similar characteristics, not necessarily racial but largely behavioral. To address this, the United States Government and the Transportation Security Administration should allow profiling in airport security throughout the country.

According to the New Oxford American Dictionary:

Profiling is the recording and analysis of a person's psychological and behavioral characteristics, so as to assess or predict their capabilities in a certain sphere or to assist in identifying a particular subgroup of people (1811).

Profiling is typically broken down to two different types - racial and ethnic or behavioral. People tend to assume profiling is solely racial. However, current practices lean more towards the behavioral side of it. Many security measures incorporate both types in different ways. “Racial profiling is the alleged policy of some police to attribute criminal intentions to members of some ethnic groups and to stop and question them in disporptionate numbers without probable cause” (BING). Behavioral profiling is an investigative tool that is intended to help security officers to profile unknown criminal subjects or offenders based on common behavioral tendencies (RACE). Many debates have started between the def...

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...ity no better than random screening.." New Scientist 7 Feb. 2009: 7-7. Science Reference Center. Web. 30 Aug. 2011.

"Screening Hybrid." Aviation Week & Space Technology 22 Aug. 2005: 64-65. Science Reference Center. Web. 30 Aug. 2011.

Smith, Tovia. "Next In Line For The TSA? A Thorough 'Chat-Down' : NPR." NPR : National Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts : NPR. N.p., 16 Aug. 2011. Web. 2 Oct. 2011. .

"TSA SPOT Program: Still Going Strong ." The TSA Blog. TSA, 5/21/2010. Web. 6 Oct. 2011.

"The TSA Blog: TSA SPOT Program: Still Going Strong." The TSA Blog. N.p., 21 May 2010. Web. 2 Oct. 2011. .

The new Oxford American dictionary. 2nd ed. London: Oxford University Press, 2005. Print.

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