Airport Policing in the 21st Century

As air travel makes the world smaller, the dangers airports must manage have increased significantly. Every day, airport police face new and emerging challenges - from fighting the war against terrorism to limiting the spread of a worldwide pandemic. They're also an important force in stemming the flow of illicit narcotics, illegal immigrants and bulk cash, not to mention an integral part of any major aircraft accident.

Ever-changing passenger screening requirements and security procedures, employee theft rings and evolving Explosive Ordnance Disposal procedures are standard elements of the profession. A proposed federal policy requiring airports to staff security concourse exit lanes could become a new unfunded mandate for both airports and their police forces.

The landscape of airport policing clearly isn't what it used to be. Prior to the 1970s, U.S. airports were innocent places where people gathered for business travel, to take vacations or visit relatives. Few crimes were committed in airports and minimal law enforcement was consequently deployed there. Then, several high-profile hijackings in the late 1960s demanded improved security measures.

In 1973, the FAA began requiring all airlines to screen passengers and their carry-on baggage. Screening was generally contracted to private security companies, with personnel focused on detecting potential hijacking weapons. When FAR Part 107 required airports to allocate sworn police officers to support passenger screening, a new form of specialized law enforcement was born: airport policing.

The bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, later added another frightening dimension to aviation security - the use of explosive devices to commit mass murder.

In the 1980s, airline passenger volume grew significantly amid federal deregulation and the introduction of cheaper airfares via discount airlines. As traffic increased, so did airport crime such as distraction theft, auto burglary/theft, shoplifting and sex crimes in airport terminals and aboard aircraft.

The Airport Law Enforcement Agencies Network (ALEAN) was formed in April 1990 after law enforcement officials from the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey and several other large U.S. airports met with Interpol to discuss the need to facilitate the exchange of information concerning terrorism and emerging airport crime.

Over the past 20 years, ALEAN membership has expanded to more than 100 U.S. airport agencies and numerous foreign associate member agencies in Canada and the United Kingdom. Many government law enforcement agencies also hold adjunct memberships, including the TSA, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Interpol, U.S. Secret Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service and several international regulatory agencies.

Transient criminals such as pickpockets, distraction thieves and con artists are a significant problem at some airports. Bands of highly-trained criminals victimize the flying public for a few days at one location, then move on to another unsuspecting area. ALEAN addresses this challenge with a system that allows members to share suspect information and intelligence. Through this process, airport investigators are better able to track such activities and proactively identify potential targets. Several large facilities now deploy specialized Anti-Distraction Theft Units. Armed with information shared by ALEAN members, airport police now place known criminals under surveillance as soon as they arrive.

From its inception, ALEAN has partnered with the National Explosives Detection Canine Program to deploy top-quality explosives detection teams throughout the aviation system. Today, airport police handlers manage more than 400 bomb dog teams at U.S. airports, creating a model system of much-needed federal and local partnership.

Given terrorists' propensity to choose aviation as a target source, many airport police agencies also belong to Joint Terrorism Task Forces and participate in state and local fusion centers. ALEAN supports such efforts with a member-driven IntelNet to facilitate the flow of information, including monthly teleconferences for criminal investigators. The exchange of real-time intelligence and incident information is facilitated via our CommandNet system.

Spring and fall conferences allow member departments to learn about model policing programs and discuss matters of concern with officials from the Department of Homeland Security and TSA. Our national benchmarking project provides law enforcement executives with details about current best practices,

Airport police provide vital safety services in unique and challenging environments. However, we are inexorably linked to other police agencies in a common purpose of protecting citizens in the ever-dangerous and globalized world of the 21st century.