Airport Policing Training Issues and Options.

Airports are expanding and growing to unprecedented levels due to more affordable airfares and increasing public acceptance of air travel. In fact, some airports have become small cities, complete with banks, hotels, gas stations, and car rental agencies. [1] Today, most major airports boast several banks, scores of businesses, millions of passengers, and a commensurate rise in criminal activities, some of which are common in airports or specific to them (e.g., airline ticket fraud, narcotic smuggling, and distraction theft).

TRAINING ISSUES

Against this background, law enforcement officers seldom receive training on how to operate in the airport environment. [2] Police assigned to an airport have basic training skills, tuned almost exclusively to urban and rural environments. Agencies place little effort on training officers in the investigation of airport-specific crimes or in tailoring enforcement plans to meet the growing demands that airports present today. Existing training usually concentrates on specific tasks or legal areas. For example, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), historically has provided training for airport police officers. The course, appropriately enough, concentrates almost exclusively on regulatory areas of great interest to FAA, but comprises only part of what airport police officers need to know to effectively complete their duties. Airports around the nation also train police on a local level, sometimes with the active assistance and participation of FAA Civil Aviation Security Offices. These efforts, whil e commendable, lose the consistency that a more centrally managed approach might obtain. Additionally, local training efforts miss an opportunity to avail themselves of a best-practices model, where the hard-learned lessons of one officer become available to others.

The varied and complex duties inherent in airport policing require some consistency in approach to training. A sharp rise in air-rage incidents only signifies the beginning of a problem that will continue to grow as air travel becomes more affordable and less comfortable. Police assigned to airports soon find themselves involved in criminal investigations ranging from weapons smuggling to professional distraction thefts. The addition of organized criminal activity in and around the air cargo terminals and car rental lots, hazardous material violations, and drug smuggling activities keep the average airport police officer busy during a tour of duty. Newly assigned airport law enforcement officers rarely understand the complexities of the job.

Regulatory guidelines cover topics ranging from law enforcement officers flying while armed to screening passengers and their baggage to response procedures used for modern bomb-detection equipment. For example, recent security issues involving verification of police credentials at U.S. airports have prompted officials to take further steps to confirm the identification of law enforcement officers. Additionally, narcotics interdiction efforts at airports require particular techniques and have law enforcement support organizations, such as task forces, which are responsible solely for identifying these subjects. Criminal activity in airports includes crimes that most officers would not encounter outside of an airport, such as ticket fraud. Police academies seldom, if ever, cover these areas, and most law enforcement officers usually do not learn them on the job. Crisis management at an airport also differs from what a patrol officer on the street might encounter because it comprises a new and varied set of pl ayers (e.g., airline captains and air traffic controllers). A demanding, people-oriented environment adds to this situation, which requires patience and understanding from law enforcement officers, as well as knowledge of all aspects of airport and air carrier operations. As many airport police officers soon discover, airport policing includes a variety of unique requirements and training.

TRAINING OPTIONS

Although limited training exists for airport police officers, several programs are available. Course topics vary depending on the specific agency providing the training.

Airport-Based Training

Some airports have organized, in-house training seminars that cover such airport-specific topics as how to respond to cargo theft or a security screening point incident. Some regularly offer these courses (e.g., in-service recurrent training) while others are done, often with FAA security assistance and involvement, on an as-needed basis. For example, the Orlando, Florida, Police Department's Airport Division created an airport containment team at the Orlando International Airport. Because the downtown Orlando, Florida, Police Department does not offer airport training, the Airport Division developed an in-house version where members receive training as first responders to an aircraft incident. The division can tailor this type of training to fit an individual airport or airport police officer function. But, the lack of consistency in training and an inability to determine which airport policing methods work best present problems.

U.S. Federal Aviation Administration

For several years, the FAA has offered a training course for airport police officers at their security training center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, or at an off-site training location. The off-site training occurs at various locations within the United States. Based on regulatory mandates concerning law enforcement officer support of air carrier and airport security functions, the course concentrates on FAA regulations as they affect airport policing. Some of the problems with this training include too few course offerings and a subject matter that is restricted to regulations.

Federal Law Enforcement Organizations

In recent years, the FBI has increased its focus on aviation security issues and conducted two interagency training conferences devoted to aviation security for its agents assigned to airports. Agents and aviation industry participants benefit from the open discussions and networking opportunities where they attempt to resolve issues of mutual interest. These enhanced training efforts show the FBI's growing realization that aviation security issues continue to increase. Given its jurisdictional prerogatives, the FBI's focus in this area is both timely and necessary.

The U.S. Customs Service also has become interested in aviation security. Although their training seminars primarily address explosives issues, the overwhelming popularity of these courses demonstrates the receptivity toward police officer-based training by U.S. law enforcement agencies.

Aviation Organizations

Many aviation groups have developed training programs for airport police officers. For example, the Airline Reporting Corporation has offered seminars dealing with identification and investigation of airline ticket fraud. [3] Additionally, the Air Line Pilots Association, a union representing 59,000 airline pilots employed with 49 U.S. and Canadian airlines, recently developed training in aviation security. [4] Globally, the International Civil Aviation Organization has presented worldwide instruction in a variety of aviation security topics. [5]

Other Law Enforcement Organizations

In recent years, the Airport Law Enforcement Agency Network (ALEAN) has taken a lead in organizing seminars and meetings and improving communication among airport police departments. ALEAN, formed in 1990, addresses the unique policing problems shared by law enforcement officials responsible for safety and security of the major international airports in the United States. [6] ALEAN presented its first class on the introduction to basic airport policing in April 2000, and, due to overwhelming interest, offered another class in November 2000. Further, the Metro-Dade Police Department in Miami, Florida, offers classes in airport-related subjects and posts an airport investigator's course schedule on the ALEAN Web page.

CONCLUSION

A wide, across-the-board interest regarding training airport police officers exists. The proliferation of training programs entails an understanding of the complexity of airport policing and an attempt to professionalize it. An oversight group will ensure consistent, professional, and standardized training. The variety of emerging training platforms for airport police requires some type of quality control. Due to extensive airport regulations and the demands placed upon airport police officers, the aviation security community should fully address the challenges of full-spectrum training and oversight.

Eudnotes

(1.) Robert T. Raffel, "Job-Specific Training for Police: An Airport Example," FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, October 1986, 13-15.

(2.) For additional information on this topic, see Robert T. Raffel, "Criminal Investigation at Airports: An Overview," FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, April 1983, 52-55.

(3.) For additional information, see the Airline Reporting Corporation's Web site at http:// www.arccorp.com, accessed July 9, 2001.

(4.) For additional information, see the Air Line Pilots Association's Web Site at http:// www.alpa.org, accessed July 9, 2001.

(5.) For additional information, see the International Civil Aviation Organization's Web site at http:/www.icao.org, accessed July 9, 2001.

(6.) See http:/www.alean.com, accessed July 9, 2001.