EXPANDED SCREENING CALLED UNLIKELY.

Byline: Mariel Garza and Bill Hillburg Staff Writers

Officials tightened security temporarily at Los Angeles International Airport on Friday after the Fourth of July rampage but cast doubt on whether more officers or more elaborate screening would be effective at stopping future attacks.

Federal officials said they have no plans to expand anti-terrorism screening efforts beyond the current concourse and gate areas despite the shooting.

Acting Los Angeles Police Chief Martin Pomeroy said more officers will be visible at LAX at least until Monday, while sources indicated federal security officials are considering whether to put more officers around airport lobbies and ticket counters in response to the deaths at LAX.

``We will have an extra deployment of officers through this coming Monday at LAX,'' Pomeroy said, saying the extra staffing is intended to give the public an extra measure of confidence. ``They will be there to encourage a feeling of safety among our public. I think our citizens should continue to feel safe.''

The federal decision not to immediately expand the security screening perimeter was backed by leading consultants on air travel security issues and an airline industry trade group that questioned the effectiveness and wisdom of creating even larger security areas at the nation's airports.

``We're not expecting to expand our screening to include ticketing areas and we are not planning to study such a move at this time,'' said Greg Warren, spokesman for the federal Transportation Security Administration.

Mark Hansen, director of the National Center for Excellence in Aviation Operations Research at the University of California at Berkeley, said increasing the security area could be counter-productive.

``Wherever you establish your perimeter, that becomes the attack point,'' Hansen said. ``And the larger your perimeter is, the harder it is to defend it.''

Michael Wascom, vice president of communications for the Air Transport Association, a Washington-based airline trade group, cautioned against overreacting to the LAX attack.

``This was a terrible tragedy,'' he said. ``But it was also one person in one incident in one terminal at one airport. It should not be seen as an indictment of the entire airport screening and security system.''

Hansen, whose center is funded by the Federal Aviation Administration and the ATA, said that a limited expansion of security might work for facilities that exclusively handle international flights, including the Bradley International Terminal, where the shootings took place.

``These areas, unlike terminals handling domestic flights, have specific targets, like the El Al counter at LAX, so it may make sense to increase security. But denying all access to airports to everyone other than air travelers is just one more concession to the bad guys.''

The TSA took over passenger and baggage screening at LAX and other airports on Feb. 17. On Tuesday, the agency named David M. Stone, a retired Navy admiral, as federal security director at LAX.

The agency, created by Congress last year, is currently contracting with private screening firms at LAX. The TSA plans to hire, train and deploy more than 45,000 federal screeners at LAX and 428 other airports nationwide by Nov. 19.

California Gov. Gray Davis cautioned people from rushing to make judgments about the security of LAX.

``Let's think about the full dimension of the threat before we figure out how to respond to it,'' he said in an interview with CNN.

Mayor James Hahn said the city is going to re-evaluate all aspects of security at LAX with an eye on making improvements as needed.

The $9.6 billion proposal that Hahn unveiled earlier this week to overhaul the airport will improve safety, he said.

``We've come up with a plan that we think is a significant improvement over the situation that we currently find at our airport and airports around the country,'' Hahn said. ``Airports weren't really designed to have the space necessary to do adequate screening. That's why you have long lines.''

``We'll certainly look at whether or not we need to move the screening of passengers and baggage further away from the terminal area. We're looking at every possibility to enhance security at LAX.''

Hahn said officials will also look at whether to move the security perimeter back.

A central idea of Hahn's LAX proposal is to move all airport passengers through a central screening and check-in facility to be built away from the existing airline terminals.

But security experts said that it's unlikely that having an off-site intake center would have prevented the shooting on Thursday.

``Wherever you put security, there are going to be people on the other side of it,'' said Thom Nulty, president of Navigant International, a security consulting firm in Denver. ``No matter how far back we put it, wherever people assemble for security will present some kind of risk.''

``The fact is, it is a public area,'' said Issy Boim, president of Air Security International in Houston, who has worked for both the Shin Bet Israeli security services and El Al airline security. ``You can't screen people in a public area. Regardless of where (the screening area) would start, you still will have people waiting in line.''

As for the actual design of Hahn's LAX renovation plan, Nulty said it is ``not a bad idea if designed to work functionally.

``But if it adds hassle to the travel process, it's bad idea for the industry, it's a bad idea for travelers and it's a bad idea for Los Angeles,'' Nulty said.

University of California, Los Angeles professor Amy Zegart, who specializes in U.S. intelligence and national security, noted that Hahn's proposal of nearly $10 billion for the LAX reconstruction is ``a third of the budget that we spend on all our all intelligence'' annually. ``That's crazy,'' she said. ``I think the real question is: For that kind money what other things can we be doing?''

Her suggestion would be to standardize screening procedures at all the U.S. airlines. Currently, she said, the airlines are responsible for how they screen based on federal guidelines. And instead of screening every third person, for examples, officials should profile travelers more extensively - not based on the race of travelers, but on indicative things such as behavior and country of origin.

She also suggested that U.S. authorities look more broadly at where the country is vulnerable. There are many more targets than just airports, she noted.

``What keeps me awake at night is not LAX,'' Zegart said. ``I go through LAX all the time. What keeps me awake is thinking about how vulnerable our ports are and the economic devastation that could result from an attack.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Police officers confer while on patrol Friday at Los Angeles International Airport, where the LAPD will have an added presence at least through the weekend.

(2) Officer Dan Keehne and K-9 partner Anouk patrol the Bradley International Terminal at LAX.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer