Areas of Vulnerability in Air Cargo Transfer
Transportation of cargos through freight has been widely used as a means of transport. Airlines have been very first to upgrade their security because terrorists used airplanes during the attacks. Before September 11, 2001 attacks, people who were working in airlines were expected to act as security observers but they were not adequately trained on this role. They were unable to detect dangerous weapons. The access points were not as secure as the government would have wanted.
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Before the attacks, agents used law enforcement budges to gain access to the secure areas. There were no regulations regarding workers, travelers, and their cargos. This contributed to the vulnerability of air cargos. Other areas of vulnerability in air cargo include Factory where the goods are been manufactured and sealed. There should be inspection before sealing of goods to ensure the content has not been tampered with. The background of inspection officers should be carefully investigated. Warehouse is another area where the contents of the cargo can be interfered with. The final check of the load should be done in the warehouse. The warehouse and the transport personnel background should be properly examined.
Transportation of the cargos from the warehouse should be trucked to make sure the route is not diverted to change the contents of the cargo (Homeland Security, 2011). The terminals like in the ports are another area of vulnerability where the content of cargo can be tampered with. At the airport, there is vulnerability of security. It has been hard to detect whether the seals of cargos have been tampered with. The physical securities also need to be well assessed as this has been an area of vulnerability. Systems at the airport are another area of vulnerability that needs to be checked. The access points at the airport need to be tightly guarded and inspection properly done to ensure terrorists do not get to board an airplane or put hazardous materials in the plane (Ritter, Barret and Wilson, 2007).
Primary Concerns for Securing Cargo Facilities
To ensure cargo security there has been the key areas of concern. These areas include passengers, cargos, security officers and the transport chain. To ensure security the transport facilities such as ports need to be well guarded. All the access points in a port need to be well guarded and all the passengers and cargos that are entered should be properly scanned to ensure they do not carry hazardous materials or explosives. Security and inspection officers should be well trained on security maintenance. They should be well equipped with knowledge and equipments needed to scan all kinds of threats. They also need to be trained on new technologies of detecting threats.
Their background should be well investigated to ensure they are not getting involved with terrorism. Another area of concern is ensuring that the passengers are properly screened of any threats. Passengers should always follow rules set to ensure security within the transport system. The cargos should be properly screened from the factory and throughout the transport chain to ensure the seals are not tampered with. This is because terrorists can collaborate with manufacturers and people involved with transport to change the contents and carry threats.
The transport chain of the cargos needs to be followed to ensure that the content of the cargos have not been changed. The security should be on the lookout at all the ports. The systems used to screen the cargos should meet the standard to ensure security. In case the security officers detect any threat they should follow rules and regulations set to handle such incidences. Cargo facilities should be secure from all threats and crimes. To ensure this, all people involved with handling and transportation of cargos are expected to cooperate with the security officers’ in charge (U.S. Customs & Border Protection, 2011).
Reference List
Homeland Security (2011). Preliminary Observations on Efforts to Target Security Inspections of Cargo Containers GAO-04-325T. Web.
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Ritter, L., Barrett, J. M., and Wilson, R. A. (2007). Securing Global Transport Networks. New York: McGraw hill professional.
U.S. Customs & Border Protection. (n.d.). National Terrorism Advisory Systems. Web.
