Air Passenger Screening: Transportation Security Administration Needs to Improve Complaint Processes
Released: 2012-11-29T00:00:00

Letter

Lack of an Agencywide Policy, Consistent Processes, and Agency Focal Point Limits TSA’s Ability to Receive and Use Complaint Information

TSA receives thousands of air passenger screening complaints through five centralized mechanisms but does not have an agencywide policy, consistent processes, or an agency focal point to guide the receipt of these complaints, or “mine” these data to inform management about the nature and extent of the screening complaints to help improve screening operations and customer service. For example, TSA data indicate the following:

From October 2009 through June 2012, TSA received more than 39,000 screening complaints through its TSA Contact Center (TCC), including more than 17,000 complaints about pat-down procedures.

From October 2009 through June 2012, TSA’s Office of the Executive Secretariat received approximately 4,000 complaints that air passengers submitted by mail.

From April 2011 (when it was launched) through June 2012, the agency’s Talk to TSA web-based mechanism received approximately 4,500 air passenger screening complaints, including 1,512 complaints about the professionalism of TSA staff during the screening process.

However, the data from the five centralized mechanisms do not reflect the full nature and extent of complaints because local TSA staff have discretion in implementing TSA’s complaint processes, including how they receive and document complaints. For example, comment cards were used in varying ways at 6 airports we contacted. Specifically, customer comment cards were not used at 2 of these airports, were on display at 2 airports, and were available upon request at the remaining 2 airports we contacted. TSA does not have a policy requiring that complaints submitted using the cards be tracked or reported centrally.

We concluded that a consistent policy to guide all TSA efforts to receive and document complaints would improve TSA’s oversight of these activities and help ensure consistent implementation. TSA also uses TCC data to inform the public about air passenger screening complaints, monitor operational effectiveness of airport security checkpoints, and make changes as needed. However, TSA does not use data from its other four mechanisms, in part because the complaint categories differ, making data consolidation difficult. A process to systematically collect information from all mechanisms, including standard complaint categories, would better enable TSA to improve operations and customer service. Further, at the time of our review, TSA had not designated a focal point for coordinating agencywide policy and processes related to receiving, tracking, documenting, reporting, and acting on screening complaints. Without a focal point at TSA headquarters, the agency does not have a centralized entity to guide and coordinate these processes, or to suggest any additional refinements to the system.

To address these weaknesses, we recommended that TSA establish a consistent policy to guide agencywide efforts for receiving, tracking, and reporting air passenger screening complaints; establish a process to systematically compile and analyze information on air passenger screening complaints from all complaint mechanisms; and designate a focal point to develop and coordinate agencywide policy on screening complaint processes, guide the analysis and use of the agency’s screening complaint data, and inform the public about the nature and extent of screening complaints.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) concurred with the recommendations and indicated actions that TSA had taken, had underway, and was planning to take in response. For example, DHS stated that TSA would review current intake and processing procedures at headquarters and in the field and develop policy, as appropriate, to better guide the complaint receipt, tracking, and reporting processes. We believe that these are beneficial steps that would address the recommendation, provided that the resulting policy refinements improve the existing processes for receiving, tracking, and reporting all air passenger screening complaints, including the screening complaints that air passengers submit locally at airports through comment cards or in person at security checkpoints.

In commenting on a draft of our November 2012 report, TSA also stated that the agency began channeling information from the Talk to TSA database to the TCC in October 2012. However, DHS did not specify in its letter whether TSA will compile and analyze data from the Talk to TSA database and its other centralized mechanisms in its efforts to inform the public about the nature and extent of screening complaints, and whether these efforts will include data on screening complaints submitted locally at airports through customer comment cards or in person at airport security checkpoints. DHS also did not provide sufficient detail for us to assess whether TSA’s planned actions will address the difficulties we identified in collecting standardized screening data across different complaint categories and mechanisms. DHS stated that the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Civil Rights & Liberties, Ombudsman and Traveler Engagement was now the focal point for overseeing the key TSA entities involved with processing passenger screening complaints. It will be important for the Assistant Administrator to work closely with, among others, the office of the Assistant Administrator of Security Operations because this office oversees screening operations at commercial airports and security operations staff in the field who receive screening complaints submitted through customer comment cards or in person at airport security checkpoints. We will continue to monitor TSA’s progress in implementing these recommendations.

TSA Has Several Methods to Inform Air Passengers about Making Screening Complaints, but Does Not Consistently Implement Them

TSA has several methods to inform passengers about its complaint processes, but does not have an agencywide policy or mechanism to ensure consistent use of these methods among commercial airports. For example, TSA has developed standard signs, stickers, and customer comment cards that can be used at airport checkpoints to inform passengers about how to submit feedback to TSA; however, we found inconsistent use at the 6 airports we contacted.

For example, customer comment cards were displayed in the checkpoints at 2 airports, while at 2 others the cards were provided upon request. However, we found that passengers may be reluctant to ask for such cards, according to TSA. TSA officials at 4 of the 6 airports also said that the agency could do more to share best practices for informing passengers about complaint processes. For example, TSA holds periodic conference calls for its Customer Support Managers—TSA staff at certain commercial airports who work in conjunction with other local TSA staff to resolve customer complaints and communicate the status and resolution of complaints to air passengers—to discuss customer service. However, Customer Support Managers have not used this mechanism to discuss best practices for informing air passengers about processes for submitting complaints, according to the officials we interviewed. Policies for informing the public about complaint processes and mechanisms for sharing best practices among local TSA officials could help provide TSA reasonable assurance that these activities are being conducted consistently and help local TSA officials learn from one another about what practices work well.

We recommended that TSA establish an agencywide policy to guide its efforts to inform air passengers about the screening complaint processes and establish mechanisms, particularly at the airport level, to share information on best practices for informing air passengers about the screening complaint processes. DHS concurred with the recommendation and stated that TSA would develop a policy to better inform air passengers about the screening complaint processes. We will continue to monitor TSA’s progress in implementing this recommendation.

TSA’s Complaint Resolution Processes Do Not Fully Conform to Standards of Independence, but TSA Is Taking Steps to Increase Independence

TSA’s complaint resolution processes do not fully conform to standards of independence to ensure that these processes are fair, impartial, and credible, but the agency is taking steps to improve independence. Specifically, TSA airport officials responsible for resolving air passenger complaints are generally in the same chain of command as TSA airport staff who are the subjects of the complaints. While TSA has an Ombudsman Division that could help ensure greater independence in the complaint processes, the division primarily focuses on handling internal personnel matters and is not yet fully equipped to address external complaints from air passengers, according to the head of the division.

TSA is developing a new process for referring air passenger complaints directly to the Ombudsman Division from airports and for providing air passengers an independent avenue to make complaints about airport security checkpoint screening. In August 2012, TSA’s Ombudsman Division began addressing a small number of air passenger complaints forwarded from the TCC, according to the head of that division. TSA also began advertising the division’s new role in addressing passenger screening complaints via the TSA website in October 2012. According to the Assistant Administrator of TSA’s Office of Civil Rights & Liberties, Ombudsman and Traveler Engagement, the division will not handle complaints for which there exists an established process that includes an appeals function, such as disability complaints or other civil rights or civil liberties complaints, in order to avoid duplication of currently established processes. According to the Assistant Administrator, the agency also plans to initiate a Passenger Advocate Program by January 2013, in which selected TSA airport staff will be trained to take on a collateral passenger advocate role, respond in real time to identify and resolve traveler-related screening complaints, and assist air passengers with medical conditions or disabilities, among other things. It is too early to assess the extent to which these initiatives will help mitigate possible concerns about independence.

TSA Is Expanding Its Risk-Based Programs, Including the Pre✓™ Program

TSA officials stated that the agency is undertaking efforts to focus its resources and improve the passenger experience at security checkpoints by applying new intelligence-driven, risk-based screening procedures and enhancing its use of technology.

One component of TSA’s risk-based approach to passenger screening is the Pre✓™ program, which was introduced at 32 airports in 2012, and which the agency plans to expand to 3 additional airports by the end of the calendar year. The program allows frequent flyers of five airlines, as well as individuals enrolled in other departmental trusted traveler programs—where passengers are pre-vetted and deemed trusted travelers—to be screened on an expedited basis. This program is intended to allow TSA to focus its resources on high-risk travelers. According to TSA, more than 4 million passengers have been screened through this program to date. Agency officials have reported that with the deployment of this program and other risk-based security initiatives, such as modifying screening procedures for passengers 75 and over and active duty service members, TSA has achieved its stated goal of doubling the number of passengers going through expedited screening. According to TSA, as of the end of fiscal year 2012, over 7 percent of daily passengers were eligible for expedited screening based on low risk. However, the estimated number of passengers that will be screened on an expedited basis is still a relatively small percentage of air passengers subject to TSA screening protocols each year. We plan to begin an assessment of TSA’s progress in implementing the TSA Pre✓™ program in 2013.

Chairman Petri, Ranking Member Costello, and Members of the Subcommittee, this concludes my prepared remarks. I look forward to responding to any questions that you may have.

GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments

For questions about this statement, please contact Steve Lord at (202) 512-4379 or lords@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this statement. Individuals making key contributions to this statement include Jessica Lucas-Judy (Assistant Director), David Alexander, Thomas Lombardi, Anthony Pordes, and Juan Tapia-Videla.

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