Editorial: Top Homeland Security Is Like A Fine Jewel

Buying the very best homeland security is like shopping for a fine jewel—the better the quality, the higher the cost.

The new Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives, hoping to make a significant splash during its first 100 hours, on Tuesday passed legislation that requires within three years that all cargo on passenger airlines be screened and within five years that all U.S.-bound seaborne cargo be screened. These were among counterterrorism recommendations of the September 11 Commission. The measure still must get by the Senate, which in the past rejected it. The bill provides no money to put the changes into effect.

It was announced during the first week of January that the Department of Homeland Security would begin requiring 750,000 port and maritime workers to carry identification cards imprinted with their biometric fingerprints, despite delays in the development of devices to read them. The installation of card readers on vessels and in ports appears to be more than a year away, and new rules are to be developed for their use. In the meantime, workers will undergo extensive background checks to obtain the cards, which will be required to gain unescorted access to secure areas in ports and on vessels. That means virtually all boat crews.

As good as this sounds, we cannot overlook the time and cost factors. As it relates to cost, we remember when the Corps of Engineers’ Gen. John Morris stood before us during a meeting of the former Water Resources Congress and told towing industry stakeholders about the cost of purifying water in our lakes and rivers. He foresaw costs in the billions, resulting, of course, from efforts to achieve the very best in purification. Again, there we have it: we pay for what we get. Like the finest jewel, the very best in water purification and homeland security is expensive.

One might argue that the best security is worth any price. That may be true. But a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. It is not all accomplished overnight. Since it takes time, setting priorities is in order. We think trying to accomplish first what can be done rather swiftly at less cost and still do a lot of good is worth considering.

We haven’t seen details of plans for extensive background checks, so perhaps what we are about to say has already been considered. For example, writing in the January 8 Waterways Journal, Z. David DeLoach of Delaware Marine, Port Allen, La., said (on the matter of identifying high risks) that the Coast Guard has admitted, “…the best way to identify a threat is by good old human intelligence when sizing up a situation or an individual.” Picking it up from there, consider the following.

We know profiling is a dirty word, but law enforcement officials stand behind its value. If all employees are to undergo intensive background checks, why not start with all new hires? That way, to the best of our ability, we can keep undesirable or questionable individuals from entering the system. Secondly, we can look at our employee rosters and continue our checks with those employees with the shortest employment and move toward those who have been employed longest. Why? Because those who have worked the longest have been exposed to peer and hierarchy scrutiny longer, and if anything questionable has occurred, it has probably been fully noted. One can also conclude, though not with certainty, that a person who has been gainfully employed for a long time and has a good record probably will not raise a red flag. So his background check can be delayed a bit.

As with most plans and security systems, there are flaws. Governments have been known to be penetrated by “moles,” who perform their duties admirably for years, even decades, before carrying out their bad intentions. Just because a worker has the proper transportation worker identification card (TWIC) does not guarantee that he/she will not suddenly break the mold and carry out a misdeed. As DeLoach explained, the fact that an individual carries a government-approved ID may lull us into a false sense of security, which in turn would be counter to our purpose. We cannot forget the true stories of a dedicated church organist who defrauded his airline employer out of thousands and the 30-year school-employee who, as nice as everyone thought he was, stole hundreds of thousands from the school district. They did not fit the profile of bad guys.

If we can be allowed to mix our metaphors, we can conclude that people are a bit like fruit that can be fine on the outside but when sliced open found to be rotten inside. When it comes to towboats, crewmembers live and work in close proximity with their peers. They learn how their fellow workers act, how they talk under duress and during good times, and how they perform their duties. Attitudes reveal themselves. So it may be on towboats that the best security may be the close proximity in which people work and past experience.

We know the Department of Homeland Security is going to do what it thinks is best. We think the agency is well aware that TWIC background checks, while they can be instrumental in revealing an individual’s past and give guidance in predicting the future, offer no guarantee that the fruit won’t go sour.

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