TSA recently improved its airport screener performance measures but could benefit from monitoring private versus federal screener performance, GAO has said.
It said improved customer service and increased staffing flexibilities are most commonly cited as advantages or potential advantages of using private airport screeners, with security directors citing reduced involvement in HR management as a plus.
TSA itself remains relatively neutral on the Screening Partnership Program, though some airport operators cited satisfaction with federal screeners and concerns with potential disruption from the transition to private screening services as potential negatives of going with private screeners, according to GAO-13-208.
It said that while TSA has taken steps to ensure the measures it uses to assess screener performance at private and federal airports work better to addresses strategic goals and mission, that the agency does not monitor private screener performance separately from federal screener performance.
TSA conducts efforts to monitor screener performance at individual SPP airports, but these efforts do not provide information on SPP performance as a whole or across years, which makes it difficult to identify program trends, said GAO.
TSA agreed to develop guidance for SPP applicants and a mechanism to monitor private versus federal screener performance.
