Scandal of cheap security firms

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On 13 October 2001, a spot check by a US federal investigator prevented a passenger carrying a hidden knife from boarding an American Airlines flight at Dulles International Airport in Washington DC. The passenger was boarding one of the same airlines from one of the same airports used by the 11 September hijackers just four weeks before.

The passenger had already passed through the pre-boarding checks by the company contracted for the job of security screening, Argenbright Security. Argenbright, a subsidiary of the British-based multinational security company Securicor, is notorious as a low paying company with a high staff turnover, and one which likes to keep out unions. In October 2000 it was fined US$1.6 million in penalties and placed on “probation” for three years.

The company currently stands charged by the authorities of major malpractice in its employment procedures in ways which directly affect security standards. Documents prepared by the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania accuse the company of:

Altering employment histories on job applications for pre-departure screeners so as to create the illusion that the employee had maintained continuous employment over the preceding five to 10 year period.
Falsely certifying to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that each screener had taken and received a passing score on the mandated tests when in fact employees were given passing scores even though they failed the test, were given the answers while taking the test, or were given passing scores without ever actually taking the tests.
Failing to request criminal history reports of employees with known gaps in their job history, resulting in the hiring of convicted felons.
Creating phoney school certificates by whiting out names on real documents and inserting the name of the employee.
Falsely certifying that each employee had received the FAA-required 12 hours of classroom training, when actually they had only watched a 45-minute video.

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Issue 8 March 2002

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