Covenant Aviation Security
Encyclopedia
Covenant Aviation Security, LLC (CAS) is a Chicago, Illinois, company that provides security services to the aviation industry. Gerald L. Berry has been its President since October 2002.
’s Screening Partnership Program (SPP). In 2002, CAS was awarded multiple contracts for providing commercial screening services to the TSA under the privatization pilot program initiated by the Aviation and Transportation Security Act
. CAS mobilized and hired 1,200 screening personnel at San Francisco International Airport
and the Tupelo Regional Airport
within six weeks of contract award. In 2005, CAS was awarded the screening contract at Sioux Falls Regional Airport
(which was the first airport to de-federalize its workforce under the SPP).
In 2005, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security designated CAS airport passenger and baggage screening services as anti-terrorist technology under the Support Anti-terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act of 2002
. Also that year, CAS was awarded the screening contract at Sioux Falls International Airport (FSD). CAS provides security services at John F. Kennedy International Airport
, LaGuardia Airport
, Orlando International Airport
, and San Francisco International Airport.
Clients include the federal government (TSA), port and airport authorities and select airlines.
AAAE is the world's largest professional organization for airport executives, representing thousands of airport management personnel at public-use commercial and general aviation airports. AAAE's members represent some 850 airports and hundreds of companies and organizations that support airports. AAAE serves its membership through results-oriented representation in Washington, D.C. and delivers a wide range of industry services and professional development opportunities including training, meetings and conferences, and a highly respected accreditation program.
Airports Council International – North America (ACI-NA)
The ACI-NA represents local, regional and state governing bodies that own and operate commercial airports in the United States and Canada.
ACI-NA’s members enplane more than 95 percent of the domestic and virtually all the international airline passenger and cargo traffic in North America.
The mission of ACI-NA is to advocate policies and provide services that strengthen the ability of commercial airports to serve their passengers, customers and communities.
found that TSA officials had collaborated with CAS at San Francisco International Airport to tip off CAS screeners to undercover tests. The tests were as to whether the screeners were properly inspecting passengers and their carry-on luggage at security checkpoints. From August 2003 until May 2004, precise physical descriptions of the undercover personnel who were on their way to test checkpoints were communicated to the screeners. According to The San Francisco Chronicle, the report stated that TSA officials and Covenant managers at the airport "notified screening personnel in advance when a tester was approaching a checkpoint and provided their descriptions", and "Officials in the airport's screening control center tracked the undercover testers with surveillance cameras and on foot, the report said, and 'broadcast descriptions and locations of testers to the checkpoints to assist supervisors in identifying testers and to facilitate passing the covert penetration tests.'" An article in the newspaper about a wrongful firing lawsuit related to the events further reported that according to allegations in the lawsuit "Posing as passengers, the decoys try to take dummy bombs, unloaded guns and other contraband through the airport's security checkpoints. But the lawsuit said Covenant tracked the decoys via closed-circuit television cameras and tipped off workers at security gates to expect a test." The handing out of descriptions was then stopped, but until January 2005 screeners were still alerted whenever undercover operations were being undertaken. Despite the report, CAS was rehired with a $314 million, four-year contract at the airport, and while employees of the firm and TSA were disciplined, none lost their jobs. Mississippi Representative
Bennie Thompson
said the report was troubling, observing: "How is the public expected to have any confidence in the screening systems when managers game the system?"
(R-Fla), who was pushing for airports to use private contractors in lieu of the TSA, had since 2006 received $1,700 from Gerald Berry in campaign contributions. Mica's spokesman said the contributions had not improperly influenced Mica.
Activities
Covenant Aviation Security provides airport security services under the Transportation Security AdministrationTransportation Security Administration
The Transportation Security Administration is an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that exercises authority over the safety and security of the traveling public in the United States....
’s Screening Partnership Program (SPP). In 2002, CAS was awarded multiple contracts for providing commercial screening services to the TSA under the privatization pilot program initiated by the Aviation and Transportation Security Act
Aviation and Transportation Security Act
The Aviation and Transportation Security Act was enacted by the 107th United States Congress in the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Act created the Transportation Security Administration within the U.S. Department of Transportation...
. CAS mobilized and hired 1,200 screening personnel at San Francisco International Airport
San Francisco International Airport
San Francisco International Airport is a major international airport located south of downtown San Francisco, California, United States, near the cities of Millbrae and San Bruno in unincorporated San Mateo County. It is often referred to as SFO...
and the Tupelo Regional Airport
Tupelo Regional Airport
Tupelo Regional Airport is a public airport located three miles west of the city of Tupelo in Lee County, Mississippi, USA. The airport has a single runway. It is mostly used for general aviation, but is also served by one commercial airline....
within six weeks of contract award. In 2005, CAS was awarded the screening contract at Sioux Falls Regional Airport
Sioux Falls Regional Airport
Sioux Falls Regional Airport , also known as Joe Foss Field, is a joint civil and military use airport located three nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Sioux Falls, a city in Minnehaha County, South Dakota, United States...
(which was the first airport to de-federalize its workforce under the SPP).
In 2005, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security designated CAS airport passenger and baggage screening services as anti-terrorist technology under the Support Anti-terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act of 2002
Anti-terrorism legislation
Anti-terrorism legislation designs various types of laws passed in the aim of fighting terrorism. They usually, if not always, follow specific bombings or assassinations...
. Also that year, CAS was awarded the screening contract at Sioux Falls International Airport (FSD). CAS provides security services at John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport is an international airport located in the borough of Queens in New York City, about southeast of Lower Manhattan. It is the busiest international air passenger gateway to the United States, handling more international traffic than any other airport in North...
, LaGuardia Airport
LaGuardia Airport
LaGuardia Airport is an airport located in the northern part of Queens County on Long Island in the City of New York. The airport is located on the waterfront of Flushing Bay and Bowery Bay, and borders the neighborhoods of Astoria, Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst. The airport was originally...
, Orlando International Airport
Orlando International Airport
Orlando International Airport is a major international airport located southeast of the central business district of Orlando. It is the second busiest airport in Florida, after Miami International Airport...
, and San Francisco International Airport.
Security Services
Security services include but are not limited to the following: passenger and baggage screening, direct access control, personnel screening, cargo screening, cargo screening, CCTV monitoring, report management, security assessments, operate screening equipment (X-ray, Explosive Trace Detection, Walk-Through Metal Detector and Hand-held Metal Detector), and monitoring perimeter intrusion detection systems.Clients include the federal government (TSA), port and airport authorities and select airlines.
Locations
San Francisco, California; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Orlando, Florida; Tupelo, Mississippi; Chicago, Illinois; New York, New York; Newark, New Jersey; Dallas, Texas; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Boston, Massachusetts; Chantilly, Virginia; Sidney, Glendive, Glasgow, Havre, Wolf Point, Lewiston, and Miles City, Montana.Industry Affiliations
American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE)AAAE is the world's largest professional organization for airport executives, representing thousands of airport management personnel at public-use commercial and general aviation airports. AAAE's members represent some 850 airports and hundreds of companies and organizations that support airports. AAAE serves its membership through results-oriented representation in Washington, D.C. and delivers a wide range of industry services and professional development opportunities including training, meetings and conferences, and a highly respected accreditation program.
Airports Council International – North America (ACI-NA)
The ACI-NA represents local, regional and state governing bodies that own and operate commercial airports in the United States and Canada.
ACI-NA’s members enplane more than 95 percent of the domestic and virtually all the international airline passenger and cargo traffic in North America.
The mission of ACI-NA is to advocate policies and provide services that strengthen the ability of commercial airports to serve their passengers, customers and communities.
Undercover tests of screeners
A November 2006 report by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector GeneralDepartment of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General
-Purpose:The United States Congress enacted the Inspector General Act of 1978 to ensure integrity and efficiency in government. The Homeland Security Act of 2002, as amended, established an Office of Inspector General in the Department of Homeland Security...
found that TSA officials had collaborated with CAS at San Francisco International Airport to tip off CAS screeners to undercover tests. The tests were as to whether the screeners were properly inspecting passengers and their carry-on luggage at security checkpoints. From August 2003 until May 2004, precise physical descriptions of the undercover personnel who were on their way to test checkpoints were communicated to the screeners. According to The San Francisco Chronicle, the report stated that TSA officials and Covenant managers at the airport "notified screening personnel in advance when a tester was approaching a checkpoint and provided their descriptions", and "Officials in the airport's screening control center tracked the undercover testers with surveillance cameras and on foot, the report said, and 'broadcast descriptions and locations of testers to the checkpoints to assist supervisors in identifying testers and to facilitate passing the covert penetration tests.'" An article in the newspaper about a wrongful firing lawsuit related to the events further reported that according to allegations in the lawsuit "Posing as passengers, the decoys try to take dummy bombs, unloaded guns and other contraband through the airport's security checkpoints. But the lawsuit said Covenant tracked the decoys via closed-circuit television cameras and tipped off workers at security gates to expect a test." The handing out of descriptions was then stopped, but until January 2005 screeners were still alerted whenever undercover operations were being undertaken. Despite the report, CAS was rehired with a $314 million, four-year contract at the airport, and while employees of the firm and TSA were disciplined, none lost their jobs. Mississippi Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
Bennie Thompson
Bennie Thompson
Bennie G. Thompson, is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993, and the ranking member of the Committee on Homeland Security since 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
said the report was troubling, observing: "How is the public expected to have any confidence in the screening systems when managers game the system?"
Campaign contributions
In November 2010, Fox News reported that Representative John MicaJohn Mica
John L. Mica is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993. He is a member of the Republican Party. He is the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, starting January 3, 2011....
(R-Fla), who was pushing for airports to use private contractors in lieu of the TSA, had since 2006 received $1,700 from Gerald Berry in campaign contributions. Mica's spokesman said the contributions had not improperly influenced Mica.
External links
- Official website
- "Review of Allegations Regarding San Francisco International Airport, Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, October 2006
- website
- website
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- website