Agencies Criticize Major Airport Security Firm
W A S H I N G T O N, Oct. 16 -- A preliminary study by two U.S. government agencies concludes one of America's largest airport security companies, Argenbright Security, has been employing people with criminal records, illegal aliens, and persons who fail basic tests for employment.
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Argenbright employs passenger screeners — the people who ensure passengers are checked for potential weapons before entering an airport terminal — in about 40 percent of all U.S. airports including SeaTac in Seattle, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Washington's Dulles International Airport.
Since Friday, the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration scrutinized the company's operations in 13 airports. Preliminary results show some of the screeners Argenbright employed had criminal records.
Seven employees at Dallas-Fort Worth were were detained after the Immigration and Nationalization Service determined they were illegal aliens. And, in a spot test, seven of 20 employees at Dulles failed to exhibit skills required for a position of employment. The employees were removed from their screening positions.
In one incident, a passenger was arrested this weekend at Dulles after successfully slipping a pocketknife through Argenbright security.
Argenbright has a history of problems. On Oct. 20, 2000, the company was sentenced to probation and to pay fines for making false statements to FAA concerning the training, testing and background verification of employees.
The current study was prompted after federal prosecutors filed a petition Oct. 11 to order Argenbright to answer charges that they continue to violate a probation agreement regarding the hiring of screeners at Philadelphia International Airport without appropriate background checks or training. A court hearing is set for Oct. 23 in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia.
