Behavioural
Analysis
Solutions:
spotting the enemy
The ultimate aim is to be able to detect threat
passengers "on the move" without creating
bottlenecks at security checkpoints
(Credit: Nemesysco)
A man stands in an airport security line, ne of the world’s leading experts on
restlessly fidgeting with his bulky coat
while shifting his eyes back and forth.
Beads of sweat drip from his forehead.
O
behaviour analysis and interpretation, Dr.
Paul Ekman, Director of the Paul Ekman
Group, LLC, has been studying human
behaviour for decades. From his offices in
Oakland, California, Ekman has developed a
The aviation security officers at the universal system to identify emotion on the human face
checkpoint must be prepared to spot
through what he terms “micro-expressions.” These micro-
expressions last only about 1/4 of a second and reveal
such suspicious signals as well as hidden emotions. Ekman has used his expertise to help train
proceed to determine whether the
aviation security officers in the United States and in
democracies around the world. Some training is done in
passenger is an actual threat, a nervous person, while his website offers other training online.
flyer or simply upset over something in
Ekman was contacted by the U.S.’s Transportation
Security Administration (TSA) back in 2003 when it was
his personal life. As Stacey A. Shannon developing the Screening of Passengers by Observation
reveals, the global aviation industry is
Techniques (SPOT) programme. Since then he has worked
primarily pro bono to help train TSA Behaviour Detection
examining a variety ways to make sure Officers (BDOs).
security officers are able to best analyse
“I have put quite a lot of time into the SPOT programme,”
Ekman said. “As a citizen, I’m concerned about the safety of
behaviour by training them to see our air transportation.” And though Ekman’s work in
potential threats through observation
behaviour detection analysis in airports didn’t begin in the
United States until after the terror attacks of 11
th
September
and utilisation of emerging technologies. 2001, his work in airport security began years before. He
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www.asi-mag.com April 2009 Aviationsecurityinternational
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