US GAO: TSA does not have valid evidence supporting most revised behavioural indicators

US Government Accountability Office (GAO), in a report titled "TSA Does Not Have Valid Evidence Supporting Most of the Revised Behavioral Indicators Used in Its Behavior Detection Activities", found (20-Jul-2017) the US TSA does not have 'valid evidence' that most of the revised behavioural indicators (28 of 36) used in its behaviour detection activities can be used to identify individuals who may pose a threat to aviation security. In the report GAO defined 'valid evidence' as "original research that meets generally accepted research standards and presents evidence that is applicable in supporting the specific behavioural indicators in TSA's revised list". In GAO's review of all 178 sources TSA cited as support for its revised list, GAO found that 98% of the sources do not provide valid evidence that is applicable to the specific behavioural indicators TSA cited them as supporting. Specifically:

• 77% of the sources TSA cited are news articles, opinion pieces, presentations created by law enforcement entities and industry groups, and screen shots of online medical websites that do not meet GAO's definition of valid evidence;
• 12% of the sources TSA cited are journal articles, books reviewing existing literature, and other publications that may reference original research in the text, but do not themselves present original analysis, methods, or data whose reliability and validity can be assessed;
• 11% of the sources TSA cited are original research sources reporting original data and methods. However, five of these sources do not meet generally accepted research standards. Of the 15 sources that meet generally accepted research standards, 12 do not present information and conclusions that are applicable to the specific behavioural indicators TSA cited these sources as supporting. [more - original PR]