Share these talks and lectures with your colleagues
Invite colleaguesPractice paper
Towards unpredictability in airport security
Journal of Airport Management,
13
(2),
110-121
(2019)
Abstract
An important responsibility of airport security is to make passengers feel safe during their travel and give airport staff the feeling of a secure work environment. Recently, the concept of unpredictability, originating in the social sciences, is discussed as prevention against insider threats. The assumption is that by being less predictable about where, how and what type of security measures are applied, airport security is improved. Thus, this study was particularly interested in how airport employees perceive unpredictability after experiencing an unannounced security control. This was investigated in a longitudinal online survey with an experimental group and a control group. The findings suggest that the current police strategy is indeed unpredictable and that the deterrence effect of this unpredictability sustains at least one month. Thus, unpredictability appears to be useful and has the potential of replacing current strategies within airport security. There is, however, a lack of scientific research, and several open questions make its use vulnerable and not (yet) reliable enough to be applied in a systematic way. For example, it is not yet known how unpredictability influences human decision making and actual behaviour. Further, it has not yet been analysed how effective such measures in fact are — for example, how the detection performance is or whether they can substitute for other security measures. This stresses the need for more research to gain further empirical evidence on the effectiveness of unpredictability and the related implications for airport security.
Keywords: unpredictability; airport security; decision making under uncertainty; deterrence; security controls; policing
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Signe Maria Ghelfi-Waechter is Head of the research and development group of Zurich State Police — Airport Division. Zurich airport police is responsible for passenger screening and landside and airside security. Signe is involved in research projects investigating different aspects of airport security, human factors and police psychology. Furthermore, she works closely with the airport operator for the improvement and development of airport security and airport operations. Signe graduated in social psychology focusing on human decision making, information processing and perception and social cognition. She holds a doctoral degree in science from the ETH Zurich and a master of science degree in psychology, European ethnology and history from the University of Zurich.
Angela Bearth is a Senior Researcher at the ETH Zurich in the consumer behaviour group. The group’s aim is to enhance the understanding of individual and organisational decision making under conditions of uncertainty. To reach this goal, people’s decision making in a variety of fields (eg food choices, energy policy, sustainability, toxicological safety) is investigated by applying methodologies of the social sciences. Angela graduated in social and health psychology from the University of Zurich and holds a doctoral degree in science from the ETH Zurich. She is an expert in risk perception and communication, consumer behaviour and decision making under uncertainty.
Carla Sophie Fumagalli is stationed at the research and development group of Zurich State Police — Airport Division. She works in a research project investigating and implementing the concept of unpredictability in airport security. Carla holds a bachelor of science degree in psychology, criminology and law and social sciences from the University of Berne. Besides her work in the research project at Zurich Airport, she is currently finishing her master of science in clinical and personality, differential psychology and diagnostic at the University of Berne.
Franziska Hofer is a Cofounding Member of the research and development group of Zurich State Police — Airport Division with more than 10 years’ experience in aviation security. She holds a doctoral degree in human factors and a master of science degree in psychology, neurophysiology and anthropology from the University of Zurich. She is in an expert in behaviour detection and optimising human potential.
