Author: R William Johnstone
ISBN No: 978-0-12-408101-7
Review date: 12/06/2026
No of pages: 382
Publisher: Elsevier
Publisher URL:
http://www.elsevier.com/books/protecting-transportation/johnstone/978-0-12-408101-7
Year of publication: 11/06/2015
Brief:
Protecting Transportation: Implementing Security Policies and Programs by R William Johnstone
Protecting Transportation: Implementing Security Policies and Programs, by R William Johnstone.
As the spelling in the title suggests, this book goes over transportation security in the United States. As with so much else in private security, and in books about it, 9-11 is the starting point here. The Twin Towers attacks are described as a โwatershedโ. September 11, 2001 โhad a profound effect on how the American government perceived the terrorist threat and prioritised and organised what it termed homeland securityโ. The rest of the book – which covers land, sea and air transport – is the working out of that event, mainly in the US, although the book does touch on the UK, noting that in some ways the official move of aviation security into the regulator the CAA has echoes of the way the US did its security before 9-11; such as, the industry and customers pay.
Even if you donโt have dealings with the United States – and given the global nature of trade and travel, itโs hard not to – the bookโs final part offers a useful discussion of the context of transport security: the search for balance between economic efficiency (also given the โbudget constraintsโ) and personal privacy and convenience of passengers. That very global nature of transport systems, and the efficient way that they carry people and cargo, makes them attractive targets for criminals, and indeed thieves. That 9-11 attack according to the US Department of Homeland Security brought an economic cost of $375 billion. And as in other sectors, security measures themselves – the screening of cargo, for example – come at a cost. Not only the security products and people, but the delay in the movement of cargo. Even a slight reduction in customer demand (if they find it altogether too inconvenient to go through Security at an airport) โcan greatly reduce or even negate the net benefit of a security investmentโ, the book notes. In other words, a security measure not only has to work; it must not bring on too much sacrifice.
To use an American term, this book covers every base, including cyber; and doesnโt neglect the truth that security in transport as in any sector has to fit in with the nature of that sector – in the case of passenger aviation, itโs a low-margin business. Security may be necessary (and the law), but catching a flight, or posting something air freight, are often at the customerโs discretion. If the book doesnโt have definite answers on how to do a cost-benefit analysis showing the value of transport security, thatโs not the authorโs fault; thatโs because weโve not got those answers yet.
