CBP Deputy Commissioner Discusses ACAS Pilot, Cargo Security, Etc.
On December 13, 2011, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Deputy Commissioner David Aguilar discussed air cargo security and provided details on the Air Cargo Advance Screening pilot (ACAS) to participants at the American Association of Airport Executives Aviation Security Summit. Aguilar stated that in the first half-year of the ACAS program, the pilot screened more than two million U.S.-bound packages before they were loaded on an aircraft. He said the program not only improves supply-chain security, but also reduces the number of inspections and speeds up the overall process.
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Aguilar stated that global data collection and risk-assessment capabilities in both the cargo and passenger environments are powerful anti-terror weapons. He also noted that CBP can streamline and strengthen air cargo shipment processing to make it more accurate and predictable. He also posed a question to Summit participants on whether CBP can use these technologies, partnerships, and processes to provide benefits beyond security to assist the 98% of people and goods known to be legitimate.
(See ITT's Online Archives 11121411 for summary of December 6, 2011 COAC meeting discussion of ACAS, etc.)