System totals are, however, thought to be quite accurate as initial manpower estimates at many other locations have since been increased by the airport operator based on the actual requirements of the regulation.

I. LAW ENFORCEMENT PROBLEMS

A. INABILITY OF LOCAL POLICE TO ENFORCE FEDERAL STATUTES

In many instances, peace officers employed by state and local governments have no statutory authority to arrest without warrant for suspected violation of Federal criminal statutes (felony or misdemeanor). This is true, according to Justice Department reports, in the following nineteen states, whose air carrier airports enplane a total of some 40% of total domestic passenger traffic. No authority to arrest for:

Airport operators in 30 states, in response to the AOCI survey, questioned whether their personnel had sufficient authority to arrest for such Federal offenses.

In some instances, states have previously enacted statutes closely resembling the Federal offenses. However, it remains quite possible that in the remaining states law officers attempting to enforce the new Federal regulations on February 6 may be powerless to do so and subject to suits for false arrest.

Airport operators, on advice of counsel, do not favor the questionable use of general purpose law enforcement authority (disorderly conduct, assault) to attempt to detain a suspect until the FBI can be summoned to arrest for the Federal offense.

Any arrest or detention by local police officials without probable cause would likely be overturned by the courts as an unconstitutional arrest.

B. AVAILABILITY OF ADDITIONAL PEACE OFFICERS

The FAA regulation requires, for full implementation, the recruitment, hiring, training, arming and uniforming of approximately 4,500 additional police officers within 60 days.

Many U.S. airports indicate that they simply will be unable to meet this time requirement. Many airport officials do not have the authority to (a) hire local law enforcement personnel since they are supplied by other departments of local government, nor (b) empower private airport guards with full peace officer authority.

Even if all the manpower were immediately available for hire at airports, it appears that it would be impossible to train the necessary number of law enforcement officers and have them in place within the sixty (60) days required by the order. Careful training of persons vested with the authority to carry a loaded weapon in crowded airport terminals is essential. Reflecting this responsibility, one major airport, for example, requires security checks for officers each of which normally takes eight weeks. This time requirement is not uncommon. In some cases, state law requires 210 hours (6 weeks) of training for police officers. Some airports have training programs of up to six months which officers must complete before they are authorized to carry firearms.

Thus, unless extensions to the February 6 deadline are made available, many communities will be required to take existing police officers off their regular assignments (enforcing state and local laws) and assign them to the airport to enforce the Federal statutes.

II. FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES

QUESTIONS ASKED

1. What is the total number of security personnel and annual total cost (including fringe benefits) for the present security force at your airport [for landing area security and general airport security]? (Present Employees/Present Cost) 2. If FAA required by amendment to FAR Part 107 that your airport provide one (1) security officer (either peace officer or "appropriately empowered private security personnel") to be present at every active boarding gate 30 minutes prior to the departure of all scheduled airline flights to support the airline's preboard screening activities, please estimate the number of additional security personnel which would be required to carry out this function and the full annualized increase in operations costs involved (apart from whether reimbursement from airlines may be possible). (Additional Employees/Additional Cost)

3. Should the FAA regulatory amendment be adopted as described, the costs incurred for the additional airport security personnel would: (1) be recouped from airlines; (2) be recouped from airlines with great difficulty; or (3) clearly have to be absorbed by airport/parent government.

Thus 70% of smaller (non-hub) airports indicate that the costs for complying with the new Federal regulation would clearly have to be absorbed by the local government and could not be expected to be recouped from users.

PRESENT AND ANTICIPATED ADDITIONAL SECURITY COSTS/EMPLOYEES UNDER FAA REGULATION

PRESENT AND ANTICIPATED ADDITIONAL SECURITY COSTS/EMPLOYEES UNDER FAA REGULATION

PRESENT AND ANTICIPATED ADDITIONAL SECURITY COSTS/EMPLOYEES UNDER FAA REGULATION MEDIUM HUBS

PRESENT AND ANTICIPATED ADDITIONAL SECURITY COSTS/EMPLOYEES UNDER FAA REGULATION SMALL HUBS

Pensacola, Fla.

Sarasota, Fla.
Columbus, Ga.
Savannah, Ga..
Ke-ahole, Hawaii.
Moline, Ill..
Ft. Wayne, Ind.
Waterloo, Iowa.

Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Wichita, Kan..
Baton Rouge, La.
Bangor, Maine..
Portland, Maine.

Saginaw, Mich.

Jackson, Miss..

Springfield, Mo.
Lincoln, Nebr..
Greensboro, N.C.

Akron-Canton, Ohio.
Toledo, Ohio.

Youngstown, Ohio.

Eugene, Oreg..

Allentown, Pa.

Harrisburg, Pa..

Providence, R.I.

Greenville, S.C.

Chattanooga, Tenn.

Knoxville, Tenn..

Newport News, Va.

Spokane, Wash.

Boeing Field, Wash.

Huntington, W. Va.

Total-AOCI members.

All small hub airports, projected.

40,000

Mr. TAYLOR. I am Erle A. Taylor, director of aviation for Clark County, Nev., which operates McCarran International Airport, and first vice president of the American Association of Airport Executives.

I serve as a member of the Safety and Security Committee of both the Airport Operators Council International, AOCI, and the American Association of Airport Executives, AAAE.

The State of Nevada has four air-carrier airports. Elko and Ely are nonhubs, each with one flight east and west per day, and enplaning and deplaning about 10,000 passengers per year each. Reno is a small hub with 32 flights per day, and Las Vegas a large hub with 240 flights per day and enplaning and deplaning over 4 million passengers. All four airports complied and filed amendments to their security plans, part 107 Federal aviation regulations, to provide airport security law enforcement officers by February 6, 1973.

Elko will use regular patrolmen on overtime to service their flights. Elko will use two members of the sheriff's department that are on duty; one at the airport gate and one at the airline gate.

Cost to Elko using the present system will be $3,000 per year, and Ely has not yet had time to estimate their costs.

Both cities reported that regular airport security officers would have to be hired if the system continued in its present form.

The city of Reno plans to hire 13 airport security personnel at a cost of $140,000, or 14 percent of their airport budget. They will use one officer at each gate. Each officer will receive a 40-hour crash training program. Their regular training time is 6 weeks.

Reno has long been saddled with a 7-cents per thousand pounds landing fee with the airlines, and have had serious financing problems long before the security program, the emergency order, and airport certification. Reno also has problems with recruiting and hiring. Reno is considering a head tax to meet airport costs.

Las Vegas' original program to hire 22 additional security police at a cost of $225,000 has been modified for the present time.

The terminal building is under extensive construction. After 4 days of tests with the airlines, we plan to use a sterile concourse concept. This will require 10 to 15 additional personnel, but could increase to as many as 50 police, to adequately serve 37 gates, with costs as high as $750,000.

One of our major problems is recruiting and hiring. Under the original part 107, we added an additional eight deputy sheriffs. At present, we have been able to hire three. Now we need an additional 10 to 15.

The second difficulty is training. The Clark County sheriff's training program is for 13 weeks, to meet absolute minimum requirements. I have with me Chief Barton Jacka of the Clark County sheriff's department, who can further discuss this with you.

Another major problem is the airport security officers' right to arrest and the liability that can be incurred. There has not been sufficient time to investigate either of these areas. They could prove very costly to Clark County or any other airport security force.

All the funds at McCarran International are committed to bonds that now finance the terminal building and runway expansion. This is $30 million.

On January 3, 1973, Chief Jacka and I met with several other airport managers from California, Arizona, and Nevada, and the FAA regional director in Los Angeles. At the request of AOCI, we got together to discuss the President's emergency order and the problems it had caused.

From 9:30 a.m. until 4 p.m., the airport managers submitted their plans and discussed: (1) The high costs involved, (2) trouble in recruiting and hiring, (3) not being able to properly train officers to meet the time limit, and (4) the liability.

Several cities are now considering head tax or user tax. One airport is using general aviation funds to pay for the airline security. Three airports stated they were not sure that the airline service they received was worth the cost.

After the all-day session, the regional director was asked what assistance airports could expect from the FAA, as several could not meet the February 6 deadline because of the impossibility to hire adequate personnel and have them properly trained.