Selecting, Training, and Retaining TSA Airport Inspectors
This paper examines how criminal justice administrators can apply established personnel management principles to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Drawing on Department of Homeland Security recommendations, Cronkhite's hiring framework, and Aamodt's organizational psychology research, the paper outlines a comprehensive approach to selecting and training TSA inspectors — including written exams, background investigations, and psychological screening — and then addresses the agency's persistent turnover problem. The paper identifies the "mind-numbing" nature of screener work and the absence of clear career tracks as key drivers of attrition, and proposes evidence-based retention strategies such as realistic job previews, person-organization fit assessments, and structured employee support programs.
- Introduction: Criminal Justice Administration and the TSA: DHS recommendations for improving TSA training management
- Selecting and Training TSA Inspectors: Cronkhite's nine-step framework for hiring inspectors
- Understanding TSA's High Turnover Problem: Causes of persistent TSA attrition and exit analysis
- Strategies for Reducing TSA Inspector Turnover: Evidence-based retention practices for TSA administrators
- References: APA citations for all sources used
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What makes this paper effective
- Grounds every recommendation in cited authority — DHS reports, GAO findings, and peer-reviewed organizational psychology — giving each argument a clear evidentiary basis.
- Moves logically from hiring and training to retention, showing how the two problems are connected within a single administrative framework.
- Uses a numbered selection checklist adapted from Cronkhite to make abstract personnel principles concrete and actionable for a practicing administrator.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates applied synthesis: it takes recommendations from three distinct source types (a federal audit report, a criminal justice administration textbook, and an industrial/organizational psychology textbook) and integrates them into a unified policy argument. Rather than summarizing each source in isolation, the writer threads them together so that each reinforces the others, showing how scholarly and governmental frameworks converge on the same administrative conclusions.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens by establishing the DHS reform context, then works through two parallel problems — selection/training and turnover — each introduced with the relevant literature before moving to practical recommendations. A formal reference list closes the paper in APA format. The structure is concise and problem-solution oriented, appropriate for a short criminal justice administration essay at the undergraduate level.
Introduction: Criminal Justice Administration and the TSA
The Department of Homeland Security (2010) released a publication entitled Transportation Security Administration's Management of Its Screening Workforce Training Program Can Be Improved, which recommended that the TSA strengthen its training program by developing and documenting standard processes to: (1) use officer test results to evaluate training program outcomes; (2) assign on-the-job training responsibilities clearly; and (3) evaluate workforce and training needs to ensure that officers have the tools and time necessary to complete training requirements (Department of Homeland Security, 2010, p. 4). A criminal justice administrator could draw on these recommendations when implementing an effective program for selecting and training TSA inspectors.
Selecting and Training TSA Inspectors
Cronkhite (2008) suggests that when hiring and training employees, the administrator must recruit "a fair representation of the community for which a criminal justice agency serves" (p. 245). This is necessary because having employees who genuinely understand the needs of the community — because they are, in race and culture, a fair representation of the people they serve — is an important element in providing more community-oriented services (Cronkhite, 2008, p. 245). To accomplish this, Cronkhite (2008) recommends recruiting from college and university campuses.
When selecting candidates, the administrator should use the application form to identify those "who have the basic requirements for the job" (Cronkhite, 2008, p. 247). Once candidates are identified, Cronkhite recommends the following tests and investigations — consistent with applicable laws and regulations — to identify those most likely to meet the administrator's needs: (1) a written exam; (2) an agility test; (3) an oral exam; (4) a character and background investigation; (5) a psychological exam; (6) a polygraph exam; (7) medical and drug screening; (8) recruit academy training; and (9) a probationary period (p. 247). These steps are comprehensive and should assist the criminal justice administrator in effectively selecting and training TSA inspectors.
Understanding TSA's High Turnover Problem
Since its inception, the TSA has experienced frequent and sustained attrition, "resulting in a lack of historical knowledge about the programs and policies of the agency" (GAO, 2009, p. 2). One key reason for the high turnover is the "mind-numbing" nature of the work and the absence of any apparent career track (Berinato, 2006, p. 40). Aamodt (2009) states that the first step in reducing turnover is identifying why employees are leaving. This may be accomplished by "administering attitude surveys to current employees and conducting exit interviews with employees who are leaving" (Aamodt, 2009, p. 394).
Once the reasons are identified, the criminal justice administrator can take more targeted steps to address them. An increase in pay can help reduce turnover, but only if "a low compensation or an inadequate benefits package is the prime reason for employees leaving the organization" (Aamodt, 2009, p. 395). In the TSA's case, compensation does not appear to be the primary driver of attrition; rather, the nature of the work itself and the lack of career advancement opportunities are the central concerns.
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