Poll: Airport Security Found Wanting

Many Americans don't think the deadly shooting at the ticket counter of Israel's El Al Airlines at Los Angeles International Airport on July 4th could have been prevented by tighter airport security. Still, many say the government has not done enough to improve airport security since the September 11 terrorist attacks.

One-third of Americans believe the shooting could have been prevented if airport security was tightened up, while 63 percent of Americans say it was something that could have happened anyway.

The shooting, which took place inside the international terminal, killed three people including the gunman, and wounded four others.

LOS ANGELES AIRPORT SHOOTING
	All	Men	Women
Could have been prevented	32%	24%	39%
	All	Men	Women
Could have happened anyway	63%	71%	56%

Women are much more likely than men to blame the deadly shooting on airport security, although a slight majority of women still thinks the tragedy could not have been prevented. Seven in 10 men say the incident could have happened anyway.

The public continues to be divided over whether the federal government has done enough to improve airport security since September 11 - 46 percent say it has done enough, and another 45 percent say it has not. These views are virtually unchanged from nearly six months ago.

AIRPORT SECURITY - HAS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DONE ENOUGH?
	Now	2/02
Yes	46%	48%
	Now	2/02
No	45%	45%

Those who say the government has not done enough to ensure airport security are more likely than those who say the government has done enough to see the shooting as another airport security breach, although most of those still think the shooting could not have been prevented.

This poll was conducted among a nationwide random sample of 685 adults, interviewed by telephone July 8-9, 2002. The error due to sampling could be plus or minus four percentage points.

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