AP Exclusive: Color index for US border security is rejected
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Five years ago, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security dropped its color-coded terror threat index developed after the 9/11 attacks amid widespread confusion and ridicule.
The Institute for Defense Analyses, a consulting firm, was hired by DHS to review the idea and found the index simplistic and misleading, noting that colors were a "disaster" for communicating terror threats.
A copy of the report was obtained by The Associated Press and when AP this week asked the agency whether it would move ahead with the index, spokeswoman Gillian Christensen said: "Currently, there are no color-coded border security indexes or metrics being considered by the Department of Homeland Security."
The chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee criticized the color codes Friday while also emphasizing a need for better measurements.
In 2010, Homeland Security ended a five-year experiment measuring miles under "operational control," where the Border Patrol was likely to capture illegal crossers.
A color index might lead reporters with an appetite for eye-catching headlines to produce misleading stories of an out-of-control border.
[...] DHS relations with Congress could be further strained, with administration officials constantly having to defend their color choices.