Gazette - Cross-border policing and the “shiprider” program

FROM OUR PARTNERS

By Brad Kieserman
Chief, Operations Law Group
United States Coast Guard Headquarters

Courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard
The shiprider land and maritime teams seized more than 200 pounds of marijuana on September 26, 2007.

During August and September 2007, 50 RCMP and United States Coast Guard (USCG) officers operating in support of existing International Border Enforcement Teams (IBETs) conducted a pilot project that may change the course of traditional policing along the shared maritime boundary between Canada and the United States.

For two months, in two locations, these officers became “shipriders” — riding together on the same patrol boats and fully empowered by the laws of both Canada and the United States to enforce the laws of both countries.

Boarding over 187 vessels, these officers seized 214 pounds of marijuana, over 1 million contraband cigarettes, six vessels and $38,000 Cdn intended to fund smuggling activities. They also conducted several search-and-rescue missions and collected intelligence for shore-based investigators on both sides of the border. Viewed by most participants in the operation as a successful and rewarding policing operation, the future of shiprider looks bright.

Why shiprider?

The links between place, crime, control measures and national identity are becoming more complicated, especially at the border. To a greater extent than ever before, crime and control measures are not always linked to a common national territory. Instead, criminals often exploit international borders, turning the seams between sovereigns into operational barriers for police. Shiprider was designed to remove the international maritime boundary as a barrier to policing and to deny smugglers and other criminals the illicit use of shared waters.

How does it work?

For the proof of concept, about 25 officers from each country participated in nearly two weeks of joint training during July 2007 at the USCG Maritime Law Enforcement Academy in Charleston, South Carolina. Using a special curriculum jointly developed by the RCMP, the USCG and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the officers attended lectures and conducted numerous practical exercises to explore and compare their respective authorities, tactics, techniques and procedures.

Working and living together on the campus in the same binational teams as they would use to operate on the water, the officers built trust and partnerships in preparation for combined operations. Upon graduation, each officer was cross-designated as a law enforcement officer for the other country — RCMP members were cross-designated as U.S. officers of the customs and USCG officers were cross-designated as supernumerary constables of the RCMP.

Following joint training the officers reported to one of two IBET locations: Blaine, Washington–Vancouver, British Columbia, or Cornwall, Ontario–Massena, New York. Once they arrived in their operating areas and conducted area familiarization on the water, the officers began daily patrols on RCMP and USCG vessels.

Officers of both services crewed each vessel together so that operations in Canada were conducted under the direct supervision of an RCMP officer and operations in the United States were conducted under the direct supervision of a USCG officer. When operating in Canadian waters, the USCG shipriders assisted their RCMP partners in the enforcement of Canadian laws, and vice versa. Through this mechanism, the RCMP and USCG removed the international maritime boundary as a barrier to policing and created a force multiplier: for the cost of one vessel, the teams were able to effectively police the boundary waters of two countries.

How did it begin?

While protecting the Canada–U.S. border from criminality has always been a major focus for law enforcement and public safety agencies on both sides of border, border integrity took on an even greater focus in the wake of the September 2001 terrorist attacks and law enforcement partnerships between the two countries began to evolve rapidly. By early 2002, RCMP and USCG officers were putting their heads together to develop innovative and effective models to ensure the (4,800-km) 3,000-mile Canada–U.S. maritime border stayed open for business, but closed to crime.

In 2003, the RCMP’s then-Chief Superintendent (now Assistant Commissioner) Mike McDonell and I came up with the idea of taking IBETs to the next level in the maritime domain. In addition to developing and sharing law enforcement intelligence, we proposed to undertake joint intelligence-led patrol operations along the waters of the shared border.

By September 2005, the RCMP and USCG secured approval for a two-week proof of concept in the Windsor–Detroit area. The proof of concept generated an evaluation that articulated the potential benefits of the program, but urged more training and a longer test period. The agencies “floated” the program again as a special maritime security measure during Super Bowl XL in February 2006.

Courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard
Cornwall shipriders seized this vessel loaded with 91 cases of contraband cigarettes.

After considerable study, staffing and review, RCMP Assistant Commissioner Raf Souccar and USCG Vice Admiral Brian Peterman proposed to ministers and cabinet officers at the Cross-Border Crime Forum in November 2006 that the concept be given a full pilot project.

After considerable legal and policy work by the relevant agencies in both countries, the governments of Canada and the United States agreed to give it a go in June 2007.

RCMP Superintendents Blair McKnight and Joe Oliver in Ottawa partnered with their USCG, ICE, and Customs and Border Protection counterparts to field an effective pilot project on the Great Lakes and the West Coast.

Keeping with the intelligence-led policing model championed by the IBETs, the RCMP and USCG formed a Joint Operations Center (JOC) at the RCMP detachment in Cornwall, where an existing and robust IBET was already in place. Enjoying the participation and contribution of all IBET partners, the Cornwall –Massena shiprider team successfully

met many of the unique law enforcement challenges presented by the multi-jurisdictional nature of the aboriginal territory bridging the Canadian–American border in that area. Criminals in this border area often commit crimes in the adjacent territory and then retreat via the water to their own territory, believing that the water is a safe haven where they cannot be pursued. Shipriders reported the look of stunned surprise on the faces of the first group of smugglers fleeing across the border when they encountered a USCG vessel with RCMP shipriders on board that continued to pursue them across the maritime boundary line!

What are the other benefits?

The shiprider program also fosters a fully integrated policing model between shore-based and maritime law enforcement officers. This is especially important because the ebb and flow in enforcement activity in the region almost always leads to the displacement or re-appearance of criminal activity elsewhere.

In Cornwall–Massena, enhanced shiprider presence on the water pushed a considerable amount of smuggling ashore to the bridges and ports of entry, where IBET partners were ready and able to take full advantage of this phenomenon, making increased contraband seizures in the surrounding land areas.

Evaluators reported that shiprider activities enhanced border integrity and that the visible presence of shipriders afloat and ashore had a direct impact on deterring criminal marine activity, either through the disruption of routes or the temporary cessation of criminal operations. Shipriders in British Columbia –Washington also used their increased presence on the water to extend boating safety and enforcement of small boat regulations to areas that previously were not regularly serviced.

Next steps?

The safe and successful two-month pilot project ended in late September 2007. The RCMP and USCG are currently seeking approval from their respective governments to establish shiprider units on a full-time basis on the East and West Coasts and in the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Seaway. Both agencies anticipate that formal treaty negotiations will begin in early 2008 to establish a formal bilateral framework for sustainable shiprider operations.

Going forward, the RCMP and USCG plan to refine their joint training program and expand the shiprider partnership to other Canadian, American and police agencies with maritime capacity and capabilities.

Throughout the world today, police within and between countries increasingly know what their counterparts are doing. On the maritime boundary between Canada and the United States, shipriders from both countries don’t just know what their counterparts are doing — they’re actually doing the work together as one to prevent the continued exploitation of the shared Canadian–American border by those engaged in cross-border criminal activities.