Proceedings magazine is a communication tool for the Coast Guard's Marine Safety & Security Council. Each quarterly magazine focuses on a specific theme of interest to the marine industry.
Issue link: https://uscgproceedings.epubxp.com/i/284910
43 Spring 2014 Proceedings www.uscg.mil/proceedings The framework agreement grants authority to designated offcers to enforce the domestic laws of the host country, as directed by a des- ignated host country cross-border maritime law enforcement offcer. 3 Simply put, Shiprider grants des- ignated law enforcement person- nel the authority to enforce laws of another nation, removing one of t he major obstruct ions t hat kept the good guys from arresting the bad guys. Today, a U.S. Coast Guard vessel with a Canadian ICMLEO offcer aboard can come into Canadian waters and make an arrest. Similarly, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police vessel with a U.S. offcer aboard can come into U.S. waters and do the same. Hey! We Have Rights! Obviously, maritime security is of vital interest to the United States and Canada, and effectively guarding our shared maritime border means collaborating to ensure national security on both sides of the border. What it does not mean is ignoring each other's national sovereignty or autonomy. ICMLEO fully respects the sovereignty and the rights of U.S. and Canadian citizens. When in U.S. waters, it is always a U.S. law enforcement offcer in charge, but a Canadian law enforcement offcer can enforce U.S. laws under the super- vision and direction of that U.S. law enforcement offcer. The same holds true in Canadian waters — a Canadian law enforcement offcer is in charge, but the U.S. law enforce- ment offcer can enforce Canadian laws under the supervi- sion and direction of that Canadian law enforcement offcer. For years, similar agreements have aided search and rescue operations and environmental pollution response, including the 1999 Memorandum of Understanding for Co-Operation Between Canada, The United States, and The United King- dom, and the 2010 Canadian — United States Joint Marine Pollution Contingency Plan. 4 So, Who Are These Shipriders? Shipriders are mainly U.S. Coast Guard and Canadian law enforcement personnel who go through a rigorous agency selection process to become designated ICMLEO offcers. Candidates report to the U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Law Enforcement Academy in Charleston, S.C., for the initial ICMLEO training course. However, RCMP and USCG mem- bers are not the only ones who participate. To date, members of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Ontario Pro- vincial Police, the Windsor Provincial Police, the Niagara Regional Police Service, the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Police, and the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service have suc- cessfully completed ICMLEO training. Approved U.S. and Canadian instructors teach the initial training course, which includes classroom and practical exercises from case studies to mock vessel boardings. The curriculum covers applicable laws and policies, operational Coast Guard Fireman Michael Darren teaches Guatemalan and Canadian shipriders how to operate a dewatering pump. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Electronics Technician Shane Taylor. U.S. Coast Guard Petty Offcer Andrew Peppers and Royal Canadian Mounted Police Cpl. Raj Sandhu pre- pare to conduct a boarding during Shiprider law enforcement operations along the Niagara River. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Offcer Brandon Blackwell. Spring2014_FINAL.indd 43 3/21/14 11:14 AM