Safeguarding the United States

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S. Coast Guard received an unprecedented number of requests to establish security zones at high-value assets. The need for such zones quickly outpaced the Coast Guard's law enforcement resources. To meet these increased security requirements, many Coast Guard field commanders turned to state and local authorities for assistance in enforcing these security zones. Because some states had concerns as to whether or not their state law enforcement officers could enforce a federal security zone, a new statute in the United States Code was enacted to clarify authority for state law enforcement officers. The statute grants federal arrest powers in limited circumstances to state or local government law enforcement officers unless the controlling state law precludes such officers from exercising federal arrest power. Even in those states where state law enforcement officials are precluded from enforcing federal law, they still may be able to effectively enforce a security or safety zone by exercising their state powers. They may also provide assistance in the form of a boarding platform from which the Coast Guard can engage in law enforcement activities. The Coast Guard also is establishing agreements with many states, typically in the form of a memorandum of agreement, to outline how Coast Guard and state agencies will assist each other.

• Record URL:
  http://uscg.mil/proceedings/archive/2006/Vol63_No1_Spr2006.pdf
• 
• Authors:
  • Kieserman, Brad
  • Murray, Christopher F
  • Cunningham, Mike
• Publication Date: 2006

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Photos; References;
• Pagination: pp 79-82
• Serial:
  • Coast Guard Journal of Safety & Security at Sea, Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council
  • Volume: 63
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: U.S. Coast Guard
  • Serial URL: http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Arrests; Cooperation; Federal government; Federal laws; Intergovernmental partnerships; Law enforcement; Law enforcement personnel; Legislation; Local government agencies; National security; Safety and security; State government agencies; State laws
• Identifier Terms: United States Coast Guard
• Uncontrolled Terms: Authority
• Subject Areas: Law; Marine Transportation; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01031730
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 5 2006 7:48AM