-
1 of 10
-
2 of 10
-
3 of 10
-
4 of 10
-
5 of 10
-
6 of 10
-
7 of 10
-
8 of 10
-
9 of 10
-
10 of 10
Canadian Studies Program presentation discusses border security
Archive
Comments
Story
Organizers added five extra rows of chairs as listeners flooded into the Bishop Barnwell Room in the Student Union Building Wednesday, April 2.
Sergeant Ralph Ehlebracht of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Integrated Border Enforcement Team, and Lieutenant Dan Huelsman of the U.S. Coast Guard presented “Border Security: The Canadian-U.S. Border, An Integrated Approach.”
The presentation was part of Boise State’s Canada Week Events, sponsored by the Department of Political Science Canadian Studies Program.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has jurisdiction at federal, provincial and municipal levels throughout Canada.
It handles the same responsibilities as the United State’s Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI and CIA.
The U.S. Coast Guard is a branch of the armed forces and is involved in federal law enforcement on the borders and oceans, as well as in foreign waters.
It also supports homeland security, specifically through port missions.
These two organizations have joined together to fight the illegal smuggling of illicit drugs, firearms, currency, tobacco and illegal migrants across the U.S.-Canadian border.
“Trans-border crime is a reality,” Ehlebracht said. “Organized crime has evolved and become well-equipped. We have limited financial resources to keep pace with them. That’s why intelligence is key.”
The Canadian-U.S. border is more than 3,000 miles long. One-third of that is marine border at the great lakes, which makes enforcement more difficult.
The idea of “Shiprider” began following the Sept. 11 attacks and was finally launched in 2005.
The program gives the U.S. Coast Guard and the RCMP the authority to enforce and assist in the enforcement of laws in the waters of both Canada and the U.S.
“It removes the international maritime boundary as a barrier to law enforcement by enabling seamless, continuous law,” Huelsman said.
The operation ran for 60 days in Sept. 2005 at the great lakes and again during Super Bowl XL in the Detroit-Windsor area in February 2006.
“This was really cutting-edge by national law enforcement,” Ehlebracht said. “There were not many gaps to making this work because operations in the U.S. and Canada are so similar.”
The experiment was a success.
It showed a direct and measurable impact on cross-border criminal activity.
The U.S. Attorney General and Canada began discussing the framework of the agreement at the Cross-Border Crime Forum held in Quebec City, Canada last month.
Although final negotiations are still taking place, both nations expressed a strong intent of wanting to proceed.
No legislation will be required for the agreement in the U.S. but some will be in Canada.
“Once the Framework Agreement is signed, there won’t be anymore delays. It will be a full-time program,” said Huelsman.
JENNY MCBRIDE