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Port Security: The Challenges of Integration

NCJ Number
219159
Journal
Homeland Defense Journal Volume: 5 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2007 Pages: 16-20
Author(s)
Don Philpott
Date Published
March 2007
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article presents findings from the January 2007 Homeland Defense Journal's survey of many of the Nation's top ports, in order to determine what has been done to make the ports safer, what still needs to be done, and the challenges impeding improvement in port security.
Abstract
When asked whether security enhancements in the last 2 years had increased the detection of suspicious content, especially in containers, most port security directors indicated there had been little or no increase in detection. Many directors reported there had been an appreciable reduction in petty crime and theft in and around the port due to more patrols and surveillance systems; however, some port security directors said they did not know whether there had been increased detection. This was because Customs and Border Protection (CBP) conducted the cargo inspections, and they did not always share the results of its inspections with port security directors. Most major ports were found to be using radiation portal monitors (RPMs). Some screen all "high-risk" cargo for radiation, and some screen 100 percent of incoming containers for radiation. When asked about an ideal system of port security, the directors mentioned a single device that would be able to do both image and radiation screening of all cargo as it comes off a ship. They also wished for scanning devices that would provide 100-percent certainty about what is actually in every port container, as well as devices that could detect any possible agent of destruction. Ports have a $5-billion-plus shopping list of security items they would like to purchase over the next few years, but they do not have the resources to acquire them. Port-security spending in the current climate is largely governed by what is federally authorized.