October 2013 MARITIME SECURITY DHS Could Benefit from Tracking Progress in Implementing the Small Vessel Security Strategy --------------------------------------------------------------------------- AWW Figure 4: A Citizen Awareness Program Poster Since the initiative was first piloted in District Eleven in 2008, the Coast Guard has identified Focused Lens as a best practice, and it began to expand the initiative in fiscal year 2012. Focused Lens has been implemented, or is being implemented, in various locations within Coast Guard districts and sectors. According to Coast Guard officials, it is left to the discretion of Coast Guard commanding officers whether to implement Focused Lens in their area of operation, given their competing priorities and limited resources. Coast Guard officials stated that Focused Lens may not be feasible to implement in some locations, such as areas that include a river that has no designated launch sites, and where a vessel could be launched at any location along its length. Further, Focused Lens may not be implemented in locations where the area of operation is relatively small and response teams can respond in a timely manner. For example, Coast Guard officials in one of the ports we visited stated that they decided not to implement Focused Lens because their area of operation was condensed and all launch sites could be reached within a matter of minutes. Through regular analysis and refinement, and with feedback from its field units, the Coast Guard reports that Focused Lens is expected to remain a useful tool for operational decision makers. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- What GAO Found The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its components—such as the U.S. Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection (CBP)—have started or completed initiatives to address small vessel security risks, but DHS is not tracking the progress being made to address action items in the Small Vessel Security Strategy (SVSS) Implementation Plan. “Small vessels” are characterized as any watercraft—regardless of method of propulsion—less than 300 gross tons, and used for recreational or commercial purposes. DHS component officials GAO met with identified examples of key initiatives that they have completed or have under way to enhance small vessel security, including an initiative to help CBP better track small vessels arriving from foreign locations and another to assist the Coast Guard in assessing and monitoring small vessel launch sites. Although the SVSS Implementation Plan states that DHS is to assess and update the plan, DHS has not determined the progress its components and other relevant stakeholders—such as the Department of Defense—are making in completing the action items and has no current plans to do so. DHS officials stated that this is due, in part, to budget constraints that make this a low priority. DHS officials stated that updating the SVSS Implementation Plan would be valuable, and doing so is particularly important since more than one component could be responsible for action items in the plan. Accordingly, by systematically gathering information from its components and other relevant stakeholders to regularly update the progress they are making in addressing the action items in the plan, DHS could help prioritize initiatives given constrained budgets and better identify successes and lessons learned, among other things. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operation Focused Lens Originally created by the Coast Guard’s District Eleven as Operation Focused Lens, the initiative was piloted in 2008 to address small vessel security risks.1 Focused Lens is composed of three phases. In phase 1, Coast Guard officials are to identify small vessel launch sites in their area of operation and assess their attributes, including the size of the launch sites and their proximity to people, homes, and businesses, and whether the sites have security measures in place, such as video cameras and lighting. As a continuing Coast Guard initiative, Focused Lens is intended to increase awareness of suspicious activity in and around U.S. ports. In particular, Focused Lens is intended to assist Coast Guard units in preventing small vessel attacks in their areas of operation by directing additional resources and efforts toward the most likely points of origin for a small vessel attack, such as marinas and vessel ramps. Focused Lens relates to the SVSS goals, particularly the goal to develop and leverage a strong partnership with the small vessel community and public and private sectors. 2 1The term “operation” has been dropped for the expansion of Focused Lens, as that word generally denotes—especially among military and law enforcement agencies—an initiative that has a specific end date. Coast Guard District Eleven, headquartered in Alameda, California, encompasses the states of California, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah; the coastal and offshore waters out over 1,000 miles; and the offshore waters of Mexico and Central America down to South America. In phase 2, Coast Guard officials are to enter the data they collect on launch sites in their area of operation into the Coast Guard’s Maritime Security --------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Please review attached Download Report) gao.gov/products/GAO-14-32
Posted on: Sun, 24 Nov 2013 22:14:51 +0000
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