The United States Coast Guard’s Maritime Law Enforcement Academy (MLEA) will host a hands-on briefing regarding Shiprider, the joint U.S.-Canadian maritime patrol program on Wednesday, December 16, 2015. The MLEA, located at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Charleston, South Carolina, is the only facility for Canadian and American law enforcement officers to obtain the elite Shiprider training.
Under Shiprider, officially known as Integrated Cross-Border Maritime Law Enforcement Operations, specially-trained, cross-designated USCG and RCMP officers work side by side on each other’s vessels to conduct cross-border law enforcement operations and enhance perimeter security on our waterways. This allows for seamless law enforcement operations across the maritime border while under the direct supervision of the host country’s officers.
Since 2005, Canadian and American Shipriders have set the standard for integrated law enforcement across a shared maritime border. There are currently two hundred and forty Shiprider-trained and cross-designated officers. Full-time Shiprider operations have been established in:
- Surrey, British Columbia/Bellingham, Washington State;
- Victoria, British Columbia/Port Angeles, Washington State;
- Windsor, Ontario/Detroit, Michigan;
- Niagara on the Lake, Ontario/Buffalo-Niagara, New York;
- Kingston, Ontario/Alexandria Bay, New York (the Thousand Islands area of St. Lawrence River)
