PORT AND PHILIPPINES PARTNER ON MARITIME SECURITY

PRESS RELEASE: August 2, 2017.

HPD Cpl Nicol Philippines trainingThe Port of San Diego Harbor Police Department’s dive team is working with federal and Philippine maritime law enforcement agencies to strengthen and develop training for underwater searches and disaster incidents in the Philippines. The effort is part of a broader program in which the Harbor Police Department has been recruited by the U.S. Department of State to share best practices with law enforcement agencies for ports and harbors around the world to support foreign port security and fight international crime.

In partnership with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), U.S. Embassy Manila INL, and INL’s Office of Criminal Justice Assistance and Partnership, Harbor Police dive experts participated in a curriculum development workshop from July 17 to 20, 2017 with six Philippine maritime law enforcement experts from the Philippine Coast Guard, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the Philippine National Police Maritime Group. The curriculum aims to equip Philippine maritime law enforcement divers with a variety of skills, including detecting illegal drugs smuggled on the hull of vessels or dumped overboard for later retrieval. Once finalized, the curriculum will be incorporated into the training academies of the three participating Philippine law enforcement agencies.

“This is another important opportunity in our partnership with INL. Our dive team is essential in our department’s work to deter crime locally and in maintaining homeland security. By sharing our expertise with our counterparts at INL and in Philippine law enforcement, we’re helping to keep ports and harbors around the world safe as well,” said Chief John Bolduc, Port of San Diego Harbor Police Department.

A Memorandum of Understanding with INL, signed in April 2015, establishes a framework for Harbor Police to train, advise and mentor international law enforcement and security personnel and assist with foreign governments' anti-crime efforts, mainly in Asia and Latin America.

Other recent missions by Harbor Police include:

• February 2016 – A team of Harbor Police officers deployed to Jamaica where they provided mentoring and assessment training to maritime police from several Jamaican port towns.
• November 2015 – Harbor Police developed a week-long study tour program, along with the Port of Long Beach, to show Pakistani counterparts U.S. port and maritime security operations focused on interagency cooperation.