Law Enforcement Community News

The Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) has named Assistant Chief Melanie Montroll as Chief of its Harbor Police Department (HPD), following a rigorous national search that included a number of highly qualified candidates. She is a 21-year veteran of the force and will serve as the department’s first woman Chief of Police. Montroll succeeds Chief Robert Hecker, who will retire after having led HPD for more than 26 years.“The Port, our tenants and the region rely on our strong, ethical, and professional Harbor Police Department,” said Brandy D. Christian, Port NOLA President and CEO.

In the United States, it is a frustrating time to be in the government shipbuilding business. Even though America depends upon maritime commerce and faces growing security risks at sea, shipbuilding is just not a major national focus.Up to now, shipbuilders have had it pretty good. For the past several years, big naval shipbuilders have enjoyed steady growth and strong performance. In 2020, Huntington Ingalls Industries enjoyed record revenue of $9.4 billion, an 8.5% margin and gave a quarter billion back to shareholders in dividends and stock buybacks.

Thirty-year marine industry veteran John R. Hotz has accepted the position as the Assistant Director at the National Maritime Law Enforcement Academy (NMLEA), which together with its International Maritime Law Enforcement Academy (IMLEA) provides education, consulting services, resources and training for law enforcement officers, public safety professionals, military members, ports and waterside critical infrastructure personnel. Following a vision and leadership of Admiral Siler, a former U.S. Coast Guard Commandant, the not for profit NMLEA was established in 2000 to fill a capabilities gap that continues to effect law enforcement and emergency response operations on the water all across America. NMLEA has offices in Washington, D.C. and Tallahassee, Fla.

GOST (Global Ocean Security Technologies), a world leader in marinesecurity, tracking, monitoring and video surveillance systems, announced today that it has partnered with Phantom Rescue in its fight against child trafficking. Phantom Rescue is a non-profit organization that provides awareness and deterrence for the prevention of child trafficking, enhanced global networking to stop the underground activities that contribute to human sex trafficking and most importantly, the organization takes direct action to locate, rescue, and return “taken” children to the safety of their loved ones. “Everyday, 46 children are stolen and forced into sex slavery or labor in the United States. That is 17,000 kids per year in this country alone,” said Jay Keenan, president and CEO of GOST.

A federal jury in Norfolk, Va., has convicted five men from Somalia of engaging in piracy and related offenses in their attack on the USS Nicholas, marking what is believed to be the first piracy trial conviction in the United States since 1820. Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Janice K. Fedarcyk, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's New York Field Office; Alex J. Turner, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Norfolk Field Office; and Mark Russ, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) in Norfolk, made the announcement after the verdict was accepted by United States District Judge Mark S. Davis. "Today marks the first jury conviction of piracy in more than 190 years," said U.S. Attorney MacBride.

Mustang Survival unveiled its "Go Pro, Go Mustang" campaign with a line-up of new products, new pricing and new service targets. The campaign has been put together in response to shifting market conditions and competitive assessments. Go Pro, Go Mustang kicks off a strategic shift for the company to adapt its business operations to better serve the professional market. The first two products being added to the offering are an Inflatable Work Vest and a neoprene cold water immersion suit. Also new to the product line are a series of Water Rescue Kits enabling quick action to save lives while protecting the rescuer's life in the process. Tactical Side Pouch Inflatable Life Preservers have also been released for the law enforcement community. (www.mustangsurvival.com/professional)

The FBI's involvement in the maritime domain is a result of existing US Law, Executive Orders, Presidential Decision Directives (PDD) 39, 62, & 63, and Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 5 to include a few. Specifically, the FBI has a lead role for operational and investigative response to a terrorist threat or incident, as well as coordinating the activities of other members of the law enforcement community to detect, prevent, pre-empt, and disrupt terrorist attacks against the United States. However, the task is monumental and the FBI’s maritime experience is limited. The FBI is currently focusing on developing liaison relationships within the commercial cruise and cargo lines…

Last month a new product touted as a plank in the war to keep terrorism from U.S. shores was introduced in Washington, D.C. According to Eric Caplan, director of Boston Whaler Commercial & Government Products, the Sentinel is a unmanned surface vessel (USV), which is a sensing platform able to carry a wide variety of the latest technology sensing systems available. It is designed to be a multi-tasking craft, able to carry sonar for mine detection equipment as easily as it would carry systems able to sense bio-terrorism and nuclear devices aboard ships entering a harbor. "This country obviously has a big job ahead of it, to secure its borders," Caplan said.

The Coast Guard and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts today announced the signing of a new partnership agreement that will help the Coast Guard and Massachusetts state law enforcement officers work together more effectively to ensure the safety and security of the Commonwealth's waters. Under the terms of the agreement, approved last week by Rear Admiral Timothy Sullivan and Governor Mitt Romney, Massachusetts State Police and Environmental Police officers working with the Coast Guard have the authority to take enforcement actions against those suspected of violating federal safety and security zones created by the Coast Guard. The agreement…