Port of Baltimore Brief Over Research Paper

The MdTA Police and the Office of Security (and thus the private security personnel under its supervision) are the extent of the state's commitment in terms of securing the port, aside from the Maryland Area Maritime Security Committee, which works to coordinate the efforts of the MdTA and Office of Security with the relevant federal agencies.

On the federal level, regular port security is handled by the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP), while threat response and emergencies involves the U.S. Coast Guard. CBP is responsible for maintaining and disseminating examination standards and procedures, and in recent years has placed a special emphasis on cargo container examinations with its program the Container Security Initiative (CSI) (U.S. Customs and Border Protection 2012). The CSI program has three core elements geared towards identifying and stopping threats in cargo containers: "identify high-risk containers […] prescreen and evaluate containers before they are shipped […] use technology to prescreen high-risk containers to ensure that screening can be done rapidly without slowing down the movement of trade" (U.S. Customs and Border Protection 2012). In terms of maintaining port security, the CSI program has been particularly effective, because as of today, "80% of all maritime containerized cargo imported into the United States" is prescreened before it ever reaches an American port (U.S. Customs and Border Protection 2012). The Coast Guard is primarily responsible for responding to threats or emergencies, and in particular, the Maritime Security Response Team (MSRT), "a highly specialized resource with advanced counterterrorism skills and tactics," is responsible for being "a first responder to potential terrorist situations; deny terrorist acts; perform security actions against non-compliant actors; perform tactical facility entry and enforcement; participate in port level counterterrorism exercises; and educate other forces on Coast Guard counterterrorism procedures" (U.S. Coast Guard 2012).

After considering the potential threats and various agencies responsible for maintaining and ensuring port security, it is reasonable to presume that the people of Maryland are safe from a potential threat at the port, at least for the time being.Terrorist tactics evolve alongside the measures put in place to stop them, so just because the port is far more secure thanks to the security procedures and protocols put in place in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks does not mean that these measures will suffice in the future. In particular, while the success of Customs and Border Protection's CSI program and the constantly evolving response tactics of the Coast Guard suggest that port security is a high priority at the federal level, it appears the state could be doing more to ensure the safety of both the port and Maryland's residents. This is largely due to the use of contract security personnel as the first line of security. Although Securitas is a large, well-known security company, these private security personnel remain the weakest link in the port's overall security, if only because private companies are not held to the same security standards as government agencies. For example, should Securitas suffer a breach of its computer systems, important information regarding its contract with the state of Maryland could quite easily find its way into the hands of potential attackers. Even something as simple employment information could be crucial to potential attackers, because all it takes is one employee capable of looking the other way. Therefore, while the port of Baltimore is relatively safe given the various security measures taken in light of the various attacks of the last ten years, it would be in the best interests of the state and its residents for the Office of Security in the Maryland Department of Transportation to begin looking at ways to reduce its reliance on private security personnel.

References

Department of homeland security. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.dhs.gov/index.shtm

Maryland department of transportation: Port administration. (2012). Retrieved from http://mpa.maryland.gov/content/port-security.php

United States coast guard. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.uscg.mil/

US customs and border protection. (2012). Retrieved….....