U.S., CANADA SHARE POLICE POWER IN MUTUAL WATERS

Hush-Hush Pilot Project Has U.S. Coast Guard Patrolling in Same Boats
As RCMP South of Vancouver and in the St. Lawrence River

U.S. Coast Guard officers are being made Canadian peace officers in an
area off the south coast of B.C. and in a 100-km stretch of the St.
Lawrence, with similar powers given to RCMP officers in U.S. waters.

While the law enforcement initiative, Project Shiprider, gives some
members of the coast guard special privileges to act as law
enforcement officers, they will have to obey strict guidelines and
will be under the authority of the RCMP while in Canada.

The two forces are partnering with a number of other agencies,
including provincial police, the Canadian Forces, U.S. state police
and immigration and border patrol agencies to also develop the
capability to pursue criminals on the ground and in the air, said Cpl.
Luc Bessette of the RCMP.

Bessette said the goal is to try to thwart "organized crime in border
areas on both sides of the seaway.

"We want to see how criminals will react and adapt [our strategy] in
consequence. We want to become proactive."

"It's the first time there's a strategic use of Canadian and U.S.
officers to combat organized crime," said Bessette, adding contraband
and drugs had been seized as a result of the project.

No public announcement was made about the pilot project because
authorities wanted to keep an element of surprise in their border
strategy, but people have spotted U.S. officers in Canadian waters,
forcing authorities to reveal some of the project's details.

Bessette said giving a foreign police force powers in Canada isn't an
unprecedented development as secret service agents are given those
privileges when the U.S. president visits, such as during the recent
Montebello summit.

"During international gatherings that bring together foreign
dignitaries here, certain countries request permission to bring in
armed guards and we give them this status of special or peace agent,"
he said. "They act under the authority of the RCMP and they obtain the
right to be armed in Canada but in a very rigid context."

But unlike the short partnership during a summit or high-level
meetings, Project Shiprider brings together USCG and RCMP in
integrated teams sharing boats over a number of summer months and it
may be extended.

"We have decided to try a project where a boat can travel on both
sides of the border," he said. "If we want to do this we must
absolutely give powers to American officers in Canadian waters and
give Canadians powers in American waters."

If someone has to be arrested during an operation in Canada and the
closest officer is American, he will be able to do so, Bessette said,
but added that U.S. officers aren't about to commandeer Canadian
patrol cars and answer calls.

In these aquatic zones, criminals thinking they are out of the reach
of a police force giving them chase when they cross the border are in
for a surprise.

One of the areas covered is from Valleyfield, Que. outside Montreal to
Cardinal, Ont., west of Cornwall.

Pacific coverage extended to an area south of Vancouver.

"Sept. 11 has changed the face of the border," Bessette
said.

"As in the U.S. we have brought new techniques and ways to deal with
the border because of terrorism and other problems like contraband and
illegal immigration."