(14) On April 27, 1999, the President established the Interagency Commission on Crime and Security in United States Seaports to undertake a comprehensive study of the nature and extent of the problem of crime in our seaports, as well as the ways in which governments at all levels are responding.
(15) The Commission has issued preliminary findings that indicate the following:
(A) Frequent crimes in seaports include drug smuggling, illegal car exports, fraud (including Intellectual Property Rights and other trade violations), and cargo theft.
(B) Data about crime in seaports have been very difficult to collect.
(C) Internal conspiracies are an issue at many seaports, and contribute to Federal crime.
(D) Intelligence and information sharing among law enforcement agencies needs to be improved at many seaports.
(E) Many seaports do not have any idea about the threats they face from crime, terrorism, and other security-related activities because vulnerability assessments are not performed locally.
(F) A lack of minimum physical, procedural, and personnel security standards at seaports and at terminals, warehouses, trucking firms, and related facilities leaves many seaports and seaport users vulnerable to theft, pilferage, and unauthorized access by criminals.
(G) Access to seaports and operations within seaports is often uncontrolled.
(H) Coordination and cooperation between law enforcement agencies in the field is often fragmented.
(I) Meetings between law enforcement personnel, carriers, and seaport authorities regarding security are not being held routinely in the seaports. These meetings could increase coordination and cooperation at the local level.
(J) Security-related equipment such as small boats, cameras, and vessel tracking devices is lacking at many seaports.
(K) Detection equipment such as largescale x-ray machines is lacking at many highrisk seaports.
(L) A lack of timely, accurate, and complete manifest (including in-bond) and trade (entry, importer, etc.) data negatively impacts law enforcement's ability to function effectively.
