Integrating private sector elements into maritime security plan

C-TPAT and C-TPAT Plus programs. She then concludes:

There are several important aspects to this approach. First, it would give an active role to the private sector in taking care of its security instead of relying exclusively on the federal government. It would also give important feedback to the government and create effective checks and balances for the system as a whole. Finally, it structures the incentives to ensure that money is spent on the highest risks and on the most cost-effective programmes. The private sector has always been much better than the government at adopting cost-effectiveprogrammes. Also, the independence of a third-party system will guarantee that decisions are made on a sound economic basis rather than politics and bureaucratic process. This would ultimately increase cargo security and the security of the American people.

It seems that nowhere is it more important to develop cost-effective security plans than in the area of maritime security. Rather than investing a massive amount of money in nuclear detection in our ports — where it would ultimately be too late to avoid a catastrophe — a more cost-effective measure is to stop terrorists from bringing WMDs anywhere near our ports. This is achieved by spotting suspicious anomalies while cargos are in foreign ports.

The DHS will be spending roughly $194 million in FY2006 through its CSI and C-TPAT programs to secure cargo coming to the U.S. from foreign ports. However, according to experts, the level and depth of this investment is insufficient. To make matters worse, reports also show that these programs are failing to achieve their basic mission: securing the chain of command. One way to improve these systems would be to encourage public-private partnerships through a third-party verification process that ensures sustainable and effective port security programs in foreign ports.

-read more in Veronique de Rugy’s, “Declaration of Independence,” AEI Web site