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Volume 17, Issue 40
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Thursday, February 25, 2010
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Report Praises CBP for Management and Oversight of Container Security Initiative
The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General has issued a report on U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s management and oversight of the Container Security Initiative. The report finds that CBP uses proactive management and oversight processes through CSI to identify and inspect high-risk cargo at foreign ports, conducts periodic evaluations of overseas CSI operations and has software tools to help managers monitor port activities. However, the report calls on CBP to improve its local port standard operating procedures and the criteria used to evaluate them, consider how CSI integrates with other international maritime cargo security programs, and amend its strategic plan to include updated CSI performance measures and a vision for the future direction of the program.
Under CSI, CBP officers and their foreign counterparts use risk-based analysis to screen maritime cargo for weapons of mass destruction before the cargo is laden on vessels destined for the U.S. In 2009, there were 53 CSI-operational seaports in the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
The report notes that in 2007 CBP established the Evaluations and Assessments Branch to conduct periodic reviews of CSI ports, determine the effectiveness of the program and ensure effective coordination with foreign host governments. Evaluation teams review CSI targeting, case development, examination and administrative activities at these ports at least every two years and submit reports with findings and recommendations.
Part of EAB’s port evaluation process confirms the existence of local SOPs but does not ensure that minimum essential information about CSI operations is included. For example, 31 of the local SOPs reviewed did not contain specific information on how to refer high-risk shipments for host country officials to review and 18 did not contain information on how to conduct further research with host country counterparts. OIG therefore recommended that CBP identify minimum essential elements for inclusion in every local port SOP and establish a process to ensure that all local port SOPs include these elements. CBP concurred, stating that it plans to outline these elements in the CSI SOP and that all CSI ports will be required to update their local SOPs with these requirements by March 1.
The report also stated that the CSI strategic plan needs to be updated to include (a) the current strategic outlook of the CSI program, (b) refined relevant goals and performance metrics to help guide and inform CSI’s future direction, and (c) the impact of other CBP programs, such as the Secure Freight Initiative, and factors that may affect CSI’s goals and objectives. CBP agreed and said it plans to incorporate these recommendations into the 2011-2016 strategic plan it is developing for its Office of Field Operations.
Source Document 1...
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