Harbor Police Department Joins Other Agencies In Fight Against Border-Area Crime

Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Contact: John Gilmore (619) 341-5684

The Port of San Diego’s Harbor Police Department is participating in a multi-agency effort to target human smuggling and illegal drug trafficking, as well as violent crimes along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The Harbor Police and more than a dozen other agencies, including the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the San Diego Police Department and others, have joined forces as part of Operation Stonegarden (PDF).

Operation Stonegarden is a federal Department of Homeland Security program that has provided millions of dollars in funding for agencies in a number of border states, including California, Arizona, Texas and New Mexico. In 2009, the Department of Homeland Security provided about $90 million.

More than $14 million was awarded to the County of San Diego. The county in turn channeled the money to various local, state and federal agencies, including the Harbor Police Department. In the past three years, the department has received more than $500,000, which covers overtime and equipment expenses for personnel who are assigned to Operation Stonegarden.

“The Harbor Police has focused on the maritime aspect of Operation Stonegarden and has created important and necessary federal partnerships as part of this nationwide initiative,” said Cpl. Victor Banuelos, the department’s bay control officer and coordinator for Operation Stonegarden.

Harbor security is a dominant part of the Port’s daily operations. The Harbor Police Department works closely with the U.S. Coast Guard, the Navy, Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the California Office of Homeland Security, California National Guard and other state and local agencies to administer an over-arching regional and integrated approach to port and seaport security.

Officers provide law enforcement services for San Diego International Airport as well as protection for San Diego Bay and the tidelands, which includes the Port’s member cities of San Diego, National City, Chula Vista, Coronado and Imperial Beach.

The officers’ vigilance has resulted in a number of arrests.

While on an Operation Stonegarden marine patrol in July of 2010, for example, two Harbor Police officers and a U.S. Border Patrol agent contacted a small pleasure craft just off Point Loma. The officers and federal agents searched the suspicious vessel and discovered more than 1,000 pounds of marijuana concealed in a number of compartments. The case was turned over to federal agents for prosecution.

Besides being trained in law enforcement, all Harbor Police officers are trained as firefighters.

Officers have been involved in a number of rescues, including last August, when a Harbor Police diver and his partner rescued the pilot of a helicopter that crashed into San Diego Bay near the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge.

As homeport to the U.S. Navy’s Third Fleet, two cargo terminals, a cruise ship terminal and because of its close proximity to San Diego International Airport, the Port of San Diego is one of 17 U.S. ports that are considered strategic ports. Harbor security is a dominant factor in the Port’s daily operations and the Harbor Police Department works closely with the U.S. Coast Guard, the Navy, Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the California Office of Homeland Security, California National Guard and other state and local agencies to administer an over-arching regional and integrated approach to port and seaport security.