WHAT: CCSO To Unveil Joint Marine Operations Center
WHEN: 11 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2008
WHERE: CCSO Substation on Marco Island, 990 N. Barfield Drive
SUMMARY: The Collier County Sheriff’s Office will unveil a new multi-agency special operations center that will deal with marine issues ranging from boating safety to human smuggling to fuel spills.
The Joint Marine Operations Center is a partnership between the Collier County Sheriff’s Office and six local, state and federal marine law enforcement agencies in Southwest Florida. The six partner agencies are Marco Island Police Department, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Border Patrol, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Representatives from each of the seven agencies are scheduled to attend the news conference and will be available to answer questions.
Lt. Dave Johnson of CCSO Special Operations said the JMOC will provide a central base of operations when situations call for joint cooperation to area marine issues such as boating safety, domestic security, maritime human smuggling, mass-migration threats, and boat theft as well as environmental concerns.
“The idea is to have one spot where all of the different agencies can operate independently as well as cooperatively,” Johnson said.
Johnson added that the agencies have been working together informally through the years. “This is just the next level,” he said.
The new center will operate out of the sheriff’s Marco substation, which is near Factory Bay and offers ready access to the Gulf of Mexico. The 4,000- square-foot substation has been converted from a patrol facility to an all-purpose special operations center _ at no cost to taxpayers, Johnson said.
“It’s not costing taxpayers any more for us to be there and use what’s already in place,” he said.
The partners will use the center on an as-needed basis.
“It’s a flexible arrangement,” Johnson said.
