Washington, D.C. will be center stage again for the second International Aviation and Maritime Security Conference, hosted by the United States  and International     Airport and Seaport  Police. 

Each day thousands of airport and seaport police and port authority homeland security officials must deal with critical infrastructure security and law enforcement   issues.  With the 9-11 bill and SAFE Port bills passed in Congress our focuses will be on  Partnership for Protection and the coordinating of requirements of security and law enforcement issues.

Effective protection requires  resourceful layered security.  As a global society we must work   together, bring innovative ideas to the security table and prepare for a more efficient cost effective security platform.  At the center of aviation and maritime security is the coordination between international, federal and state/local law enforcement and security departments and the billions of dollars being spent to mitigate risk.

We will examine where the     responsibilities lie, how to  effectively build teams, explore tomorrows technology, establish best practices and examine risk mitigation tools.   The conference will offer high profile keynote speakers and extensive workshops.

Working together does not just happen.  Different jurisdictions need to learn how to  respond to each other from around the corner to around the world.  Local and state law enforcement and security have new responsibilities and must coalesce with federal governments like no other time in history.  We will not only explore these challenges our goal is to move the process forward.

2007 Conference – Truly a Great Success

The 2007 conference was second to none.  With over 100 public officials from the state, local, federal and international law enforcement and homeland security community last year’s sponsors and exhibitors tell us they had never attended a conference with so much one on one time with     officials who had direct and indirect budget and project authority.  We welcome back the IBM Corporation as the Title Sponsor for the second year.  We too invite you to join our officials and guests for a productive conference.
 

Who is hosting the conference?
The United States Airport and Seaport, a member of the America’s Region in alliance with the International Association of Airport & Seaport Police is hosting the 2008 International Aviation and Maritime Security Conference in conjunction with the 39th Annual Meeting.  The event will be held at the Marriott Renaissance Hotel in downtown Washington, D.C. 

What is the conference focus?
Airport and Seaport senior law enforcement, security directors and port emergency managers are dealing with terrorism and natural disaster scenarios every day. Our conference speakers and workshops will look at critical infrastructure, interoperability, training, prevention, recovery and other relevant aspects related to the protection of airports and maritime area domains.  Those involved in these discussions at the conference are port authority and governments at the local, state and federal levels that ensure the protection of people and cargo 24/7.

Who will attend?
The Airport and Seaport Police—Aviation & Maritime Conference is quite different from other conferences.  As they say, “We are them.”  Our colleagues are the stakeholders, they are local, state, and international law enforcement and homeland security officials who are directly or indirectly involved in the planning, securing and enforcement of facilities, purchasing process of projects, material and services at seaports and airports.  Our first step in the process was beneficial.  Our attendance offered some of the best from several countries. 

A sample of last year’s officials from include:

U.S. Seaport Police, U.S. Airport Police, Port Homeland Security Directors, Transport Canada, DEA, TSA, CBP, USCG,     Canada  Border, FLETC, FPS, UK Metropolitan Police, Taiwan National Police,  Pakistan Air Security, South Africa Intelligence, Singapore Air Security, Rotterdam Police, RCMP, & DHS and more.  Remember 2007 was our first year and was a great success.  We are looking to build on that success. 

 
Who will we honor?
Each year we honor the men and women who serve and protect our world's airports and seaports.  On September 11, 2001 New York & New Jersey Port Authority Police were the first law enforcement personnel to respond to the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center.  They quickly rushed into the burning buildings and helped rescue thousands of employees who had arrived at work moments earlier.  Thirty-seven of these heroic men and women were killed that day when the towers collapsed.

One of those heroes was Superintendent of Police Fred Morrone.  Superintendent Morrone was also serving as a the Vice President of the International Association of Airport and Seaport Police.  The United State Airport and Seaport Police along with the International Association of Airport and Seaport Police is honoring Fred Morrone at the 2nd annual Fred V. Morrone Memorial 9/11 Dinner on July 23, 2008

The inaugural recipient of the Award was Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani.   The 2nd recipient of the Award is the Honorable Asa Hutchinson, former Undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security.