JAY — Police from Vermont and Quebec are getting to know each other so they’ll be ready in case there’s a major incident or natural disaster along the U.S. – Canadian border.
The Vermont State Police and the Sûreté du Québec, Quebec’s provincial police, are participating in a joint exercise with federal border agencies in an effort to address the unique challenges of policing at the international border. The exercise is being held today and tomorrow at Jay Peak Resort.
At the training participants will get to know their cross-border state, provincial, and federal counterparts, including Royal Canadian Mounted Police, U.S. Border Patrol, Canadian Border Services Agency, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Field Operations.
They will be addressing ways to enhance cooperation and collaboration between their agencies. Training will be conducted today, and tomorrow they will put that training into practice with a practical exercise.
“Our goal is to eliminate the border as a barrier,” Lieutenant Michael Manning, of the Vermont State Police and Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, said. “Terrorism, natural disasters and the needs of our respective citizens for public safety services are not restricted to or prevented due to town, county, state, provincial or international borders,”
Law enforcement representatives from New York and Maine will also be in attendance.
“This workshop is an opportunity to engage our state, provincial and federal partners in a series of discussion based exercises in order to address challenges and identify best practices for more effective management of incidents that require multiagency response and to continue to enhance cooperation and collaboration amongst allied public safety agencies,” Manning said.
