Coast Guard seeks mobile law enforcement database – FCW
Defense
Coast Guard seeks to use law enforcement database on mobile
Vice Admiral Scott Buschman, then Coast Guard Atlantic Area Commander, examines hurricane damage to a C-130 aircraft in September 2018 (Photo credit: Petty Officer 2nd Class Adam Stanton )
The US Coast Guard wants to convert its security and law enforcement database to mobile apps.
Vice Admiral Scott Buschman, deputy commander of Coast Guard operations, said the modernization of the Maritime Information System for Security and Law Enforcement (MISLE) 20 years of military service so that being more mobile will help operators in the field to be more efficient.
“We are looking at what the MISLE needs to be in the future”, Buschman testified October 20, at a Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee hearing on Coast Guard and Marine Transportation. “We’re also considering … taking pieces of MISLE and breaking them down into apps so they can use it on the go.”
MISLE, which includes parts that are accessible to the public, contains data on marine accidents, search and rescue cases, law enforcement activities, ship inspections and incidents involving pollution.
The Government Accountability Office found in a July 2020 report report that the MISLE system suffered from data errors, inconsistent entries and that the Coast Guard needed to “identify and analyze alternatives to select solutions that meet the needs of the mission”.
Buschman said the MISLE mobile apps allow operators, who often board or on ships, to enter data in the field instead of returning to the office to do it on a computer.
“So the people in the field who board a ship, maybe it’s a commercial ship, and right now they have to go back to their office and maybe several hours to enter data on a computer, ”Buschman said. “We are trying to give people mobile apps so that they can be much, much more efficient.”
Buschman noted that modernizing the system is important for readiness, but has been downgraded due to limited budgets and sequestration.
“We weren’t able to fund things. We had to cut back a bit … whether it was maintenance, lack of training and that sort of thing,” Buschman said. “[MISLE] is one of those things that really… falls into that category, to have the resources to be able to fund these really, really important things for us to do our jobs, as job facilitators.
About the Author
Lauren C. Williams is a senior editor for FCW and Defense Systems, covering defense and cybersecurity.
Prior to joining FCW, Williams was a tech reporter for ThinkProgress, where she covered everything from internet culture to national security issues. In previous positions, Williams has covered healthcare, politics and crime for various publications, including the Seattle Times.
Williams holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park and a bachelor’s degree in dietetics from the University of Delaware. She can be contacted at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter @lalaurenista.
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