A new thesis titled: Policing the Pacific: A Path to Building Law Enforcement Capacity in the Freely Associated States by Ronald Miller, Lieutenant Commander of the U.S. Coast Guard, highlights the growing need for the United States to invest in policing capacity across the Freely Associated States (FAS), given their unique ties to the U.S. under the Compacts of Free Association and focusing on threats like cyber crime and human trafficking.
The thesis looks at lessons from Australia’s policing efforts in Melanesia and U.S. counter-drug operations in the Caribbean, proposing a comprehensive policy framework for the Pacific. Using the Law Enforcement Domain Evaluation Model (LE DEM), the thesis integrates preventative and responsive strategies into a single capacity-building approach.
Key recommendations include expanding and equipping Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) West, establishing a Micronesian fusion center, creating four specialized joint task forces, and boosting capabilities in digital and chemical forensics, maritime domain awareness, and financial auditing.
To sustain these efforts, the author calls for five lines of investment in joint technology and asset transfers. These would give the region the tools it needs to hedge against evolving transnational threats while strengthening U.S. partnerships and presence across the Pacific.
Click here to read the full thesis.
(AI was used in part to facilitate this article.)
