Designing for the Job

Abstract

The effectiveness of any maritime policing system is directly related to its capability to undertake the functions of detection and identification, surveillance, reaction or response, and communication. The ideal maritime policing platform would therefore seem to be one which can undertake all functions as and when required. Detailed analysis of policing requirements may however demonstrate that not all of these functions will be required to satisfy a specific operational tasking. In an active value for money climate there would of course have to be some additional measurement criteria introduced into any performance analysis consideration of economic, efficiency, and effectiveness, the impact of which is not always immediately obvious except in cases where the specified minimum number of vessels required to run a viable and credible policing organisation is subsequently reduced. One commentator suggested that the only effect the new cost driven selection criteria appeared to be having was to deflate operational expectations!