For Immediate Release
DHS Press Office
Contact: 202-282-8010
WASHINGTON—Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Australian Minister for Home Affairs Jason Clare today announced the secondment of an Australian Customs and Border Protection Service officer to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The Australian Customs and Border Protection officer will be seconded to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Intelligence and Investigations Liaison and the International Targeting Center. The Australian Customs and Border Protection Officer’s role will focus on the joint targeting and analysis of criminal syndicates and the establishment of a Collaborative Targeting Framework between the United States and Australia.
“Our economic and security partnership with Australia continues to grow,” said Secretary Napolitano. “We will work together to develop a cooperative and global approach to the challenges and threats we all face.”
“The Australian and United States Customs and Border Protection agencies work very closely together. This is the next step. Embedding our experts inside United States Customs and Border Protection will improve our ability to target the activities of potential terrorists, drug smugglers and other organised criminals who try to target Australia,” said Mr. Clare.
This follows the Joint Statement Regarding the Development of a Framework for Cooperative International Targeting and Assessment by Secretary Napolitano and Mr. Clare on May 4, 2012—outlining the intentions of the United States and Australia to increase their capacity to identify high risk actors and activities at the earliest point possible.
For more information, visit www.dhs.gov.
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