OK what happend to The Canadian Air Carrier Protective Program today on can-jet????

http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/gazette/vol70n3/air-eng.htm


The Canadian Air Carrier Protective Program



Air Canada planeThe Canadian Air Carrier Protective Program (CACPP) evolved in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. RCMP air marshals — known as Aircraft Protective Officers or, internationally, as In-Flight Security Officers (IFSOs) — started blending in with passengers on all Canadian flights to Washington, D.C., in 2002. They are now tasked to other routes as well.

IFSOs provide a unique protective policing service on board Canadian registered commercial aircraft. These officers are specialized, covert operatives who are strategically deployed to physically intervene in the event that an aircraft becomes at risk of takeover by unauthorized person(s). In addition, IFSOs gather information on any criminal or terrorist activity within the civil aviation environment. For national security reasons, the exact flights and routes protected by the CACPP are carefully guarded secrets. However, the CACPP deploys on a national, transborder and international basis.

In October 2007, RCMP Supt Alphonse MacNeil, the officer in charge of the CACPP, told the Air India Inquiry that the public should take comfort in the fact that RCMP IFSOs are deployed on commercial passenger flights. MacNeil explained that the specialized plainclothes officers are assigned to selected commercial passenger flights according to a threat-risk assessment process.

He said that selected officers train at an undisclosed location, where they can practise scenarios in a commercial aircraft environment. Once the IFSOs have completed this very intensive and highly specialized training, they are assigned to flights according to a “threat matrix.”

When questions arose about whether the presence of armed IFSOs on board commercial passenger flights could pose a risk to the security of jetliners, MacNeil explained that the intense training that Canadian IFSOs receive mitigates that risk. He emphasized that firearms would only be used as a last resort.

“We don’t immediately spring to the use of a firearm,” said MacNeil. “Our people are well trained in . . . the use of hand-to-hand combat and other procedures that are at their disposal. If one of our (IFSOs) is going to engage . . . a firearm, things have deteriorated very, very badly on that flight and they would actually believe that the aircraft is in danger of being taken over or the integrity of the aircraft is in serious risk,” said MacNeil.

The program is necessarily covert to protect the identity of the officers and their operations. However, pilots and flight attendants are informed of the presence of IFSOs. Many measures are in place to protect Canadian airline passengers from terrorist or criminal threats, and the CACPP is a critical layer in the multi-tiered approach to aviation safety and security. IFSOs are the last line of defence in the civil aviation security system.

The CACPP focuses its sights not only on terrorist activity, but also on criminal activity within the airport environment itself. The program houses an effective intelligence program that employs IFSOs in an intelligence-gathering and surveillance capacity. This broad mandate allows observation and analysis performed by the covert operatives to be fed into the RCMP’s greater national intelligence system. Furthermore, the operatives work closely with numerous RCMP sections and partner agencies in the airport environment.

The CACPP has evolved into an integral component of one of the most secure aviation systems in the world. It has been extensively involved in international IFSO programs, and agencies around the globe have requested its expertise. The program has provided complete IFSO training and program development for several foreign countries, with others waiting to receive this specialized training.

At the Air India Inquiry, the inquiry’s Commissioner, John Major, suggested that the general public might feel safer if people knew more about the program. MacNeil agreed, but explained that it is difficult to publicize the program when so many details must remain secret for national security reasons.

Balancing the need to protect the integrity of the program with the need to create public awareness is a challenge that the CACPP is prepared to meet. With a comprehensive package being developed to achieve this goal, the Canadian public will become increasingly aware of this superbly trained tactical unit and the unique protective services it offers for the protection of Canadians and Canadian interests at home and abroad.