Securing Radio Communications On The Border

Radio communications has long been an operational challenge between DOI law enforcement officers and Border Patrol agents in the field and their local law enforcements partners.  In most locations, law enforcement officers and agents have had to conduct operations primarily while using unsecured radio transmissions. 



Recently, the Secretaries of the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of the Interior and U.S. Department of Agriculture directed the establishment of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to bridge the law enforcement and security communication gaps and to provide “secure” radio interoperability along the Southwest border area.

As one of the Secretary of the Interior's high priority projects for mitigating desperate measures previously adopted by field unit managers and law enforcement officers to deny unauthorized personal to monitor sensitive radio communications transmissions, the National Park Service’s Radio Program Office was identified as the Department’s lead for radio encryption key management.

The NPS Radio Program Office was tasked with assisting the Department of the Interior’s Office of Law Enforcement and Security, the Office of the Chief Information Officer, and U.S. Custom and Border Patrol to develop a strategy to replace and upgrade DOI law enforcement officer’s radio equipment to be compatible and interoperable with U.S. Customs agents along the Southwest border prior to the end of Fiscal Year 2008. 

This demanding task required the replacement, upgrading and programming of over 160 law enforcement officers’ portable (handheld) radios and a small number of mobile (vehicle-mounted ) and base stations. To meet the demand, a four-man Tiger Team was established consisting of two NPS Radio Program Office employees (John Daubenheyer and Anthony Moore), one Bureau of Land Management Phoenix Field Office employee (John Patrou), and a U.S. Customs supervisory agent (Carlos Briones). The team deployed in excess of 30 days to various DOI and U.S. Customs managed locations within the states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. The Tiger Team was met with a host of challenges due to the various makes, models and conditions of radio equipment used by the law enforcement officers of NPS, BLM and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service within the border area.

Additionally, the team had to ensure all radios were programmed and in compliance with the over-the air-rekeying (OTAR) standard operating procedures established by the National Law Enforcement Communications Center (NLECC). Due to the concerted effort of program managers and technical experts from DOI OLES and OCIO, the NPS Radio Program, BLM’s Arizona Field Office, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, and the National Law Enforcement Communications Center, the Tiger Team successfully met the demanding deadline established by the Secretary of the Interior.

The Department of the Interior and its constituent bureaus’ law enforcement and security officials continue to face the challenge of safeguarding sensitive information transmitted over radio communications means. To meet these challenges, the Department has established policy that requires all purchases for land mobile radio infrastructure and end-user components meet both the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) Project 25 (P25) standards, and the approved Federal Information Processing Standards [FIPS-197], Advanced Encryption Standard (AES).  For further information on DOI Radio Communications Encryption Policy, refer to DOI OCIO Directive 2006-020, or contact NPS Radio Program Management Office at (202) 354-1844, or (202) 354-1429.