Work Begins on Security at Long Beach Port

LONG BEACH - Work began today on a $20 million, 25,000-square-foot security command and control center to be built at the Port of Long Beach.

The structure, slated for completion in the fall of 2008, will house officers from the
port’s police force, Long Beach Police Department, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Port of Los Angeles’ police force.

Funding came from the Port of Long Beach and the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security.

“This command and control center marks the beginning of a new era in port security,” Long Beach Harbor Commission President James Hankla said. “The facility will give us the room to house a growing security division, room for the new tools they need, and room for our partners to work with us in an emergency.”

-City News Service