Arnold Schwarzenegger
California State Governor

The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security today announced an unparalleled level of partnership to stop the flow of illegal weapons across the border. The Border Governors Conference, chaired by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and is comprised of 10 states from the United States and Mexico, has agreed to work with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to implement eTrace, a program that will help identify and bring to justice gun traffickers.

“A safe and secure border is in all our best interests,” said Matthew Bettenhausen, Director of the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security (OHS). “This agreement will ensure state and local public safety officials have access to, and are trained on, the best investigative tools to bring gun traffickers and other criminals to justice.”

All 10 Governors are showing their commitment to suppress the siege on the border by having their worktable group agree to a Declaration of Cooperation (DOC) with ATF to expand the use and execution of eTrace, an internet-based firearm tracing system that has led to the successful seizure of thousands of firearms headed to Mexico.

“There is a commitment among all of us to work cooperatively for the security of citizens on both sides of the border,” said California Highway Patrol Commissioner Joe Farrow, chair of the worktable group. “This should make a significant impact on the cross border flow of illegal weapons.”

Director Bettenhausen also participated in the worktable, representing a State partnership between CHP and OHS that will ensure these important programs are developed, implemented, and readily available to all law enforcement.

Some highlights from the DOC:

· The ten Border States will be provided with the necessary tools and training to fully implement eTrace by the ATF.

· Law enforcement in the Border States will be able to identify the source of weapons used in violent crime and allow investigators to draw correlations between previously unrelated crimes.

The Declaration of Cooperation can be found at this link (http://www.ohs.ca.gov/press/press_release.html).

For more information on OHS, visit our website at www.ohs.ca.gov.