Local police now have the authority to deal with some sex crimes at the US Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA), as the university continues to deal with the fallout of its second sexual assault scandal in a decade.
The US Department of Transportation, which oversees the Long Island maritime university, and New York state on Friday announced an agreement for “concurrent jurisdiction” on campus and on any other property controlled by the academy.
The agreement means the Nassau County Police Department and the Kings Point Police Department can investigate misdemeanour sex crimes and most felonies and make arrests, while the Nassau County District Attorney has the authority to prosecute those crimes.
“We are proud to partner with the State of New York on this change to increase support for a culture of respect and accountability at USMMA. Every midshipman must have a safe environment in which to learn — both during Sea Year and on campus,” Maritime Administrator Ann Phillips said in a statement.
The academy’s Sea Year programme, where students are placed on merchant ships during their sophomore and junior years for training purposes, was shut down briefly late last year following an essay from a student who was raped while on a Maersk Line Ltd ship in September 2021.
The programme had been shuttered for nine months in 2016, also over allegations of sexual assault.
In response to the latest shutdown, the Maritime Administration developed the Every Mariner Builds a Respectful Culture, or Embarc, standards which include vessel operators designating a sexual misconduct contact on board and accounting for master keys.
In her statement, Phillips said the Embarc standards “help improve safety at sea for all midshipmen and indeed, for all mariners”.
This agreement would not cover sex crimes committed during Sea Year, as the students are aboard ships owned and operated by private companies. The Maritime Administration said investigating and prosecuting those crimes would remain with the US Coast Guard.
But Maritime Legal Aid and Advocacy, a mariner rights organisation that published the September 2021 essay, has published other accounts of students suffering sexual assault or harassment on campus.
Previously crimes committed on campus were investigated by the Department of Transportation’s Office of the Inspector General and prosecuted by the Department of Justice.
