INTERNATIONAL CRUISE VICTIMS (ICV) CALLS ON CONGRESS

TO TAKE FIRST STEP TO ADDRESS CRIME ON CRUISE SHIPS

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Amendment to Coast Guard Reauthorization Act would measure crime on cruise ships.

Sammamish, WA - International Cruise Victims (ICV) today announced its strong support for the Matsui/Poe/Maloney/Shays Amendment to the Coast Guard Reauthorization Act. That amendment, requiring the Coast Guard to maintain statistics of missing persons and crimes on cruise ships and to make that information available to the public, provides a first step in addressing the problem of crime on cruise ships.

Accurate, accessible crime information is a crucial component of any anticrime effort, noted Kendall Carver, President of ICV.. More accurate data will serve the interests of the public, law enforcement, Congress, and the cruise lines themselves as they work to solve the problem of crime and victimization on board cruise ships.

This important amendment follows on the heels of increasing congressional attention to the problem of lawlessness aboard cruise ships. Hearings before the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure have highlighted the lack of a criminal justice response to violent crime and missing persons reports aboard cruise ships. One reason for this weak response is the absence of meaningful and public data about the extent of crime on cruise ships.

We applaud Representatives Doris Matsui, Ted Poe, Carolyn Maloney, and Chris Shays for their leadership on this issue and their efforts to bring justice to victims, and we urge other members of Congress to join them in supporting this important amendment.

Contact:

Kendall Carver

PHONE - 602 852 5896

E-MAIL kcarver17@cox.net