The original bills set a 2004 deadline for ports to meet tougher security regulations and included mandatory fines for those not meeting the deadline. Lobbyists for the ports were able to get deadlines and fines removed from the final boot. We had a war, and the good guys won. The study released in September by Camber Corp., a consulting firm in Huntsville, Ala., found that only two of Florida's 14 ports have sworn police officers permanently assigned. Tampa and Miami had the most security problems of the state's four major ports, the study found.
Access control is virtually non-existent . . .
A big part of the problem is geography. The Fort Lauderdale port and the Port of Miami conduct background checks.