On Wednesday, September 15, 2004, the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Office San Francisco Bay, in conjunction with the Golden Gate Ferry and Blue and Gold Ferry Fleet, Marin County Sheriffs, Sausalito Police Department, Twin Cities Police Department, San Francisco Police Department, Alameda County Sheriffs, Oakland Police Department, and Vallejo Police Department, launched a new San Francisco Bay Ferry “Ride Along” Program.

The new program partners uniformed law enforcement personnel with Coast Guard Sea Marshals to increase law enforcement presence on the San Francisco Bay ferry systems. The program enables both on- and off-duty law enforcement officers to ride Golden Gate ferries and Blue and Gold Fleet ferries to aid in maintaining a constant vigilance on the Bay.

According to Mr. Jim Swindler, Golden Gate Ferry division manager, “While the Coast Guard is the sole law enforcement entity with authority throughout the many jurisdictional boundaries that our ferries pass each day, this initiative joins local agencies together to increase law enforcement presence throughout the Bay. The new “Ride Along” Program is just one example of how the Coast Guard and local law enforcement agencies are uniting to find new ways to increase security on the Bay.”