§ 124.4 Authorized personnel, contractors, and mutual aid.
(a) Officers and employees. The authority provided by 6 U.S.C. 124n(a)(2) may be exercised only by SLTT law enforcement or correctional agency personnel. No SLTT law enforcement or correctional agency may delegate or transfer the exercise of C-UAS mitigation authority to any person or entity that is not an officer or employee of the agency.
(b) Prohibition on contractor exercise. Contractors may provide technical support, system maintenance, and training assistance, but may not operate C-UAS mitigation systems, make credible threat determinations, or execute mitigation actions. An arrangement in which a contractor exercises de facto operational control of a C-UAS mitigation system during an operation, including an arrangement described as a turnkey, managed service, or operator-provided C-UAS service, constitutes an unauthorized delegation of authority and is grounds for suspension of accreditation or certification under § 124.5(i). Detection services that do not require the authority of the Act or the relief it provides from certain laws may be provided by contractors.
(c) Mutual aid and regional C-UAS support. (1) An SLTT law enforcement or correctional agency accredited under 6 U.S.C. 124n(d)(2) may provide C-UAS support to another SLTT law enforcement or correctional agency, including an agency that is not accredited under this part, under a mutual aid agreement, memorandum of understanding, request for assistance, task force arrangement, or other written arrangement authorized by applicable State, local, Tribal, or territorial law.
(2) When the requesting or host agency is not accredited under 6 U.S.C. 124n(d)(2), the accredited agency providing C-UAS support is the C-UAS operating agency for purposes of this part and is responsible for compliance with the applicable requirements of this part.
(3) Personnel of a non-accredited requesting or host agency may support the operation through ordinary law enforcement, correctional, public safety, evidence-handling, perimeter-security, ground-intercept, evacuation, traffic-control, or incident-command functions. Such personnel may not exercise C-UAS authority under 6 U.S.C. 124n(a)(2), operate systems whose operation requires the authority of or relief from certain laws under 6 U.S.C. 124n, make a credible-threat determination, or initiate any mitigation action, unless those personnel independently satisfy the requirements of this part, hold the applicable certification under § 124.5, and are expressly designated in the accredited C-UAS operating agency's C-UAS Operations Plan to perform that function. Personnel so designated operate under that agency's implementation policy, Agency Approving Official approval, supervision, and compliance responsibility. An individual certification does not, by itself, authorize personnel to exercise 6 U.S.C. 124n(a)(2) authority, and this designation must be established in advance through the C-UAS Operations Plan and the mutual-aid arrangement under paragraph (c)(4) of this section.
(4) The written mutual aid arrangement must identify the requesting or host agency, the accredited agency providing C-UAS support, the legal basis for the accredited agency's personnel to operate in the host jurisdiction, the allocation of operational responsibilities, and the handling of C-UAS-derived information consistent with §§ 124.14 and 124.15.
(5) For multi-jurisdictional operations, the participating agencies must identify a lead C-UAS agency for tactical C-UAS coordination. The lead C-UAS agency must be an accredited agency unless the operation is conducted under Federal authority pursuant to § 124.19. A non-accredited requesting or host agency may serve as the lead public safety, law enforcement, correctional, or incident-command agency for the overall event or incident, but may not serve as the lead C-UAS agency unless accredited under this part.
(6) An accredited agency may enter into standing regional, county, statewide, or other multi-jurisdictional arrangements to provide recurring or on-call C-UAS support to non-accredited agencies. A standing arrangement does not itself authorize a mitigation operation; each mitigation operation remains subject to the applicable requirements of this part.
(7) Nothing in this part requires a small, rural, or otherwise resource-limited SLTT law enforcement or correctional agency to acquire C-UAS equipment, obtain accreditation, or establish an independent C-UAS program in order to receive C-UAS support from an accredited agency.
(d) Anti-circumvention. (1) No SLTT law enforcement or correctional agency, officer, employee, contractor, vendor, or other person may structure or use a mutual aid, regional support, managed-service, technical-support, or other arrangement to evade the requirements of this part.
(2) Prohibited circumvention includes using an accredited agency as a nominal sponsor while a non-accredited agency, contractor, vendor, or other entity exercises de facto operational control of C-UAS activity requiring the authority of or relief from certain laws under 6 U.S.C. 124n; allowing personnel who lack the certifications required by § 124.5 to exercise C-UAS authority; using systems outside the requirements of § 124.7; avoiding the coordination, reporting, privacy, sensitive-information, or compliance requirements of this part; or acquiring third-party intercepted communications in a manner inconsistent with § 124.14(i).
(3) A mutual aid, regional support, statewide support, county support, or multi-jurisdictional C-UAS arrangement is not circumvention merely because the requesting or host agency is not accredited, provided that the C-UAS operating agency is accredited, the personnel exercising C-UAS authority hold the required certifications, and the operation is conducted in compliance with this part.