County police launch marine unit

There's a new force on the waters of Anne Arundel County.

The Anne Arundel County Police Department has created a marine-operations unit to work jointly with the county Fire Department to protect the county's coastlines and surrounding waterways from homeland security threats.

The police unit is currently operating out of a 22-foot Boston Whaler, said police Sgt. Jeff Fratantuono, who leads the unit. But within a year, the fire and police departments will purchase a boat specially designed to deal with chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and disease-related threats.

"It's a cost-saving...