The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is a maritime first responder. They cover more than 95,000 miles of U.S. coastline, throughout the 4.5 million square miles of U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and on the high seas. The USCG aids people in distress and protects property in the maritime environment.
In this Key Homeland Security Metric (KHSM), we provide data on USCG search and rescue (SAR) cases and outcomes.
Data Source
All KHSM data are from the OHSS Statistical System of Record (SSOR). The SSOR is the authoritative source of DHS statistical data and undergoes rigorous validation. We construct SSOR data for Search and Rescue (SAR) responses from administrative data stored in the Marine Information for Safety and Law Enforcement (MISLE) system. USCG personnel use MISLE to schedule and record operational activities. Personnel enter SAR response data into the MISLE as the incident unfolds.
Data Lineage
USCG extracts data from MISLE. They provide us the data as a comma-separated values (CSV) file. We calculate the KHSM directly from the source dataset.
Units of Measure and Descriptive Variables
Units of Measure
Case
A case is a coordinated USCG response to an incident with people or property in distress. A case may involve multiple USCG units and assets responding to a single or multiple individuals or properties in distress. The case counts reported in the KHSM are counts of unique identifiers in the Marine Information for Safety and Law Enforcement (MISLE) system.
Outcome
The disposition of the person or property in distress. When a person is in distress there are three possible outcomes. The life is saved, the life is lost, or the person remains missing at the conclusion of search efforts. In some cases, the life is lost before USCG is notified or has any chance to affect the outcome.
- Lives Saved: Persons saved due to USCG rescue.
- Lives Unaccounted For: Persons missing at the conclusion of USCG search efforts.
- Lives Lost Before USCG Notification: Persons who lost their lives before USCG knew they were in distress.
- Lives Lost After USCG Notification: Persons who lost their lives after USCG awareness they were in distress but before USCG arrival on scene.
- Lives Lost After USCG Arrival: Persons who lost their lives after USCG arrived on scene and began rescue operations. This includes lives lost after rescued persons have been transferred to shoreside medical facilities and/or personnel.
- Property Saved: Total property value saved in dollars.
- Property Lost: Total property value lost in dollars.
Descriptive Variables
USCG Area
Global geographic areas of responsibility. Split into Pacific and Atlantic. Area Commanders are responsible for the coordination of operations between subordinate command echelons. When not in direct control of an operation, Area Commanders oversee and integrate operational missions at the strategic level.
USCG District
Regional geographic areas of responsibility. District Commanders report directly to their respective Area Command. When not directly overseeing a specific operation, the District Commanders are responsible for the oversight of operational missions executed by subordinate command echelons. The geographic boundaries of the USCG Districts can be found via ArcGIS.
Captain of the Port (COTP) Zone
Local geographic areas of responsibility. The COTP enforces port safety and security and marine environmental protection regulations. The geographic boundaries of the COTP Zone can be found via ArcGIS.
Data Processing
We use a single data extract from Marine Information for Safety and Law Enforcement (MISLE) to produce the Search and Rescue KHSM. We use reference data to standardize formats. We calculate this KHSM by summing data across multiple variables in the source data.
Data Cleaning
We transform Area, District, and COTP Zone abbreviations in the source data to their full name in string format.
If a life is lost after USCG arrives on scene, they collect additional data. This data isn't reported publicly and tracks the precise circumstances of where and when the life is lost. We calculate the Lives Lost After USCG Arrival outcome by summing the data across time and place variables.
Integration
A single data source is used to produce the Search and Rescue KHSM.
Imputation
We don’t substitute any missing data for the Search and Rescue KHSM.
Limitations
Undercount and Overcount
We query Marine Information for Safety and Law Enforcement (MISLE) for all cases with a SAR incident type.
Undercount can occur if a deployment is not captured in the data provided by USCG due to a gap in MISLE query. This potential undercount is currently unknown.
Overcount can also occur if data are inaccurately entered in the source system. We can't identify this potential overcount with the input validation process and it is currently unknown.
Accuracy
We round each row of data to the nearest 10 to protect privacy and security. As a result, the actual totals and the totals of the rounded rows can vary.
Timeliness
We extract data from the source system no more than 30 days before the release of the report. We release data on a quarterly basis within 60 days of the end of the fiscal year.
Linkage Error
There is no linkage performed in producing the Search and Rescue KHSM.
Reporting Period
Data reported covers Fiscal Years 2020–2024.
Changes from Previous Releases
The current release is the first iteration of the Search and Rescue KHSM. As such, there are no changes to note from previous releases.
Related Data and Information
- United States Coast Guard Maritime Response Activities: Narrative report and details about USCG maritime response statistics to support the data.
- U.S. Coast Guard Office of Search and Rescue (CG-SAR)
