A new plan calls for everything within the Navy’s fence line in neighborhoods such as Greene Lane to be policed by the Navy, everything outside the fence line by Middletown police.

The Providence Journal / Ruben W. Perez

MIDDLETOWN — The lines have been blurred for years, decades even.

Policing the former military housing complexes on the west side of Aquidneck Island has been complicated, as some of the Navy-owned land is under exclusive federal control, while other areas are controlled by state and Middletown police.

The confusing boundaries present liability issues and, potentially, delayed responses to emergencies because of problems gaining access to secured Navy properties.

Now, the Navy and the town are working to more clearly define the law-enforcement jurisdictions in and around the Coddington Cove and Greene Lane neighborhoods.

“These jurisdictional boundaries have existed ever since the federal government acquired portions of land on Aquidneck Island, but they have resulted in sub-optimal situations for all involved,” Navy spokeswoman Lisa Rama said in a recent e-mail. “It is now in the interests of both the Navy and the three local communities to rationalize these jurisdictional boundaries in a manner that makes sense for all parties involved.”

“It’s important because the line, as far as criminal prosecution goes, will be more clear and evident by the fence line,” Middletown police Chief Anthony M. Pesare said of the effort to delineate the jurisdictional lines.

The jurisdiction line right now goes smack-dab through the Coddington Cove neighborhood — indeed, through actual residences. There’s been confusion over time among local and Navy police officers about just who has the authority to respond to certain houses in the neighborhood, Rama said.

The Navy’s operational pier, used by Navy and Coast Guard vessels and by visiting foreign ships, now confusingly falls under local and state control.

“It simply does not make sense for the Navy to have to call the state of Rhode Island or the town of Middletown to respond to a crime that occurs on a military pier used by military vessels inside of a military installation,” Rama said.

Once, a drunken driver crashed his car through the Navy’s security fence, putting the vehicle halfway between local and federal property, Pesare said. A judge determined that the Navy was responsible for prosecuting the man in that “wacky” example, Pesare said.

Generally speaking, local and federal authorities have cooperated and done their best not to step on each other’s toes. “We’ve pretty much educated ourselves to where the line is,” Pesare said.

Both sides have agreed, however, that it’s better to have a clear demarcation.

“This is something that has been fouled up for a while and it’s something that’s easy for us to fix,” Naval Station Newport’s base commander Capt. Michel Poirier told the Town Council last month.

Under a plan endorsed by the council, local authorities will be responsible for policing property outside the Navy’s security fence line, and the Navy will be in charge of everything within its fences. Local and state police will also patrol McAllister Point.

Middletown police will “inherit” some of the homes that used to fall under Navy control, Pesare said, but prosecuting those crimes will be much easier.

The reworked jurisdictional lines must be approved by Navy and federal law-enforcement officials, a process that may take a year.

The Navy and the town first began considering redrawing the boundaries when the Navy sold its military housing complexes to GMH Military Housing, which has since been bought out by Balfour Beatty.

In 2006, the town and GMH settled on a 50-year agreement under which GMH would pay the town $1.29 million annually for providing police and fire protection for the Anchorage, Coddington Cove and Greene Lane neighborhoods. The Navy in 2004 had sold the properties to GMH.

Sorting out the jurisdictional lines will complement the Navy’s development of its “Vision 2035” master plan to guide future development on Navy property, Rama said.

The Navy intends to announce in the coming months its plans to sell off more than 300 acres of surplus property along the island’s west side. All three island communities have endorsed the creation of a regional redevelopment agency to guide reuse of the excised properties.

mwims@projo.com