Critical training under way

This week local Immigration and Customs officers are receiving training which is intended to help them better protect the country’s borders.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the five-day course at the Barbados Defence Force, Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Immigration, Senator Darcy Boyce, highlighted the importance of the training, and expressed appreciation to the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) and the European Union for collaborating to host and fund the workshop.

“The initiative stresses a co-operative effort as it promotes and develops co-operation among border security agencies. It also helps to strengthen and advance a more effective security partnership. I applaud this collabor-ative and integrated approach. Border security, in very many ways, continues to be top of mind for many of us. Training of border security officials is therefore necessary to support the improvements in border security controls,” he said.

Senator Boyce made the point while indicating that as a result of the training, the Immigration and Customs officers are expected to improve their interviewing techniques, be better able to inspect and identify fraudulent documents, as well as hone skills in respect of body language analysis and luggage and person examination. Likewise, he said, the training is intended to enhance the capacity of border security officials to identify and intercept persons, goods or vessels travelling across borders by illicit means or with illicit intent.

“I am delighted that so many participants from both the Immigration Department and Customs and Excise Departments are here today. I want to assure you that this Administration is very appreciative of the critical role that you play in ensuring the national security of this country, a role that sometimes leads to officers putting themselves in harm’s way to ensure that the country’s borders are protected. This certainly reflects the nobility of your professions,” he stated.

With that in mind, the Immigration Minister added that the workshop will help to improve screening techniques, which should reduce wait times at checkpoints, as passengers and cargo of no interest can be readily identified and processed; and he added, it is intended to reduce litigation and poor publicity that may result from a less informed interaction with Immigration or Customs officials.

“As the Minister with day-to-day responsibility for Immigration, I want to re-assure you that your hard work and commitment do not go unnoticed and I wish on behalf of the Government of Barbados to thank you for your sterling efforts. I should add that in recognition of the crucial role which these Departments perform, Government assumes a highly supportive stance with respect to ensuring that critical training needs are met. You may recall that in January this year, officers from Customs and Immigration were trained, along with other agencies, in customer service. I am told that the training is already yielding excellent results,” he added.

Minister Boyce said this is very encouraging, as he noted that as the first locals that travellers to the country meet, they play an important role as front-line ambassadors for the country.

“You have to be facilitators of tourism and other business activity without sacrificing security objectives. In these circumstances, skilful, warm and friendly customer interaction can often yield the most security information. You catch flies with honey,” he told the participants. (JRT)