90 lines
4.7 KiB
Plaintext
90 lines
4.7 KiB
Plaintext
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August 1990
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POLICE PRACTICES:
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CUSTOM'S BET PROGRAM
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An effective interdiction effort requires the cooperation
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of all law enforcement agencies. To work toward this goal, the
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U.S. Customs Service in New York developed a specific program--
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the Border Envelope Team (BET)--to underscore a unified regional
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approach to interdiction. Customs personnel from both the
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Office of Enforcement and the Office of Operations produce
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multiple sources of intelligence to provide the most complete
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information on border activity.
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The theory behind BET is that successful interdiction
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requires law enforcement to understand fully all entities working
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within the border environment. Monitoring the actions of
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importers, brokers, airline personnel and others who transact
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business on the border is critical. Once gathered, the
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information is made available to other law enforcement agencies
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on a routine basis.
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Through research, observation and analysis, BET gathers
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extensive data on the various entities operating on the border
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and identifies those areas (cargo, passenger, and conveyance)
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that pose the greatest threat. The goal of BET is ultimately to
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produce profiles and patterns of operation that can determine
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potential areas of vulnerability.
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Computer Systems
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The profiles and patterns developed are entered into two
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major computer systems. The Treasury Enforcement Communication
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System (TECSII) is an automated enforcement and inspection
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support system that can create, maintain and retrieve
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information. TECSII maintains information on wide-ranging
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subjects of interest to law enforcement, including the names of
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importers, brokers, aircraft, passenger and merchant vessels.
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The Automated Commercial System (ACS) is a comprehensive
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tracking, controlling and processing system of commercial cargo.
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It gives inspectors and agents the ability of on-line query of
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virtually the entire database.
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Customs also maintains other, more specific, database
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systems. The Private Aircraft Enforcement Tracking System, used
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primarily at airports, screens pilots, crew members and
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passengers on privately owned aircraft entering the United
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States. The Exodus Seizure Database contains information
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extracted from high technology seizure reports in the New York
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region. Other similar systems assist agencies in identifying
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individuals associated with terrorist organizations and also
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track child pornography seizures.
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Response Team
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The Border Envelope Response Team (BERT), an extension of
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the BET concept, responds to all non-Customs seizures and
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arrests. Nine agents and five analysts gather information that
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will assist Customs in its interdiction mission. This team
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collects and reviews documents and records seized by other
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agencies to determine if there are potential international
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implications surrounding a case. Data entered into the database
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systems can be used to identify criminal activity that crosses
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the border.
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The BERT Program has helped solve cases where cross-border
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transactions afforded the strongest evidence in proving criminal
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activity. In one case, the New York State Police contacted BERT
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after a seizure of illegal fireworks. The suspect was identified
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as an active importer, and alerts were placed in the Automated
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Commercial System. In another case, agents of the Drug
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Enforcement Administration contacted BERT when a Chinese food
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importer was suspected of smuggling heroin with shipments of
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food. With the assistance of Customs, DEA agents uncovered 99
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pounds of the drug hidden in a shipment of soy sauce.
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A step forward has been taken in the exchange of
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intelligence among members of the law enforcement community.
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Through BET and BERT, the New York regional office of the Customs
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Service is attempting to create a more unified front against
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criminal activity involving the border.
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____________
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Information for this column was contributed by Robert F.
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Fitton, Intelligence Research Specialist, U.S. Customs Service,
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New York Region.
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