It Is In The Interview.....
Today I had the opportunity to train Officers about to go out into the field on one of our newer systems. The setting was just like the field, where Officers are dealing with international travelers or those going international in the near future. The system worked pretty well and only crashed once, but was up and running in short order. It was easy to use and prompted the user when ever mistakes were made. As one of my colleagues stated, " a trained monkey could use it". He is pretty much right, but that is not really the dangerous aspect. As I anticipated and have written previously, the high tech systems set up a false sense of security for those lacking experience. They begin to feel that by asking the basic questions needed to input information into the system, they are conducting a proper interview. They rely on the database to indicate who might be the smuggler or terrorist. Unfortunately for them and the country, those that are most dangerous won't be in the system. KSM had over thirty genuine passports in a variety of names and from a variety of countries. The basic questions posed by border agencies throughout the world can be found in the Al Qaida training manual.
Interdicting the smuggler, criminal, or terrorist always comes down to one thing.....
The Interview!
Anything that detracts from the interview is counter-productive. Relying on systems for
threat assessment is terribly dangerous and keeps the Officers from honing their interviewing skills. It is not the systems or high tech tools that are hurt us, but forgetting that these are just tools to assist the Officer in conducting threat assessment. The Officer needs to utilize the information provided by the systems and tools to direct the interview in the direction it needs to go. This is the rare exception. The false sense of security provided by these tools and the constant barrage to process travelers faster makes for a less secure nation. It is the utter reliance on these systems and tools that lead to problems where the process stops because the computers aren't working. If we have developed the interviewing skills in our Officers, we can implement our continuity of operations planning and not miss a beat. If our Officers no longer have the skills, we are all at risk.
BT
Interdicting the smuggler, criminal, or terrorist always comes down to one thing.....
The Interview!
Anything that detracts from the interview is counter-productive. Relying on systems for
threat assessment is terribly dangerous and keeps the Officers from honing their interviewing skills. It is not the systems or high tech tools that are hurt us, but forgetting that these are just tools to assist the Officer in conducting threat assessment. The Officer needs to utilize the information provided by the systems and tools to direct the interview in the direction it needs to go. This is the rare exception. The false sense of security provided by these tools and the constant barrage to process travelers faster makes for a less secure nation. It is the utter reliance on these systems and tools that lead to problems where the process stops because the computers aren't working. If we have developed the interviewing skills in our Officers, we can implement our continuity of operations planning and not miss a beat. If our Officers no longer have the skills, we are all at risk.
BT
posted by Border Train at 10:46 PM
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