|
ANNE McLELLAN’S AND RCMP COMMISSIONER’S
COMMENTS ON
IBETs (Integrated Border Enforcement Teams) AT ODDS WITH AUDIT FINDINGS
[SNIP] Hon. Anne McLellan: Of course, I reject the premise that it has failed in terms of dealing with gun smuggling. It is one of our tools to deal with the smuggling of guns, and we have reasserted our commitment, along with the United States. In fact, our IBET teams, for example, deal with smuggling of guns from the United States to Canada, and vice versa, although I think it's fair to say, Commissioner, much of the gun smuggling is from the U.S. to Canada. In fact, our IBET teams are addressing the question of gun smuggling. I think both countries, through the Cross Border Crime Forum, have identified gun smuggling as an important shared issue. Of course, organized crime, and the commissioner can comment on this if he wishes, is a major challenge for all of us--for law enforcement agencies across the country and for us as a country, as it is in the United States, western Europe, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere. We work not only here at home but around the world, in partnership with key law enforcement agencies, including agencies like Interpol, to try to stop the flow of whatever illegal goods--the trafficking of guns, the trafficking of people, the trafficking of drugs, all of which are part, unfortunately, of the daily activities of organized crime. [SNIP] RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli: Thank you, Minister. With respect to the detachments, it's important to understand that most of those detachments were not border detachments. They're quite a distance from the border. The people who were working in those detachments were not there to look after policing the border. They were there to carry out criminal investigations, which are federal responsibilities. We've taken these people and we've regrouped them in a strategic way. We call them the integrated border enforcement teams, or IBETs. We've strategically located them throughout the country, thanks to the substantial resources we were given after 9/11. Those resources are working in a seamless way with our American counterparts, who have created the same philosophy and the same team. On both sides of the border, we recognize that we have to do risk assessment based on intelligence. We can't guarantee that every person and every car will be stopped. That's not what we're trying to do. We're trying to identify that by being intelligence-led and having people who are flexible, responsive, and strategically located along 8,000 kilometres to deal with it. That's what we've done. --------------------------------------- PUBLICATION: The Ottawa
Citizen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Border security over-budget and under-achieving: audit -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The federal government's implementation of a national customs strategy and several post-Sept. 11, 2001 border security initiatives is behind schedule, underfunded, over-budget and ineffective in key areas, an internal audit has found. While the review endorses the principles behind the plan -- launched in 2000 to speed border processing and crack down on illegal activity -- associated programs have been hampered by financial, planning and logistical problems. Auditors focused mainly on the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), but also took aim at a pair of RCMP-led, multi-department enforcement squads in which it participates. They found the government's highly touted Integrated Border Enforcement Teams (IBETs) have "produced few enforcement results to date," and only recently took steps to improve performance. "Until 2003, there was little effective management direction provided to IBETs, inadequate application of the 'intelligence-led' concept and insufficient focus on key priorities of national security and organized crime," they wrote. In addition, a lack of shared accommodations and limited American participation has reduced the 14 units' ability to work together. Management has acknowledged the problems, and the audit concluded corrective measures "show promise for improvement of IBET performance over time." The country's four Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams (INSETs), created in response to 9/11, fared better. "Preliminary observations indicate that the individual INSETs have had success in disrupting terrorist activities, but the evaluation could not confirm the teams' effectiveness independently," according to auditors. But CBSA, a critical partner in anti-terror activities, has yet to secure the government funding that would allow it to participate in INSET full time as originally planned. It currently participates in investigations on an ad hoc basis. Statistics suggest the CBSA's stand-alone enforcement activities have shown little improvement since 2000, due partially to a lack of tools and useful, timely information. "While available information indicates that the incidence and magnitude of cross-border criminal activity has not decreased, there have not been sustained increases in the hit rate for targeted examinations or in the volume and value of contraband seizures," the document reads. One of the main border agent tools -- a system for logging and tracking airline passenger data provided by carriers -- has faced numerous challenges, and is already $6 million over-budget. Airlines frequently submit incomplete passenger information. "The agency currently receives inconsistent and poor quality ... data from airlines due to lack of data input standards and keying errors by airline staff," the document says. Although not addressed by the audit, incorrect watch-list data raise the spectre of delays, air travel bans and investigations based on mistaken identity -- a problem that has plagued the U.S. no-fly list since its inception. Plans to access some categories of data have been dropped due to objections raised by Canada's federal privacy commissioner and legal obstacles bar European Union airlines from providing any passenger information. Two additional new screening systems used by the agency have come in $7 million and $10 million over-budget. The fault for that lies outside the agency, however. "Unrealistic deadlines obliged project teams to spend more money for overtime than budgeted, and delayed implementation also increased costs," auditors determined. "In order to obtain Treasury Board funding, the agency had to make commitments concerning initiatives before it could conduct detailed analysis." Meanwhile, costly vehicle inspection equipment continues to sit idle due to a lack of manpower required to operate it. Following 9/11, the Liberals approved the purchase of 11 mobile Vehicle and Cargo Inspection Systems (VACIS) at a cost of $2.5 million each. "To date, few seizures (and no significant seizures) have been made with the assistance of the new detection equipment," the document explains. "Firstly, many officers lack sufficient proficiency with the VACIS machines, particularly in interpreting X-ray images. At many ports, officers are not assigned to VACIS operation for extended periods, preventing them from gaining necessary practice and experience." The complaint is not new, having been raised nearly three years ago by the union representing border workers. The audit also draws attention to VACIS trucks sitting in plain sight at land ports of entry, "so their presence can be reported to individuals approaching the border." In its response, management blamed factors outside its control for delays and challenges in implementing the customs action plan. Because the strategy was launched in 2000, it didn't take into account the additional pressures and programs that followed the 9/11 attacks. "In essence, what was already an ambitious plan to re-engineer the customs program became yet more ambitious," the agency said. Funding gaps have also forced the agency to reduce the scope of some initiatives and not implement others. Still, officials defended the progress made thus far. "Despite the challenging environment ... the high priority initiatives are being implemented, and significant benefits are being realized, both in terms of more effective security at the border and greater facilitation of trade," they say. |