BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - ASSISTANT Comptroller of Customs Terry Adams contends that the Customs and Excise Department has suffered through marginalisation and is in need of its own Canine Unit if the entity is to effectively carry out its role as “the government’s primary protection agency”.
Adams, who has responsibility for Port Operations of the Customs and Excise Department, was responding to comments made by G. A. Dwyer Astaphan, Parliamentary Representative for Constituency Number Two and former Minister of National Security, on a WINNFM 98.9 newscast aired late last week.
During the newscast, Astaphan spoke of the Canine Units of both the Police Force and the Defence Force, noting that the canines are trained, efficient and are assets to the security forces and also the Customs Department.
The MP said, “It seems that while Customs is working assiduously to build out its dog unit, and it does need one, the other two agencies, their units are in limbo.” He also indicated that the dogs of the units are being “underutilised”, a statement with which Adams agreed. He however said Astaphan failed to indicate that the Customs and Excise Department was not issued canines but has to rely on those of the Police and Defence Forces.
“However, the Customs is the government’s primary border protection agency even as it relates to our National Security. But what the Minister failed to do and say is that none of those dogs were given to the Customs, and I suspect it is because some of the persons in the Ministry of National Security seem not to understand the Customs or want to understand the Customs as part of the National Security apparatus in the Federation.
“Therefore, I am under the impression and have always been under the impression that the Customs has been marginalised even within its own place and, I’ll give an example...The Customs, by law, has responsibility and jurisdiction for all ports within the Federation. As a result, the Customs area is so prescribed and not designated. For any dogs to enter the Customs area to do work, it has to be sanctioned by the Comptroller of Customs; period.”
Adams said a canine unit belonging to the Customs Department would increase efficiency and eliminate procedural delays of garnering assistance from either the Police’s or the Defence Force’s Canine Unit.
“Therefore, the Customs ought to have been given dogs long ago to do its work. If dogs come to the ports, what that means, they are going to be under the control of the Customs because they are going to be searching people’s baggage and persons. We ought to be working much more closely together, but the Customs must carry out its function within these ports and the tools and assets must be given to the Customs. It will be more efficient for the Customs to be using its own dogs at the port because we wouldn’t have to call anyone. That is the point.”
The Assistant Comptroller told SKNVibes that the Customs and Excise Department is responsible for “border security and border protection” and must be fitted with the tools to execute its duties in a proficient manner.
“The misunderstanding is coming because they do not understand who is securing our ports and why. He [Astaphan] said the dogs were given to the police and the army, but he include the Customs by saying it’s a good thing that the Customs are getting dogs. What I am saying is that the tools ought to have been put at the port in the first place and given to the agencies that are carrying out border security and border protection.”
According to Adams, having listened to the concerns of the Customs Department, Prime Minister and Minister of National Security Dr. the Hon. Denzil Llewellyn Douglas, has budgeted for a Canine Unit for that Department.
