Data analysis for effective border protection

‘Dissecting the process’

THE SUCCESS of Customs administrations worldwide depends on an effective riskmanagement unit and system. The Risk Management Unit of the Jamaica Customs Agency is responsible for assisting senior management in the implementation of risk management plans and processes. The unit has responsibility for: I gathering and collating information.

I identifying, analysing and reporting areas of risk. I developing targets and profiles. I establishing and maintaining riskmanagement database.

I monitoring the application of risk-management remedies across the organisation.

The risk-based approach adopted by the agency dictates that border protection has to remain a priority while facilitating the legitimate movement of cargo and passengers. For this to be accomplished, data analysis, an important step in the risk-management process, is necessary. The purpose of risk analysis is to separate low risks from the high risks and to further provide data to assist in the assessment and treatment of those risks identified.

Data retrieved from ASYCUDA is analysed by the unit to ensure that the highest levels of risks to our borders are targeted. There are several indicators used in the analysis of this data. These include who, what, when, where, how and why.

However, there are other indicators, such as import history, weight of cargo, routing of conveyances and country of origin that are used. It is only then that one can truly determine the highest threats to our borders and implement measures to eliminate or minimise the impact of these threats.