Canine Enforcement Programme

 

The mission of the Canine Enforcement Programme is to develop, execute, and oversee the allocation, training, and support of canine resources. These valuable resources combat terrorism, interdict narcotics and other contraband while helping to facilitate and process legitimate trade and travel within the core processes of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Over 800 canine teams expedite inspections at the US borders. They work tirelessly to combat terrorist threats, stop the flow of illegal narcotics, detect unreported currency, concealed humans, and smuggled agriculture products.

CSI is a programme intended to help increase security for containerized cargo shipped to the United States from around the world. The latest port to join CSI and become operational is the port of Santos, Brazil. Additional CSI team deployments are also expected soon at numerous other ports around the world.

Text 4

 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Inspection

Technology and Equipment

 

Technologies deployed to nation’s land, sea, and airports of entry include large-scale x-ray and gamma-imaging systems. CBP has deployed radiation detection technology including Personal Radiation Detectors (PRDs), radiation isotope identifiers, and radiation portal monitors. CBP uses trained explosive and chemical detector dogs. CBP’s Laboratories and Scientific Services Fast Response Team reacts to calls on suspicious containers. The Laboratories and Scientific Services also operate 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year hotline at its Chemical, Biological, Radiation, and Nuclear Technical Data Assessment and Teleforensic Centre.

Text 5

Australian Customs

 

Australia Customs manages the security and integrity of Australia’s borders. It works closely with other government and international agencies, in particular the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs and the Department of Defence, to detect and deter unlawful movement of goods and people across the border.

Protecting the Australian community through the interception of illegal drugs and firearms is a high priority and sophisticated techniques are used to target high-risk aircraft, vessels, cargo, postal items and travellers. This includes intelligence analysis, computer-based analysis, detector dogs and various other technologies. Customs detector dogs are trained at the Customs Detector Dog Training Centre (DDTC) in Canberra to detect specific target odours. This can include training to find a range of narcotic, firearms, and explosive substances.

 

Text 6

How Has Customs Changed?

Canada Customs has changed the way in which customs and trade legislation is enforced. In the past, Customs verified one import at a time at the port of entry. Officers at the port inspected shipments and documents at the time of release. However, changes in trade environments, together with ongoing administrative cost constraints, have challenged Customs to find more efficient ways of enforcing its laws and regulations. Like their private-sector counterparts, customs administrations are under constant pressure to do more with less. As a result, Customs has moved from the old, transactional model of enforcement to comprehensive on-site audits of importers.

This has greatly increased the legal bonus on importers to ensure the correctness of customs accounting. Importers’ customs accounting will be further tested when Canada Border Services Agency implements its comprehensive penalty mechanism, Administrative Monetary Penalty System (AMPS). AMPS will impose penalties on importers not only for customs accounting errors having a revenue implication, but also for errors in the submission of purely statistical information.

Part 7

English for Fun

Airplane Fun

Annoying Passengers

Task 1. Answer these questions:

 

1. When was the last time you went on a plane?

2. Did you have a good flight?

3. What were the other passengers like?

4. Do you recognize some of the things that passengers do in the list below?

5. How do you feel about the passengers who:

- Act innocently after jumping in the queue as people are waiting to check their bags in.

- Bring massive carry-on bags that block up the overhead locker.

- Ask you (ever so kindly) to move to another seat so that they can sit next to their friend/husband/child/wife, etc, etc.

- Stand in front of the movie screen while you’re trying to watch the film.

- Speak very loudly behind you during the flight.

- Grab the back of your seat as they get up or down, disturbing you while you are enjoying nap, reading a book, or drinking a cup of hot coffee.

- Lean really far back in the seat in front of you, leaving you with even less space than you had before.

- Play their walkman/dismay/MP3 player so loud that you can feel the drum and bass rhythm without hearing the words to the song.

- Try to open the toilet doors, and fail to understand that “OCCUPIED” means that you are sitting in the toilet.

- Talk to you while you’re working reading a great novel, or using a personal electric device.

- Try to read your newspaper, or watch the film on your computer.

- Fall asleep and dribble on your arm.

- Pretend that they are experts on air travel and explain in boring detail everything that is happening.

- Stand up before the seat belt sign goes off in an attempt to get off the plane quicker.

Task 2. Read these stories to answer these questions:

1. What makes people use sophisticated methods for smuggling?

2. What other methods of smuggling do you remember?

3. What does a ‘swallower’ refer to?

 

Smuggling Tropical Fish

The Reuters news agency reported that in June 2005 an Australian woman was arrested for attempting to import banned tropical marine life. Customs officials became suspicious when they heard “flipping” noises coming from underneath her skirt as she arrived at Melbourne airport.

On further examination, they discovered that the woman had strapped on an apron of plastic water-filled bags containing 51 live tropical fish.

A statement from the Australian Customs Service said that “During the search, Customs officers became suspicious after hearing ‘flipping’ noises coming from the vicinity of her waist”.

Smuggling Snakes

In Stockholm, Sweden, customs officers arrested a woman who had tried to smuggle 75 live snakes in her bra. The officers became suspicious when they noticed how the woman kept scratching her chest.

Cocaine Bananas

Customs officials in Miami became suspicious whilst inspecting a shipment of plantains. Some of the green bananas seemed unusually hard. Upon cutting them open, the officers discovered over 750 pounds of cocaine stuffed inside.

The smugglers had molded the plantains out of glass fiber, filled them with cocaine and painted them to look like the real fruit. The culprits painstakingly scattered the fakes throughout 1,080 boxes of genuine plantains shipped from Ecuador to the Port of Miami.

(Funny Customs New s )

Task 3. Retell these unusual stories as if you were a customs officer and witnessed these situations.

Useful Vocabulary

Signs at the Airport

 

Прибытие – arrivals; регистрация багажа – luggage Check-In; получение багажа – baggage claim; отправление – departures; информация о рейсе – flight information; стойки начинают работу за 1 час до отправления – Gates open 1 hour Prior to Departure; стойки 1-2 – Gates 1-2; регистрация групп – Group Check-in; пассажиров просят проходить по одному – Passengers are requested to proceed one at a time; далее проход разрешен только для пассажиров с билетами - Ticketed passengers only beyond this point.

At the Airport

 

airline tickets	авиабилеты
air traffic controller	авиадиспетчер
central airline tickets agency	центральное агентство воздушных сообщений
air transportation	авиаперевозки
aircraft equipment	авиатехника
announce the flight	объявлять посадку
be through with the formalities	выполнить все формальности
bring the aircraft down	посадить самолет
cancel the flight	отменить полет (рейс)
change machine	разменный автомат
check-in counter	место регистрации пассажиров
control tower	диспетчерская башня
departure gate	выход на вылет
departure lounge	зал для отъезжающих пассажиров
descend	спускаться
disembark	высаживаться
fuel	заправлять (самолет)
gain height	набрать высоту
ground facilities	наземные службы
luggage receipt	багажная квитанция
luggage retrieval	получение багажа
luggage tag	багажный ярлык
navigator	штурман
notice board	доска объявлений
pay extra	доплачивать
reach operating altitude	набрать заданную высоту
refueling	заправка
reservation	бронь
rough landing	жесткая посадка
round ticket	билет «туда и обратно»
run into the clouds	входить в облака
runway	взлетная полоса
runway lights	огни посадочной полосы
scale with dials	цифровые весы
single (one way) ticket	билет в одну сторону
smooth take off (landing)	мягкий взлет (посадка)
taxi	выруливать
taxi way	полоса для выруливания
wait for take-off clearance	ждать разрешения на взлет

Documents