Public Services Assistant Diah Natalisa during benchmarking related to public services in the field of border management United States – Canada on Wednesday (11/09).

NEW YORK – Public services at national borders are crucial because they are the main gateway to the presence of the State. To learn how to provide good border services, the Deputy Minister of Public Services of the Ministry of Administrative Reform and Reform (PANRB) Diah Natalisa had the opportunity to visit the United States – Canada border on Wednesday (11/09 ).

The tour was conducted at Rainbow Bridge, one of the borders located in the Niagara Falls, Buffalo, New York area, which is managed by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Here, border services have used information technology to serve people wishing to cross national borders.

“We are studying how to apply information technologies in border services, as this can reduce the time in the process of validation and control between passing citizens”, said MP Diah during the comparative analysis related to the public services in the field of border management.

Diah said that Indonesia, as a maritime country, is bordered by ten countries, including seven sea-bordering countries and three land-bordering countries. There are three types of entry and exit between countries, namely airports for air crossings and international ports for sea crossings. Regarding land crossings, there are eight border checkpoints.

National borders are also not free from problems, such as territorial boundary disputes, smuggling and illegal trade, to illegal migration. It is also suspected that this is due to the lack of infrastructure at the border to deal with the problem.

“We hope to implement the application of information technology in the border service process, as implemented by the United States,” he continued.

During the visit, Rainbow Bridge Port Assistant Manager Thomas Rusert said CBP has been present since 2003 as an integrated border security agency and takes a comprehensive approach to border management and control. . It does this by combining customs, immigration, border security and agricultural protection.

“To support this, US CBP utilizes the use of information technology which is very helpful in integrating various border services. Because, each year, the CBP Rainbow Bridge serves nearly 5,000 people, both vehicular and pedestrian, inside and outside the United States and Canada,” said Thomas Rusert.

For those who want to cross the border between the two countries, it is enough to show the required information data and the checks are carried out electronically in a few minutes. The public can also easily access information related to the procedures for crossing between countries that have been published through various media.

In providing services, CBP used Land Border Integration (LBI) integrated technology for vehicle and cargo screening that was created to improve border security. These technologies include License Plate Readers (LPR), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Readers, Vehicle Primary Client (VPC), and Cargo X-Ray Scan Portal.

LBI is designed to improve security measures when processing pedestrians, vehicles and goods at Border Patrol checkpoints. In addition, there is also the Reporting Offsite Arrival Mobile (ROAM) innovation, which is an innovation in remote inspection technology available to people using ships when docking through an app, where arrivals can be followed virtually.

In addition, border posts also play a role in supporting the economy and tourism by facilitating access to services, especially during the holiday season. This is done by coordinating with both the United States and Canada regarding ease of passage between countries.

Thomas added that CBP provides services in different languages ​​as well as disability support services to accommodate services for diverse communities. CBP also has various complaint channels accessible through the website and telephone.

“Thanks to the integration of this technology, the performance of border services can be improved and there is a reduction in costs in the operational process, in order to create services that facilitate the task of citizens who wish to cross to and from the United States United States and Canada,” concluded Thomas. (ald/HUMAS MENPANRB)