Customs bureau uses body cameras to improve border protection, trade facilitation

The Philippine Bureau of Customs (BOC) integrated Hytera Body-Worn Camera (BWC) Solution to their daily operation to modernize and strengthen its enforcement and border protection capabilities, while at the same time further enhancing trade facilitation and improving the collection of the country’s lawful revenues.

The BOC is a Philippine government agency under the Department of Finance. Its main function is to assess and collect customs revenues from imported goods and other dues, fees, charges, and penalties. It is tasked with implementing border control to prevent smuggling and other customs fraud. It also supervises and controls the clearance of vessels and aircraft engaged in foreign commerce.

According to a report made by the BOC, during the year 2000, it dealt with over 566,212 thousand entries and facilitated more than six million arriving and departing travelers. With such a heavy workload, modernization of its workforce became one of the BOC’s top priorities.

Hytera BWC solution was selected by the BOC for its complete process of evidence collection, data storage and management as well as its GPS positioning and voice features which enable real-time monitoring, dispatching and coordination.

“Having a robust design, powerful audiovisual data recording capabilities and a lot of other features.” praised SpCapt. Rodolfo Gonda, ESS-QRT Head Officer,” Hytera VM780 is easily the best overall body-worn camera available.”

Equipped with Hytera BWC solution, recorded data is transferred through the docking stations deployed in the 17 BOC offices and can be monitored remotely by the Customs Operation Center (COC). Thus, transparency and efficiency of law enforcement are enhanced.

As international trade increases, customs offices worldwide are faced with issues brought by diversified duties and mounting workloads. BWCs that are capable of fast evidence collection, live video streaming and voice dispatching can be a powerful addition for the customs industry and law enforcement agencies alike.