davidcalgary29

It certainly seems like both US and Canada customs hire their employees from the same pool of truculent, intrusive, and abrasive miscreants these days.

Typical exchange when entering the US (transiting):

Immigration: "how long will you be in the U.S.?"
Me: As long as it takes to fly through it.

Immigration: Are you SURE you won't be staying in the US?

Me: Well, yes, because I don't want to miss my connecting flight to _____.

And my favourite: You work in the government? You must know ________.

Me: Er, no.

Canadian immigration/customs agents are just as stupid and aggresively hostile.

Immigration (to me and partner): You're listed as living at the same address. Are you sure you live together?

Me: Yes

Immigration: But are you SURE?

Me:

Conversely, I was very impressed when I cleared customs/immigration at LGW last year. Polite, professional, and the agent wished me a good day. That's the way I like to enter a country!

law dawg

Again, you presuppose that these people did what they did due to their nature and not because of the job. Studies are very inconclusive as to why officers may slide into corruption. Then, of course, we have to define the nature of the corruption. Is it for personal gain or is it "public cause" corruption, like where an officer fakes a report to get a warrant for someone he knows is guilty. The officer gets nothing out of that personally.

I'd also argue that, "left unchecked" LE work tends toward abuse. Do you have any studies supporting this contention or is this just your opinion?

law dawg

This makes no sense. If the citizenry is sooooo terrified of these cops running around tasering people willy-nilly then why won't they comply. Having been in real totalitarian countries before I can tell you when a cop there says "jump" they jump because they know what will happen if they don't.

If people were as scared of these abusive cops as many here seek to portray there would be more compliance, not less.

Lineman

For over 20 years i've been crossing the border between the US and Canada, at least 30times, usually at the Vermont crossings of I-91 and I-89.

We have only been searched twice, both at the I-91 Derby Line crossing.

First time was around 1997 and I guess it was Minivan Day, because there were about 20 minivans pulled over all being searched. It took about 20 minutes, the custom agents didn't find anything, and then we were free to go.

The 2nd time was in 2005 and it must have been Goatee Day, because everyone that was pulled over had goatees. I was with my sister and her boyfriend, and both me and my sister's boyfriend had goatees. This time when we pulled over they asked us to go into the office and they must have done a background check on all of us because we were there for about 30 minutes holding our passports. Meanwhile they asked me (the driver of the car) to come back out while they searched the vehicle. After about a 10 minute search, they didn't find anything, and then went back into the office. A few minutes later they handed us our passports and we were free to go. A 45 minute delay total.

While we were in the customs office there was a guy in his mid twenties who had a video camera and was talking to himself and videotaping people, and asking other people in the waiting area where they were going. The Customs Agents were glaring at him and were quite annoyed but didn't say anything. About 15 minutes into our waiting, they called him into another office and one of the Canadian Customs Agents told him he was being denied entry into Canada because of his past history, and I definitely think that his filming of people in the customs office had a little something to do with him beind denied.

Once we were on our way, I was talking to my younger sister about the guy videotaping and explained that in these situations the best thing you can do is be calm and quiet and helpful, and NEVER be disrepectful. Was a good life lesson learned that day.

Wally Bird

And pushing to be allowed to carry sidearms. Wonderful idea .

Deeg

Already a done deal. The first group of armed CBSA officers started last weekend, if memory serves.

SNA_Flyer

Great - now they look like their US comrades. I've still never figured out why a desk-jockey immigration agent needs a gun. Ever.

toadman

I cross into Canada about 40-50 times a year. Sometimes it's a cake walk, sometimes it's an ordeal. The younger the customs agent the higher the probability that I will get pulled into the inspection area. Hesitate answering or not hear fully a question and it's into the inspection area. Sometimes they just want to do random inspections for no reason at all other than you've gone through the border for the past two months without being checked out and your car turned upside down. I seem to always pick the line with the slowest processing and the youngest customs agents.

law dawg

Oh, I don't know.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_mi...X_bombing_plot

There have been a couple of shootouts at ports of entry, most especially those at land borders. And, of course, they enforce laws, and everyone knows it's best if people making arrests are completely unarmed.....

Deeg

Why don't you tell that to the family of Inspector Kenneth Ward? He was shot and killed at a border crossing in Washington State.

http://www.odmp.org/officer.php?oid=13835

There have been something like 200 Customs and Immigration officers killed in the line of duty. That's far from being desk jockies, wouldn't you say?

Deeg

Actually, there are national random inspection programs. A certain percentage of passengers/vehicles get inspected for no reason other than being unlucky. Been that way for a long time, and there are a few good reasons for such programs. (Not that they make the delay any more enjoyable.)

law dawg

You ever hear the story of Artie Baker, the guy who killed Ward? And his subsequent prison break?

Deeg

I hadn't. But a little research turned it up. Did I read correctly that Baker had actually escaped from a life sentence in California a couple of years prior to killing Ward? It's like a bad TV plot.

law dawg

No, he'd been convicted in Sept of killing Ward and broke out of prison in Oct, I think.

htb

He has no rights at the border. Customs can search as much and as long as they want. You gave him bad advice.

HTB.