The U.S. Department of Commerce has set a national goal of welcoming 90 million international visitors by 2027. Following a record-breaking summer of travel, with a busy holiday travel season ahead, the United States is experiencing massive surges in travelers, and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO) officers face an increasingly challenging task. Identifying potential threats amidst a sea of legitimate travelers through the 328 ports of entry (POEs) can feel like finding a needle in a haystack. This is why it’s imperative that federal agencies better protect those who protect us by empowering officers with advanced technology.
The key to successful border security lies in integrating nuanced technology that enhances officers’ ability to identify and disrupt sophisticated threats while accounting for the complex stress of their roles and the disparate environments in which they operate. With CBP currently facing a shortage of 5,850 officers and anticipating a 400% increase in officer retirements by 2028, the need for assistive technologies has never been more critical. These workforce challenges, combined with increasing inbound travel, highlight the need for technology that boosts security for officers who put their lives on the lines every day guarding the U.S.’s front door.
Achieving effective border security requires a delicate balance between human decision-making and technology – harnessing the precision of advanced tools while preserving the critical intuition and judgement necessary to respond to complex, evolving challenges. It is vital to enhance the well-being of officers because their well-being directly impacts their ability to make sound enforcement decisions, maintain vigilance, and effectively respond to the high stress situations they encounter daily, ensuring both their safety and the security of the nation.
Supporting Officer Well-Being
Supporting officer well-being is crucial because of the high-stakes, cannot-fail nature of their mission, combined with the surge demands of their work can lead to burnout and diminished performance – ultimately impacting both officer effectiveness and overall well-being. Implementing AI-assistive technologies can play a crucial role in supporting officers’ mental and physical well-being by building confidence in quick decision-making at work and thereby lessening stress in their personal lives.
One way technology can support officers is to lessen the burden of the time-consuming and/or manual tasks that are complexly tied to crucial, real-time decisions associated with security and travelers processed every day. AI-assistive tools can increase the efficiency of processing or vetting of travelers and enhancing officer security throughout the work they are performing. By enabling officers to focus more of their time on cues from passengers, they can enhance their enforcement decisions.
In addition to improving vigilance and decision-making accuracy, these technological advancements can also be valuable recruitment and retention tools. Offering a more modern and supportive workplace environment can attract new talent and improve overall job satisfaction, helping to retain officers during a time of significant workforce challenges, including during peak migration or travel times, when immigration policy or travel policy changes, or when new security threats emerge.
Assisting Officer Decision-Support
CBP officers face the daunting task of making quick, accurate decisions based on varying amount of advanced information (which is sometimes none), existing and emerging intelligence data informing potential threats, as well as the information presented by the travelers in real time.
To alleviate some of the stress officers face requires streamlined efficiencies. AI-assistive technology can lighten this burden by synthesizing information from diverse sources into actionable insights, enhancing decision-making and empowering officers with the data they need at the speed that is required. The benefit of this would be by reducing the manual tasks to give officers more time to focus on assessing individuals. The potential of technology to enhance security by allowing officers to concentrate on their core responsibilities, leveraging technology to handle manual or repetitive tasks and improve overall operational efficiency. AI-assisted solutions can help officers identify potential threats based on historical data, current threat trends, and other pertinent information, allowing officers to focus their attention on high-risk individuals without being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of travelers.
Furthermore, decision-assistance technologies play a critical role in enhancing the security of U.S. borders and protecting both citizens and law enforcement personnel. These systems, designed to detect patterns and irregularities, support officers by flagging potential indicators of unauthorized or high-risk activity. For instance, by analyzing aggregated traveler data, such as general travel routes and visitation frequency, these tools can identify profiles that may warrant additional review. Through continuous data analysis and model refinement, decision-assistance technologies provide real-time alerts, enabling officers to proactively address potential security threats.
Reducing Administrative Burdens
While essential, manual data entry and administrative tasks take up valuable time and energy that officers could otherwise spend on other mission critical duties. Focusing on giving time back to officers and allowing officers to have their eyes up, could open the aperture of identifying nefarious behavior or actions quicker than if they are focused on the data input. Automating these processes can streamline operations and reduce mundane burdens. For instance, auto-population of information, address field standardization, and predictive text for additional interviews can cut down on manual data entry, ensuring cleaner and more reliable data.
Protecting Against Emerging Threats
As we prepare for the surge in international travel, it is more important than ever to equip CBP officers with the right tools and technologies. It’s also imperative, however, to look beyond just the technological solution; we must ensure these advancements work in tandem with and for the people using them to ensure the best outcomes. By integrating AI-assistive tools and data analytics in a manner that enhances the experienced decision-making, CBP can enhance security, streamline operations, and improve the overall experience for both officers and travelers.