Jamaica's immigration authorities will today start testing their new, multi-million dollar computerised passport and immigration tracking system, which officials say will enhance the country's border controls.
"The test run starts . at both international airports, which will mean both incoming and outgoing passengers will be checked," an official at the national security ministry told the Observer.With the new system, immigration work stations at Kingston's Norman Manley airport and at Sangster in Montego Bay will have computer screens and electronic data reading mechanisms that will provide immigration officers with real time information on an individual's travel history.
The system will record and store visitors' arrival and departure information, thereby enabling immigration officers to better track the movement of criminals as well as visitors who may have overstayed their time in the island.
"That will mean, if your passport is swiped and anything comes up that is suspicious under your name, you will be required to do a second screening as is done at other airports like in the United States," the security ministry official explained.
The system has been installed at a cost of $135 million, much of it aid from the United States, and is part of the measures to upgrade security at the island's ports as part of the response to the international terror threat since the September 2001 attacks in the United States.
Jamaica is also keen to enhance its border controls to fight international narco-trafficking. The island is a major transshipment point for cocaine heading for North America and Europe. The island began issuing machine-readable passports earlier this year and plans to phase out the old, manual versions.
Officials say that apart from the enhanced security, another value of the computer system when it is fully operational is the speed with which it will allow immigration officers to process travellers and resolve problems. "It will definitely improve our efficiency," the security ministry official said.
One potential downside will be for American and some European visitors who are now allowed to enter Jamaica on driver's licences and other non-passport identification.
"Eventually, they won't be able to do so," the official said. "When the system is fully up it won't be able to accommodate that."
