Customs administrations around the world have reported incidents where their officers are being approached by organized criminal groups seeking to persuade them to misuse their power to facilitate illicit activities. The more that measures are taken to secure access to premises and IT systems, the more that these groups will try to influence Customs staff, including through physical threats. Dutch Customs has taken a number of measures to raise awareness of this issue among its staff, and to provide them with the knowledge and skills that will enable them to determine the best course of action, should they find themselves in this situation. These measures are part of efforts to create a strong culture of integrity and recognize that our Customs officers are the strongest link in the fight against corruption related to organized crime.

Newly recruited officers are often unaware of how organized crime infiltrates the Customs sector and of the chain of events that can lead to the emergence of (physical) threats. Dutch Customs builds awareness among officers of the tactics used by organized crime groups from the time they are recruited right up until they resign or retire.

All newly recruited staff are required to undergo induction training during which they learn about corruption risks and vulnerabilities. The various methods used by criminals, from seduction to threats and possible violence, are explained, as well as how to report corruption attempts so that they can ensure that they receive the support and protection they need. The training also addresses behaviours that may make officials more easily identifiable and vulnerable, along with practices that may help to conceal their identities, while explaining how to identify and manage moral conflicts in the workplace, and how to communicate effectively in vulnerable situations.

Storytelling is often used during training to simulate interactions between Customs officials and organized criminal groups, so that officials have an enhanced understanding of the risks and threats involved, as well as an opportunity to learn about appropriate ways to react in challenging situations.

The Customs Administration even went a step further. Based on the experience of its own officers and in collaboration with a professional theatre group, it wrote a play which tells the story of an officer who, while going about her day-to-day activities, encounters a number of threats, including some made by an organized criminal group. This performance was staged in a theatre in order to ensure that officers were not distracted by their work or interrupted as they watched the show.

To develop a realistic screenplay, the writers visited officers on the job and asked many of them about their work. As a result, they were able to capture the Customs culture so well that some officers actually thought that the actors on stage were their peers.

It was mandatory for employees of the entire organization to attend the performance, the objective being to provide officers with a shared experience that they could talk about with colleagues from all over the organization. Immediately after the show, they were asked to attend a meeting to discuss what they had seen, how it reflected their individual situation and what could be done to improve integrity within the organization. Discussions emphasized the importance of creating a work environment where officers receive clear guidance and support from the administration, are committed to their work and made to feel accountable, while being able to develop their knowledge and create genuine connections with their colleagues. Officers also highlighted the fact that being honest and open about the reality they face makes the organization as a whole stronger and more resilient.

Storytelling was also used to develop an e-learning course aimed at ensuring protection against criminals. This course, which is also mandatory, is based on real facts and showcases four different methods used by criminals to enter in contact with Customs officers, while highlighting the vulnerabilities that such criminals exploit.

Managers are requested to talk about integrity, corruption and vulnerabilities with their team, and a toolkit was developed to guide them in initiating a constructive conversation on these topics. This toolkit contains a wide range of templates with a list of discussion prompts that can be used to provoke discussions in an individual or group setting. One of the questions related to the risk posed by criminal groups is “What makes you, as an officer and as an individual, interesting to criminals?” In a group setting, participants may be asked to write down as many answers as they can in two minutes, and answers may be compared and discussed. A game element may be incorporated into the exercise, for instance by asking participants to guess in advance how many different possible answers there might be.

High-profile integrity breaches are communicated to staff members in the form of a short case description providing anonymized information. Managers are encouraged to discuss cases with their staff, so that they are able to learn how to recognize and prevent new breaches. Here again, a number of questions have been drafted to assist managers in discussing a case with their staff. Questions include: “How would you react if you were in this situation?”, “Under the given circumstances, would you have known the best course of action?”, “What might have improved the situation?”, “Do you think the officer involved should have reported the situation?” and “How should he or she have done so, and at what point?”

In addition to ensuring that all officers know how to recognize and react to vulnerable situations, we work with professionals to help determine what should or could be done in a specific situation and provide officers with dilemma training to help them identify, articulate and manage moral dilemmas that commonly arise in their workplace setting.

If officers are facing safety issues in their line of work, we work with them and the police to implement protective measures. Criminal threats can be very intimidating, and officers’ home environment may also need to be protected.

Lastly, we offer officers the possibility to receive support from specially trained colleagues (confidants may intervene or a collegial support team may be set up) or professionals such as social workers, doctors or psychologists.

More information
Contact the Security and Integrity Office of Dutch Customs