Chennai: A new procedure has been implemented at Chennai Airport. Under this system, customs officers will be required to wear body cameras while inspecting passengers. Checking the baggage of passengers arriving from and departing to foreign countries is a primary function of the Customs Department at Chennai International Airport.
The Central Finance Ministry had previously ordered that these inspections be conducted respectfully. However, complaints were received at some airports that customs officers were acting harshly and using abusive language. Following this, the central government directed that body-worn cameras be used to record all inspection procedures in both audio and video.
These cameras will record all interactions between officers and passengers, as well as the inspection procedures themselves. All recordings will be stored in the camera with the date and time. This scheme was first launched at Bengaluru Airport in South India. Now, it has been implemented at Chennai Airport as well.
In the next phase, it will be extended to Trichy, Coimbatore, and Madurai airports. Initially, eight cameras have been installed at Chennai Airport. Customs department sources say that 24 more cameras will be installed soon. Chennai Airport has two channels for passenger inspection and clearance by customs officers: the Green Channel and the Red Channel.
The officers working in these channels will wear these cameras. Through this system, the officers’ questioning, baggage inspection, passenger interactions, and conversations with customs officials will all be recorded by the body-worn cameras. This is expected to increase transparency in customs inspections. Customs officials have stated that with this new body camera system, strict action will be taken if any wrongdoing is found on the part of passengers or if any allegations are made against customs officers.
