After retiring from his post as Head of Customs and Immigration last month, Mark Cockerham sat down with Express to look back at how the service has changed over the last 38 years – and the “interesting changes ahead” for Jersey’s borders.
“Drugs are the thing that tends to make the headlines, but there’s quite a few threats at the border,” explained Mr Cockerham.
“What you’ve got to bear in mind is that the service is very compressed in its role – the range of activities is really wide.
“You’ve got revenue collection, you’ve got immigration, you’ve got drugs – the kind of departments in the UK that would form many departments.
“But in an island environment, it makes sense to have it compressed. It’s much more cost-effective and operationally effective.”
A former Victoria College pupil, Mr Cockerham joined the Customs and Immigration Service as an officer in April 1986, with his career encompassing work across a number of different areas – including borders, intelligence, investigation, goods control and immigration.
“People in Customs and Immigration tend to stay for quite some time,” he explained.
“It’s that variety that makes it a career, because it takes a long time to go through all those disciplines.
“If you start, for example, as a border officer, you may then go to specialise in something like financial crime or intelligence or investigation or immigration case work.”
You can read a fuller interview with Mr Cockerham in the JEP weekend edition.
LISTEN…
Express spoke to Mr Cockerham about about how the job has changed and how the ‘compressed’ nature of the role locally makes it more effective and varied.
Listen to the interview below or search ‘Bailiwick Podcasts’ on your favourite podcast provider.