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Most organised crime groups believed to be involved in organised immigration crime (OIC) aren’t being actively investigated, a police inspection has found.
After the fieldwork for this inspection, the incoming Labour Government last year created a Border Security Command. The inspectorate suggests that this
Command ‘should clarify roles and responsibilities for the law enforcement agencies and make sure they are overseen effectively’. If UK law enforcement response is to reflect the Government’s priority, much more still needs to be done, the inspectors’ report stated.
Too many police forces not collecting and analysing immigration crime intelligence, according to the inspectors. “We also found that the approach to intelligence gathering when migrants arrived in the UK was neither effective nor robust enough. Intelligence and investigative opportunities are being lost.”
His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary (HMIC) Lee Freeman said: “Despite efforts to prioritise and tackle organised immigration crime, it remains a serious and persistent problem for the UK. People try to enter the UK in various ways. The most common, and extraordinarily dangerous way, is in a small boat crossing the English Channel, with many using the services of criminals specialising in organised immigration crime. The consequences of these crossings can be grave; increasingly, migrants – including children – drown during the journey.
“Organised immigration crime poses unique challenges for the police and other UK law enforcement bodies. And while we found that the response had improved in recent years, much more needs to be done. For example, they weren’t always clear on roles and responsibilities when it came to tackling organised immigration crime. During our inspection, we found instances where frontline personnel didn’t have access to the Police National Database or facial recognition technology. And many opportunities to address these crimes were being missed. Organised crime groups were not being prioritised by law enforcement agencies.
“We have made ten recommendations that are intended to improve how organised crime groups are being identified and tackled. Their implementation is intended to strengthen the response to organised immigration crime and, ultimately, lead to fewer lives being lost.”
Background
The Home Office recently published a white paper, titled ‘Restoring control over the immigration system’, which noted that PM Sir Keir Starmer has stated that border security is part of national security; and ‘here and across Europe over many years we have seen attempts to exploit any weaknesses in border security, immigration or asylum systems – including by serious organised crime, extremist organisations and growing foreign state threats’. Newly announced is a police Organised Immigration Crime Domestic Taskforce, led by South Wales Deputy Chief Constable Wendy Gunney, who is the National Lead for Serious Organised Crime at the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC). That taskforce will be responsible for delivering progress on the HMIC report.
What they say
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “This taskforce reflects our commitment to giving law enforcement the tools they need to dismantle criminal networks that undermine our immigration system and put lives at risk. Police forces and regional organised crime units across the UK need to rapidly gear up the response to organised immigration crime, and smuggling and trafficking gangs.”
Photo by Mark Rowe: Dover.
