New technology is among the investments to be made by the Government to bolster policing the UK’s borders
Border Security Command has received £75 million of extra funds for improved monitoring technology, covert cameras and creation of a new unit that will improve intelligence collection from across UK police forces.
The Crown Prosecution Service is to get some of the investment for the recruitment of more staff to speed up the prosecution of those found to be illegally smuggling people into the UK. Funds will also be used to recruit more staff.
“As part of the new Border Security Command uplift, the National Crime Agency (NCA), the police and other law enforcement agency partners will receive a significant cash injection to bolster the UK’s border security and disrupt the criminal people smuggling gangs,” Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary said in a statement.
"Criminal gangs are getting away with undermining our border security and putting lives at risk. The Border Security Command will deliver a major overhaul and upgrade in law enforcement against smugglers and trafficking gangs to boost our border security. State of the art technology and enhanced intelligence capabilities will ensure we are using every tool at our disposal to dismantle this vile trade," she added.
Top priority
NCA director general operations Rob Jones welcomed the funding, "which will allow us to improve and extend our technology, data exploitation, and capacity-building both internationally and in the UK. Tackling organised immigration crime remains a top priority for the NCA, we are currently leading around 70 investigations into the gangs or individuals involved in the highest echelons of criminality, and we are devoting more resources to it than ever before."
The money was originally allocated to the Illegal Migration Act of the Conservative Party government that lost the July 2024 election.
There will also be a 50% increase in the number of British officers stationed within Europol that are focused on supporting European wide operations to tackle organised crime gangs that are involved in people smuggling.
