New taskforce launched to strengthen police response to people smuggling
A new, specialist taskforce has been launched to significantly enhance the UK’s border security by strengthening police efforts to tackle organised immigration crime gangs operating within the country and facilitating people smuggling across the Channel.
The Organised Immigration Crime Domestic Taskforce will be led by Deputy Chief Constable Wendy Gunney, national lead for Serious Organised Crime at the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).
The creation of the taskforce follows an inspection by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS), commissioned in January 2024.
The inspection examined police force performance on tackling organised immigration crime between January and July 2024, and while progress was acknowledged, it highlighted the urgent need for more coordinated action against UK-based smuggling gangs.
His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Lee Freeman noted that despite efforts to prioritise and tackle organised immigration crime, it remains “a serious and persistent problem for the UK”.
The report issued ten key recommendations, which this taskforce is now set to address.
This initiative reinforces the UK’s strategic commitment to border security by ensuring police forces across the country work in close partnership with the National Crime Agency (NCA), Immigration Enforcement and Border Force.
Ms Gunney said: “The Organised Immigration Crime Domestic Taskforce will enable well-established partnerships with other law enforcement agencies to create a multi-agency, national response in tackling organised immigration crime.
“The taskforce will build on existing work driven by the NPCC’s modern slavery and organised immigration crime programme, which supports local force operational activity and intelligence collection linked to the wider organised immigration crime threat.
“By working this way, we will accelerate intelligence and information sharing, ensuring organised immigration crime is disrupted robustly and effectively.”
The focus will be on enhanced intelligence sharing and coordinated operations that will allow police to use every available tool to disrupt and dismantle organised criminal networks threatening the UK’s immigration system.
John Lucey, vice-president EMEA at Cellebrite, commented: “We live in a global, interconnected world that brings people and goods closer together than ever before. This presents significant challenges to border security.
“From human trafficking to narcotics smuggling, today’s border threats are growing increasingly complex, so the launch of a new taskforce to support police response is a positive development.
“Technology will play a crucial role in the success of the taskforce, with AI-powered digital forensic and investigative solutions possessing the ability to greatly improve detection and response while ensuring lawful access. Mobile devices, for example, are typically the most revealing piece of evidence, with over half of prosecutors labelling digital evidence as more important than DNA.
“By equipping field agents with these solutions, police forces and border security agencies can significantly reduce investigation time and make accurate, data-backed decisions quickly to ensure border operations remain efficient and secure.”