When I spoke recently about the significant decline in the number of people crossing the channel to the lowest level in several years, I was told by some people at my Q&As and on social media that it was nothing to do with anything happening in this country.
Some said it was all to do with the weather; others that it was solely down to a reduction in the numbers crossing the borders of Europe. Some people even flatly told me – without evidence – that the numbers were made up.
Fast forward to this week and the National Crime Agency has confirmed that action in this country and with our partners in France has in fact been a key factor in reducing the number of crossings, with more resources dedicated to tackling organised immigration crime than ever before.
Here’s how:
👮Law enforcement has targeted the vital equipment used in crossings, with more than 1,600 boats or engines seized by the authorities
🚨Arrests linked to organised immigration crime have increased by more than 55%
💻UK authorities have worked with social media networks to have more than 40,000 posts pages or accounts linked to immigration crime removed.
🎯The international partnerships with French, Dutch, German and Bulgarian authorities have made a real impact on the number of arrivals, according to the agency’s assessment.
So, where does this leave us?
One crossing is still one too many. There is no room for complacency and no-one is doing a victory lap.
But numbers of crossings and numbers of people crossing are down to their lowest level in years (so, no, you can’t wave it away by saying ‘the boats are getting bigger’)
While other parties put forward scrappy headline-chasing but unworkable schemes, this government is doing the hard graft and dealing with this complex challenge on multiple fronts: making it more difficult and costlier for people smuggling networks to source equipment, more difficult to get to the beaches and in the water, more difficult for gangs to communicate with potential customers, and making it more likely smugglers will be confronted by law enforcement.
Bad news for anyone who doesn’t want this government to tackle boat crossings. Good news for everyone else who wants to see serious action to bring down dangerous people smuggling.