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Record numbers of foreign criminals removed from Britain
Home Office, News Release (122/2008) issued by The GNN on 1 July 2008
http://www.wired-gov.net/wg/wg-news-1.nsf/lfi/162809
Since January over 2,400 foreign lawbreakers have been removed from the UK, putting the UK Border Agency on track to improve on its record-breaking level of removals in 2007.
The Agency was set the tough target of removing 5,000 foreign criminals in 2008, and the Government today said it is confident the challenge will be met.
The removal of over 2,400 foreign prisoners is an increase of 22 per cent compared to the same time last year. It is also the highest number of removals for the first six months of any year. This builds on the 4,200 foreign prisoners sent home by the Agency in 2007.
The Government is committed to focusing on the removal of the most harmful people first. In the first half of the year the UKBA has removed 15 killers, 137 sex offenders and 844 drug offenders.
To ensure this high level of removals continues, last month the UK Border Agency committed to new crime partnerships with police across the UK. Already 85 per cent of these partnerships are in place, with immigration officers and the police teaming up to target the 'Mr Bigs' and the facilitators of illegal immigration.
Border and Immigration Minister Liam Byrne committed to a mid-year update on the number of foreign criminals removed from the UK in his delivery plan milestones for 2008 announced in January.
Liam Byrne said:
"I have said repeatedly that there is no hiding place for those that come to Britain and break our rules, which is why already this year we've rid the country of over 2,400 foreign lawbreakers.
"In January I set the UK Border Agency the tough target of removing 5,000 foreign criminals by the end of the year, an increase on last year's record-breaking levels. I am pleased that we are on track to meet this target."
The removal of foreign criminals is just one of the immigration milestones that the Home Office has already met this year. Other successes include the launch of the UK Border Agency by day 100 of 2008.
The Agency - a new single border force, which combined the Border and Immigration Agency, UKVisas and Customs at the border, sees 25,000 staff working across 135 countries. Already the Agency has:
* barred almost 6,000 illegal migrants from entering Britain at juxtaposed controls since the beginning of 2008;
* seized £83 million worth of illegal drugs, including almost 200 separate seizures of cocaine and heroin, since the Agency launched in April;
* seized more than 200 million cigarettes worth more than £6.5 million since the Agency launched in April; and
* taken off the streets almost 800 dangerous weapons including firearms, stun guns and hundreds of knives.
Since April 1 the e-Borders pilot programme, which screens all passengers before they travel to the UK against immigration, customs and police watch-lists, has issued more than 3,200 alerts on passengers travelling to and from the UK. This has led to more than 280 arrests for offences ranging from murder, possession of firearms and drug-smuggling.
By Day 15 of this year, the UK Border Agency had successfully begun taking the fingerprints of all visa applicants across the globe. Three-quarters of the world now need to provide a fingerprint visa to enter the UK.
So far the Agency has taken more than 1.7 million sets of fingerprints - with checks flagging up over 16,000 immigration offenders before they enter the UK, including 1,600 cases of identity fraud.
By Day 60 a new regime of on-the-spot fines was introduced for employers who hire illegal workers. As of mid-June 265 fines had been issued worth £2.3 million.
By Day 80 a new Australian-style points system for foreign workers had been introduced, with the rollout of Tier 1 for highly skilled migrants already complete across the world. Tiers 2 and 5 will be introduced in the autumn and Tier 4 will come on-line at the beginning of 2009.
Mr Byrne said:
"I promised the biggest shake-up of border security for a generation, and already we are beginning to see the results.
"Thousands of illegal migrants have been barred from entering Britain, while millions of pounds worth of dangerous drugs have been removed from our streets.
"And there are more changes still to come. Alongside the fingerprinting of all visa applicants, the introduction later this year of ID cards for foreign nationals will allow us to lock people to one identity. By the end of the year, the introduction of one of the most advanced electronic borders systems in the world will allow us to count people in and out of the country."
Notes to Editors
1. The UK Border Agency still has a number of milestones to meet as the year progresses. These are:
* Within 200 days to activate powers to automatically deport foreign national prisoners; in the summer automatic deportation will be introduced for those sentenced to 12 months in prison or more, and deportation will be imposed for those who use guns or sell drugs regardless of their sentence.
* Within 300 days to expand detention capacity; on May 19 the UK Border Agency announced a 60 per cent increase in detention capacity, increasing space by up to 1,500 beds.
* Within 330 days to begin issuing compulsory ID cards for those foreign nationals who want to stay; compulsory ID cards for foreign nationals will be introduced in November. This will lock people to one identity and enable us to make sure those who are here have the right to be and guard against abuses. We are currently piloting the technology for fingerprinting and photographing in-country visa renewals.
* By Christmas to begin counting foreign nationals in and out of the country and to introduce compulsory watch-list checks for high risk journeys before they land.
* Within 360 days to make and enforce 60 per cent of asylum decisions within six months, with alternatives to detention for children.
2. Between 1 January and 30 June 2008 the UK Border Agency removed 2,417 foreign national prisoners.
3. The e-Borders programme has resulted in a number of successes:
* a passenger travelling to the UK was identified as having used false papers to obtain a visa. The airport was alerted and the passenger was refused entry to the UK and removed;
* a passenger was identified as previously being found in possession of cannabis. They were removed and four kilograms of cannabis were seized;
* a passenger was identified returning to the UK who was wanted for serious assault. The passenger were stopped and arrested;
* a passenger who had been involved in several cigarette/tobacco seizures since 2000 with an extensive police record for theft and threatening behaviour was intercepted and over 23,000 cigarettes were seized from him and his group;
* a passenger wanted for the supply, use and manufacture of drugs was arrested on arrival in the UK following an e-Borders alert; and
* an individual who was wanted for fraud was identified attempting to leave the UK. He was arrested.
