Law enforcement agencies in England and Wales have missed crucial opportunities to investigate and disrupt criminal smuggling gangs, a damning new report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has revealed.
Despite ongoing government pledges to crack down on illegal migration, particularly via dangerous Channel crossings, the inspection found that intelligence gathering on arrival in the UK was “neither effective nor robust enough” to tackle the scale of organised immigration crime (OIC).
Commissioned by the then-home secretary in 2024, the report assessed how police forces and the National Crime Agency (NCA) were responding to the growing threat posed by people-smuggling networks. While the number of recorded OIC-related disruptions has risen, HM Inspector of Constabulary Lee Freeman expressed serious concern that “most organised crime groups believed to be involved in OIC weren’t being actively investigated”.
The findings come as the Government sets up a new domestic task force aimed specifically at targeting the UK-based criminal gangs helping to smuggle migrants across the Channel — often in perilously overcrowded small boats. More than 12,500 people have made the crossing so far this year, a record figure for this stage of the calendar year since official data collection began in 2018.
According to the report, frontline law enforcement efforts have been hampered by a lack of prioritisation and coordination. Many gangs involved in immigration-related offences were deemed low priority, and responsibility for tackling OIC was found to be fragmented across agencies. In some cases, officers on the frontline were unable to access key tools, such as the Police National Database and facial recognition systems.
“Organised immigration crime poses unique challenges for the police and other UK law enforcement bodies,” said Mr Freeman. “While the response has improved in recent years, much more needs to be done. Many opportunities to address these crimes were being missed.”
Among the report’s 10 recommendations are calls for greater clarity on agency responsibilities, enhanced intelligence-sharing, and more investment in specialist resources.
In response, the Government has established the Border Security Command to lead national efforts, along with a new task force led by Deputy Chief Constable Wendy Gunney, the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead on serious organised crime. She will report directly to Border Security Commander Martin Hewitt.
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Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the task force was a vital step in strengthening the UK’s ability to dismantle criminal smuggling networks. “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,” she said. “Police forces and regional organised crime units across the UK need to rapidly gear up the response to organised immigration crime, smuggling, and trafficking gangs.”
Ms Cooper added that operations had already begun to scale up. “Already we have set up the Border Security Command, and the National Crime Agency has substantially increased its operations and intelligence gathering work with other countries.”
The NCA confirmed that it had taken the inspectorate’s findings seriously and had made progress since the inspection. A spokesperson said: “In the year since this inspection took place, we have continued to develop and improve our collective response to the threat posed by people smuggling gangs. We have increased the number of disruptions against them by more than a third, and we are committed to working with law enforcement and government partners to go further.”
With the new task force now operational, ministers hope that a more coordinated and intelligence-led approach will close the enforcement gaps highlighted by the watchdog. But with criminal gangs continuing to adapt and exploit vulnerable migrants, pressure remains high for tangible results in the months ahead.
