The UK’s Border Security Command has been given a £75 million cash injection to enhance its monitoring technology, deploy covert cameras, and establish a new unit aimed at improving intelligence gathering from UK police forces.

The investment was announced by the Home Secretary as part of plans to give the National Crime Agency (NCA), the police and other law enforcement agency partners the technology and manpower needed to bolster the UK’s border security and disrupt people smuggling gangs.

The government said that the timing of the announcement coincided with an expected effort by the smuggling gangs to cram more vulnerable people into unseaworthy boats launched from the French coast before winter weather strikes.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “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.”

The funding package will go toward unlock new technology and extra capabilities for the NCA, including covert cameras and state-of-the-art monitoring technology, an intelligence unit to improve data collection across UK police forces, and 100 new specialist investigators, representing a 25% increase in agency personnel tackling organised immigration crime.

Earlier this year, the NCA, in partnership with social media platforms Meta, X, TikTok, and YouTube, led a takedown of thousands of social media posts, pages, and accounts advertising the services of people smugglers.

By the end of June, almost 12,000 posts had been removed, disrupting the organised criminal networks who use social media to advertise services and recruit migrants. In April the NCA had already arrested three UK-based individuals suspected of using social media to promote illegal immigration.

Recommended reading

• What Does the Public Think of Sharing Biometric Data to Tackle Crime?
• NCA Takes Down 12,000 People Smuggler Posts, Pages, and Accounts
• ICO Issues Guidance on Facial Recognition Technology

Rob Jones, NCA director general of operations, said: “I welcome this 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.”