Inquiry into response to organised crime launched
AN inquiry into the police response to serious organised crime has been launched just days after the government came under fire for failing to act on warnings over people trafficking.
The review will look at how all forms of serious and organised crime are tackled, including people trafficking, drugs, county lines gangs, child sexual exploitation and fraud.
The news comes less than a week after the bodies of 39 people were found in a refrigerated container on an industrial park in Essex and it emerged repeated warnings of the rising threat of people smuggling — and the routes they were using — had been made by the authorities over the last three years.
According to the National Crime Agency (NCA), there are more than 4,500 serious and organised crime groups in the UK and this type of crime costs the economy an estimated £37 billion a year.
The inquiry, the first of its kind to look at all types of serious and organised crime, will be led by former deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Craig Mackey, and should be completed by spring next year, the Home Office said.
It will look at the funding needed to tackle such crimes, as well as the powers available to police in England and Wales and how operations are run, particularly the role of the NCA and serious organised crime units, as well as police forces, in a bid to make sure “they have the right governance, support and legal powers”.
Home Secretary Priti Patel warned the threat from serious organised crime was “growing”, with offenders becoming “more sophisticated”.
Border Force officials highlighted the port city of Zeebrugge in Belgium as a key embarkation point for “clandestine arrivals” to the UK in a 2016 threat assessment.
BORIS Johnson pledged to do everything in his power to bring those responsible for the deaths of the 39 migrants to justice.
The Prime Minister and Home Secretary Priti Patel attended a wreath-laying ceremony at Thurrock Council’s offices in Grays yesterday.
Also present were Essex Police, Fire and Crime commissioner Roger Hirst, the force’s Chief Constable BJ Harrington, Thurrock MP Jackie Doyle-Price and head of NCA serious and organised crime unit Robert James.
Those gathered held a two-minute silence and signed a book of condolence before laying wreaths in the Mulberry garden.
In his message, the Prime Minister wrote: “The whole nation and indeed the world has been shocked by this tragedy and the cruelty of the fate that has been suffered by innocent people who were hoping for a better life in this country.
“We mourn those who lost their lives. Our thoughts are with their families far away. In condemning the callousness of those responsible for this crime, we in the government of the United Kingdom resolve to do everything in our power to bring the perpetrators to justice.”
BJ Harrington said: “It is my commitment, it is the law enforcement community’s commitment to bring to justice the people who started and were responsible for this tragic journey, wherever they might be in the world. We are working together with other countries and other governments to bring them to justice. It is only that way that we will prevent any further loss of life.”
Ms Doyle-Price said tackling the problem required a global solution.
She added: “This is an international problem, it materialises here in Thurrock because we are the port capital of the UK and there has been ongoing discussions with government ministers and all crime agencies about tackling this problem.
“But we are very clear this is an international chain of criminal activity. We can do our bit here at our ports but actually the work needs to be tackled upstream before they get here, far more importantly.”
Mr Hirst said: “It is really important to express the condolences and sympathies of the people of Essex whom I represent for the victims of this awful crime.”