zikzik
Well-Known Member
Surely, most immigrant or drug catches are from prior inteligence, not a few ribs lurking around posturing.
UK Borders Agency
- Thread starter Lady Campanula
- Start date
Surely, most immigrant or drug catches are from prior inteligence, not a few ribs lurking around posturing.
Tidewaiter2
Well-Known Member
100%
Yep, sell them the gear, then sell their details to the DEA/HMRC, to divert attention away from the big run
Yep, sell them the gear, then sell their details to the DEA/HMRC, to divert attention away from the big run
electrosys
Well-Known Member
... develop good relations with the leisure boating community: several thousand (more-or-less) honest folk spread all around the coastline who - given suitable encouragement - would willingly act as the eyes and ears of their local community's law enforcement in defence of their own little patch of the realm against serious villains, and all that would be available for gratis.
But no - that would be far too sensible. So - instead, very quickly develop a 'them and us' attitude: viewing the leisure boating community as part of the problem, rather than as a possible solution, and getting their collective back's up in the process.
As an act of self-sabotage: well done, UKBA.
trapezeartist
Well-Known Member
Well, have they?
Whiskey Bravo
Well-Known Member
So rather than have a miniscule chance of being stopped and boarded at sea you'd prefer that virtually everybody would be boarded and searched after mooring up? Because locating UKBA at 'landing ports' would make it much easier for them to pay many more visits, whilst the real 'targets' would be merrily mooring somewhere quiet.
As for ''Stopping obvious foreign faces in the street.'', what exactly would they be looking for? How do you spot a French smuggler, beret, striped shirt and onions? What about stopping everybody that's not white? That's been tried by the police for years. Have you actually been outside since the 1960's? The country is full of people not originating from here, are you going to stop them all.
ChrisE
Well-Known Member
The time we were boarded the guys were extremely polite. Their RIB came along side, they asked if they could come aboard, showed their id cards. One asked to go below which he did whilst the other one stayed in the cockpit chatting.
I really don't have a problem with these guys, they have a job to do and like most, if treated with due respect they reciprocate. It is, after all, not the foot soldiers that set the rules it is their job to carry them out.
Bosun Higgs
N/A
Well lets try and be rational rather than PC about it.
The objective of the exercise is to catch illegals and interdict contraband and in particular drugs. To do that with just 5 boats patrolling the biggest coastline in Europe is a complete nonsense - it stands to reason that you can travel place to place far faster by road and that the places you can land in the UK, albeit still plentiful, are but a small fraction of the total coast line. However, having UKBO people living amongst the community as plod used to do with watch outs as the coastguard used to do and being far more plentiful will undoubtedly give a far better supply of intelligence. Combined with radar tracking of vessels this should make intercetion far more effective. Obviously not 100%. Probably not even near that. Nothing ever will be. But more effectice that the present minuscule ( to quote you) chance of interception at sea. I dont see how you can argue otherwise.
Turning to your PC bit, maybe its time we started serious profiling rather than stopping 75 year old white grannies to avoid being accused of racism. The illegals who come here are overwhelmingly non white and non english speakers - are we really worried about mass immigration from the US or Oz? No we arent - its the likes of Nigeria and China where the problem lies. So we target non white non English speakers. At the same time we remove the incentives both for the employer and the immigrant. No social services say until after 5 years legal residence. No NI number without proof of right to be here. Criminal responsibility for employers employing illegals. Deportation of 1st generation immigrants who abuse citizenship. Deportation of immigrant who come in for marriage when the marriage breaks up. And above all, much more difficult citizenship qualifications combined with much easier work permits for those with a job.
Dont try to accuse me of racism. I really could not care a toss what colour your face is and I welcome foreign workers from all countries. I just resent the incompetence and political correctness that allows us to be ripped off in the way we are. With the current situation we might just as well not bother with border controls at all.
Thistle
Well-Known Member
Nae hassle! The Scot Nats will soon have that sorted. How long do you want to wait?
bigwow
Well-Known Member
The trouble seems to be there is no disincentive to illegal’s being here in the first place. When caught they are invariably released and told to report to the immigration centre. Well surprise surprise most don’t and just disappear into the community again.
haydude
Well-Known Member
I second that! I just had the same experience last night!
Not to talk about all the threatening notifications about "we prosecute verbal abuse of staff" that makes you feel like you are entering a Nazi state. In fact I believe that such level of control and powers were only held by the Nazis during the second world war. The choice of uniform colour (black) is also quite unfortunate.
haydude
Well-Known Member
It is the same for every European country, not just the UK. And I would not complain either because the UK is in a priviledged position as it takes only a tiny percentage of the overall European immigration, just by being geographically distant and isolated from the rest of Europe.
The only way to fight immigration is to remove the reasons why these people want to leave their countries.
Corribee Boy
Well-Known Member
Why don't we have lookouts on prominent points all around the coast, watching boat movements? They could also assist in emergencies, that sort of thing.
We could call them, hmmm, coastguards?
We could call them, hmmm, coastguards?
westernman
Well-Known Member
If you want to enter the UK without showing any ID, it is easy - just get on the Eurostar train at Brussels with a ticket to Lille. As Lille is in France which is in Schengen, there is no passport control or anything. No need to show any kind of ID to anyone. If you present a ticket for London your passport will be controlled by British officers. Then of course, just stay on the train after Lille.
You might want to have a second ticket to London so the ticket inspectors don't throw you off - but the passport control took place in Brussels as you boarded - but as you showed your ticket for Lille, the British officers have no right to control you.
They are trying to work out how to close the loop hole. My bet is that they will control tickets after Lille, so that in the future you will need to buy a two tickets for this to work.
You might want to have a second ticket to London so the ticket inspectors don't throw you off - but the passport control took place in Brussels as you boarded - but as you showed your ticket for Lille, the British officers have no right to control you.
They are trying to work out how to close the loop hole. My bet is that they will control tickets after Lille, so that in the future you will need to buy a two tickets for this to work.
millbeach
Well-Known Member
I for one have no problem with the UKBF.
If they want to check my papers and board my boat, i am more than happy.
IF IT KEEPS OUT DRUGS, AND FILTH FROM OUR COUNTRY, ALL THE BETTER..
If they want to check my papers and board my boat, i am more than happy.
IF IT KEEPS OUT DRUGS, AND FILTH FROM OUR COUNTRY, ALL THE BETTER..
rickym
Well-Known Member
But it doesn't! That is the point
Bosun Higgs
N/A
Thats nothing to do with us. What we need to do is to remove any reason they have for chosing the UK.
Twister_Ken
Well-Known Member
If 'the austerity' continues, that won't take long!
RUSSH
Well-Known Member
Exactly right....
This is what they used to do. There used to be four Customs Officers based at Falmouth whose job was exactly that. Cultivating local contacts in the South West and cleening all manner of intelligence to enable sensible deployment of resources where the need arose. One of them told me that they could mobilise a pair of eyes on any port or stretch of coast within minutes if need be e.g. Local Harbour Master, boatman, fisherman or resident including yachties.
Then they were merged into the UKBA and for a while they were left out in the cold and they didn't really know what to do with them. Anyway they're not there anymore. The nearest are now at Gatwick. So if you are a smuggler, fill your boots down here!
This is what they used to do. There used to be four Customs Officers based at Falmouth whose job was exactly that. Cultivating local contacts in the South West and cleening all manner of intelligence to enable sensible deployment of resources where the need arose. One of them told me that they could mobilise a pair of eyes on any port or stretch of coast within minutes if need be e.g. Local Harbour Master, boatman, fisherman or resident including yachties.
Then they were merged into the UKBA and for a while they were left out in the cold and they didn't really know what to do with them. Anyway they're not there anymore. The nearest are now at Gatwick. So if you are a smuggler, fill your boots down here!
Pleiades
Well-Known Member
HMRC eeejits
I have no complaints at all about HMRC Cutters - my view is that as I have nil contraband on board and have all my rights as a loyal subject of HMQ, they can stop me for a natter and board away as often as they want. I actually like to see them on the water -they are crewed by all- weather maritime professionals not amateurs and are often out in empty bits of sea when I am pootling about. So their vessels will have a proper lookout and are unlikely to run my little ship down. They might even come to my assistance should I ever need it. So good on them. They actually do have a valid enforcement purpose despite their scarcity - they have a maritime intervention capability for intelligence directed operations which the plod and Navy do not have. However if you really want to pick a fight with HMRC why not go for the total madness of our personal taxation and pensions regime - surely a visitor from the planet Zog would admire the smart little grey Customs cutters but think that whoever in HMRC thinks up our tax laws is undoubtedly a complete eeejit.
Robin
Pleiades of Birdham
MXWQ5
I have no complaints at all about HMRC Cutters - my view is that as I have nil contraband on board and have all my rights as a loyal subject of HMQ, they can stop me for a natter and board away as often as they want. I actually like to see them on the water -they are crewed by all- weather maritime professionals not amateurs and are often out in empty bits of sea when I am pootling about. So their vessels will have a proper lookout and are unlikely to run my little ship down. They might even come to my assistance should I ever need it. So good on them. They actually do have a valid enforcement purpose despite their scarcity - they have a maritime intervention capability for intelligence directed operations which the plod and Navy do not have. However if you really want to pick a fight with HMRC why not go for the total madness of our personal taxation and pensions regime - surely a visitor from the planet Zog would admire the smart little grey Customs cutters but think that whoever in HMRC thinks up our tax laws is undoubtedly a complete eeejit.
Robin
Pleiades of Birdham
MXWQ5
