Sep 29 - Patrolling The Frontline In The Battle Against People Smugglers – YGTV Interviews Border Force Director Sue Young
The Director of Border Force South is in Gibraltar this week to oversee a multi-agency law enforcement exercise which is set to take place in BGTW tomorrow. The Border Force currently has two cutters which are stopping over in Gibraltar on their way back to Portsmouth.
YGTV went aboard HMC Protector and spoke to Sue Young about the UK Border Force’s recent work rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean and the aims of tomorrow’s exercise.
YGTV: What work has the Border Force been engaged in to cope with the migrant crisis?
Sue Young: We deployed two vessels to the Mediterranean – HMC Protector and HMC Seeker – in early May. They’ve been working with the European Customs organisation FRONTEX to rescue migrants who are making the crossing from North Africa to Italy.
YGTV: Was the operation largely successful from your point of view?
Sue Young: In terms of what our crews achieved, it’s been incredibly successful. They’ve rescued a large number of migrants and they’ve had no deaths or injuries among migrants or crew members whilst they’ve been conducting those operations. The other important thing to remember is that those on our ships are not just mariners – they’re also law enforcement officers so they can identify the organised criminals that are on board those vessels and make the Italian authorities aware so that they can consider prosecuting these individuals for those crimes.
YGTV: Is it the first task of this nature that the Border Force has been engaged in?
Sue Young: Yes, it is – normally, we’re patrolling around the shores of the UK intercepting drug smugglers and people facilitating human trafficking into the UK.
YGTV: So how do you think the crews responded to this new challenge?
Sue Young: They were incredible and I’m enormously proud of what they’ve achieved. They have worked entirely selflessly and adapted the procedures we use in the UK and made them work in the Mediterranean. They left at very short notice without really knowing what they would find when they got there. They’ve coped both professionally and personally incredibly well and, when I look at their personal accounts of their time, they’re also incredibly proud of what they’ve done.
YGTV: What will tomorrow’s exercise involve?
Sue Young: Tomorrow’s exercise is really interesting for us because it gives us an opportunity to work closely with the Gibraltarian authorities. We’re going to be able to share our knowledge and skills that we get from working in slightly different theatres but with similar issues to overcome. Some of our officers on the Gibraltar boats and vice versa so we can communicate with each other to understand the difficulties that we face and lessons we can learn from each other.
YGTV: So presumably you’ll look at strategies for dealing with migrants but will you also look at how to tackle illegal incursions?
Sue Young: We’re particularly looking at drug smuggling and people trafficking because those are the areas we deal with back in the UK. I’m sure we’ll learn a lot from the Gibraltarians about the incursions and things they deal with on a day-to-day basis. Border Force cutters are unarmed and therefore it would be the Navy that would deal with any incursions back in the UK.
YGTV: What’s next for your crews in the coming weeks?
Sue Young: Once they finish their operation, they’ll be heading back to Portsmouth and back to their families. HMC Protector is going into routine maintenance and the crews will be back to patrolling the UK’s coast.
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