Tide turns for Channel smugglers but the migrant crossings go on

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."But Charlie Eastaugh, director of international operations for the Small Boats Operational Command at the Home Office, observed that a clampdown was already achieving "really significant" results.

"We've seen a reduction in the number of arriving individuals this year in this way by over one third, and we've also seen the number of boats reduced by 45% this year, to date."

Mr Eastaugh said the figures showed that many migrants were being stopped long before they even reached the coast of France, thanks to a large extent to "a massive increase in the number of law enforcement personnel" targeting the smuggling gangs in the region.

"Overall we are continuing to see the fruits of our labour and our investment as these additional resources come on board," he added.

A graph showing the number of people crossing the English Channel in boats
French officials pointed out that more than 300 suspected smugglers had been arrested over the past year. In Calais, officials noted an overall fall in migrant crossings, from 46,000 in 2022, to just over 29,000 this year.

"We've increased the number of people on the ground. Fortunately, we have this (UK) financial aid because it allows us to obtain equipment that supports our military and police," said Mathilde Potel, the French police commissioner co-ordinating all security forces on the coast of northern France.

"The co-ordination of all these factors today explains the drop in the number of migrants who have made the crossing," added Ms Potel, who recently toured the coastline with a visiting delegation of British embedded observers from the Small Boats Operational Command.

And yet, among French officials, humanitarian workers, and the migrants themselves, there is a deeply rooted scepticism about the notion that more and better policing alone can put an end to the illegal crossings. Many also believe a preoccupation with the criminality of the smugglers misses a larger point about the forces driving the migrations."...