Coastal police sound alarm over transmigration to UK
Coastal police forces are calling for additional capacity and resources to tackle the growing problem of transmigrants. Aggression towards officers is on the rise, and with the summer ahead, police chiefs fear they will be unable to sustain their efforts.
After several years of relative calm, Belgium’s coast has been grappling with a growing number of transmigrants in recent years. The stricter approach taken by the French authorities means people smugglers are increasingly choosing to send boats carrying migrants from Belgium to the UK.
Local police are finding it extremely difficult to intervene. Boats are often accompanied by violent ex-soldiers from countries such as Iraq or Afghanistan and it has become too dangerous for police to approach the vessels, Nicholas Paelinck, chief of the Westkust police zone, told the House Committee on Home Affairs on Tuesday.
Support needed
“Summer is approaching, which is a very busy period,” Ostend police chief Hannelore Hochepied told the committee. “The small boats usually set off in the early morning, so it’s all hands on deck for the local police, with a major impact on daytime capacity.”
The coastal police zones already receive support from the federal police but say more is needed, including high-performance surveillance cameras, thermal cameras at key locations, sensors on access roads to the beach and drone technology. Hochepied called for a central regional processing centre where interpreters and officials from the immigration service are always present.
In April, five boats carrying 200 people were intercepted off Belgium’s coast and escorted towards French waters. Interior minister Bernard Quintin met the UK’s Migration minister earlier this year to discuss closer cooperation between the two countries on migration from Belgium’s coast.
#FlandersNewsService | Police during a search for migrants in the North Sea at De Panne, January 2020 © BELGA PHOTO KURT DESPLENTER
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