Border Management: Five key threats that need countering

Although the increasing use of technology by border agencies is helping them manage the increasing flow of international passengers (globally set to double to 7.3 billion a year by 2034), freight volume (projected to double by 2030) and migration to Western countries (estimated to reach 98 million by 2050), some gaps remain. Information sharing needs to be enhanced from a technological and cultural point of view, and the cyber threats that are emerging need to be addressed; these threat points are leveraged by criminal organisations, which smuggle drugs, firearms and people, costing the UK £37 billion per year. 

In this exclusive interview, Steve Reynolds, Head of Operations for Organised Immigration Crime and Border Threats, National Crime Agency, a key speaker of this year’s Smarter Border Management Conference, discusses the key five threats that border agencies are currently facing in the information age: Serious Organised Crime (SOC), Data sharing and exploitation, the exploitation of synergies between SOC threats and with CT, the implementation of new technology and the emerging cyber threats, Brexit and multinational border information sharing.

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Key benefits of downloading the infographic:

• Hear more on the need to implement new technologies in order to counter threats by the National Crime Agency, which will be present at Smarter Border Management 2019
• Learn more about the top threats the UK is facing at its borders
• Gain insights into the technological gaps leveraged by criminal organisations to conduct illegal activities

Read an exclusive preview of the piece below:

Serious organised crime at the border represents a minority that causes problems. The majority of people and goods that come across the border are law abiding, they follow the processes. The National Crime Agency is concentrating on a small group of people that want to exploit the border, the majority of the millions of people and goods that come across the border do so in a legitimate way. We do not want to be seen to be impeding their travel and their free movement, it’s a constant challenge.

The increasing volume of global trade and travel, together with the multiple forms of entry / exit points by land, air, sea and rail makes efficient and effective border control management challenging, especially when we also wish to maximise ease of movement, with minimal disruption to legitimate goods and passengers. 

Mr Reynolds will be discussing using technology to prevent and halt cross-border smuggling at this year’s Smarter Border Management. To see who will join him, please click here.