Tag: Home Office

Police forces across England and Wales will weed out domestic abuse and stalking behaviour with a raft of new intervention measures supported by government.

Backed by up to £39 million, 50 projects will be rolled out over the next 2 years, supporting initiatives to stop abusers from repeatedly targeting victims and terrorising vulnerable people.

Many domestic abusers are repeat offenders with 83% of male offenders repeating their offences within a 6-month period. This makes intervening to stop their pattern of behaviour paramount to protect victims.

One project, in the West Midlands, is ensuring that domestic abusers and people who display stalking behaviours are closely monitored and given early psychological intervention to change their behaviour before it gets worse.

Gloucestershire Constabulary is training more frontline officers to spot signs of domestic abuse and intervene with perpetrators.

Several forces, including Lancashire, Avon and Somerset and the Metropolitan Police Service are rolling out the Drive Project, which focuses on the most serious offenders to prevent them from abusing again, working with partner agencies such as social services to challenge perpetrators to change their abusive behaviour. This works by putting barriers in place to prevent abuse and ensuring perpetrators experience the full consequences if they continue to be violent and abusive.

Evaluation from the Drive Project, which has been running for 7 years, has shown an 82% reduction in physical abuse and 75% reduction in harassment and stalking.

Safeguarding Minister, Sarah Dines said:

Domestic abuse and stalking are vile crimes which cause victims to feel terror in their own homes and communities, where they should feel their safest.

It is unacceptable and this government is determined to protect people from this horrific abuse.

We know that intervention schemes like these are a crucial means of protecting victims, which is why we are investing millions in helping police identify abusive behaviour and stop it from escalating or happening again.

West Mid Assistant Chief Constable Andy Hill said:

Tackling domestic abuse and stalking are important priorities for West Midlands Police and we recognise that early intervention can prevent further incidents of these devastating crimes. The work we are carrying out is designed to stop stalking behaviours as early as possible to prevent further suffering of the victim and avoid stalkers becoming entrenched in their behaviour and escalating to more serious stalking and worse.

This funding will enable us to continue the domestic abuse stalking programme – EASI (Early Awareness Stalking Intervention) – to support stalking awareness and training throughout the West Midlands as well as introducing a multi-agency stalking triage process. This enables us to act when stalking is first reported to us to deliver rehabilitative treatment for stalkers, which aims to improve survivor safety.

We will also be introducing a custody intervention programme where all prisoners through our custody blocks will be spoken to by a St Giles Trust charity worker to help prevent further offending. Importantly we will also contact the victim to offer support and ensure they are safeguarded.

The government has already awarded over £41 million to Police and Crime Commissioners across England and Wales to fund similar projects since 2020.

National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Domestic Abuse, Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe, said:

The funding by the Home Office will help to bring more support to victims of the terrible crimes committed by domestic abusers.

Policing continues to work with partners, stakeholders and other agencies to help support victims and bring offenders to justice, but we cannot do this alone. Funding is vital to enable this to happen and we welcome this round. We will always work together with the Home Office to ensure this funding continues to increase, so victims get the support the deserve.

West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster, said:

Preventing and tackling domestic abuse and stalking is a top priority in my Police and Crime Plan. That is because these crimes have a catastrophic and devastating impact on victims.

The prevention of crime is always better than having to deal with the consequences of crime. That is why, here in the West Midlands, we have been successfully delivering an Early Awareness Stalking Intervention project. We are pleased to have been awarded additional funding to enable us to continue to deliver the project.

By intervening early, to challenge and change stalking behaviour and hold perpetrators to account, we can prevent further harm for the victim or future victims and break the cycle of abuse, as well as ensuring help and support for victims and survivors who have experienced this dreadful crime.

Other projects to receive funding include:

• behaviour change interventions in Kent, including healthy relationships and compulsive obsessive behaviour interventions, they aim to support 184 perpetrators a year, supported by up to £1,638,597 of funding
• the ‘stalking intervention’ project in Essex which seeks to change behaviour and reduce risk for victims and survivors of stalking, which will be supported by up to £1,687,170 of funding
• Cheshire Police are providing interventions for adult perpetrators and young people displaying harmful behaviours to facilitate behaviour change within a whole family setting

Jo Todd, Chief Executive of Respect, said:

We welcome the announcement of Home Office perpetrator funding as the roll out of the perpetrator pillar of the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan gets under way.

We believe every perpetrator should be held to account and stopped from causing further harm and are keen to see provision for high quality perpetrator responses in every local area.

This funding is just the start of what’s needed.  Respect and our members are keen to see a longer-term cross-departmental strategy from government, that locates perpetrator interventions as part of a whole system approach to ending domestic abuse for good – with funding proportionate to the size of the problem.

This funding builds on the government’s measures to help tackle domestic abuse announced in February, which go further than ever before in protecting women and children from violence by implementing tougher measures on the most dangerous domestic abuse offenders.

These include:

• ensuring that offenders convicted of controlling or coercive behaviour and sentenced to 12 months or more will be managed in the same way as the most dangerous physically violent offenders, and recorded on the Violent and Sex Offender Register
• requiring police forces in England and Wales to treat violence against women and girls as a national threat
• committing to develop a new digital tool which will use police data to identify the most dangerous perpetrators

We have also introduced statutory guidance on Clare’s Law making it quicker for an individual to access information on a partner’s or ex-partner’s previous abusive or violent offending.

Full breakdown of successful bids

Successful applicants	Project descriptions	Indicative funding
Avon and Somerset	The Drive Project – a response to domestic abuse that aims to reduce the number of child and adult victims of domestic abuse by disrupting and changing perpetrator behaviour.	£ 1,230,500.00
Cheshire	Provides a multi-agency, whole-system approach to Domestic Abuse perpetrators using an existing evidence base around early interventions in enhance custody DA support combined with an early intervention model to reduce the risk of harm and offending.	£ 2,920,500.00
	Provides interventions for adult perpetrators and young people displaying harmful behaviours to facilitate behaviour change within a whole family setting.
	The PCC for Cheshire working collaboratively with CJS partners seeks to address the distinct/serious harms caused by stalking perpetrators and improve outcomes for victims.
Derbyshire	1. The Changes Programme is a RESPECT accredited voluntary programme for perpetrators of Standard/Medium harm domestic abuse. 2. This programme will deliver a High Harm (risk) support service to perpetrators and associated victims and their families. It has its foundations in Respect accreditation and the organisation is Safe Lives and CafCASS accredited.	£ 1,389,150.00
Essex	Essex DA perpetrator intervention programme to break the cycle of abuse.	£ 1,687,170.00
Gloucestershire	1. Domestic Abuse Training for frontline professionals – To provide front line professionals in a range of professional settings with the skills to identify and safely challenge perpetrator behaviour and refer onto specialist services. 2. Training for police – To provide 50 Police Officers from Gloucestershire Constabularies Professional Standards Department and Criminal Investigations Department. 3. An evidence based early intervention targeting DA offenders (may start later in the funding period). 4. Domestic Violence Perpetrator Programme (DVPP) – To increase existing capacity in PRG (offering DVPP) to ensure greater reach across Gloucestershire and increase the number of perpetrators receiving a behavioural change intervention. In particular, further, investment will support engagement with rural communities, ensuring ease of access for the whole county. 5. MATAC – The MATAC Co-ordinator will ensure full implementation of the MATAC approach, which aims to identify and target DA (and VAWG) offenders who pose the most harm to our communities, to reduce reoffending and to safeguard adults and children at risk.	£ 762, 033.00
Greater Manchester	Development of an early awareness raising intervention targeting domestic abuse offender (may start later in the funding period).	£ 1,959,000.00
	GMCA will sponsor the 10 local authority areas in Greater Manchester to commission their own Adult Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Interventions.
Gwent	1. To commission and provide an early intervention service for Domestic Abuse perpetrators in line with DA Perpetrator Standards. 2. To fully establish a Multi-Agency Case Management Approach to addressing and minimising the harm caused by high risk Perpetrators.	£ 1,163,116.00
Hampshire	A multi-agency stalking partnership (MASP) delivering innovative perpetrator intervention, victim/survivor advocacy and support and workforce development across the criminal justice system.	£ 1,011,761.00
Hertfordshire	Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire DA perpetrator Referral and Triage Hub providing access to a range of behavioural change interventions from early response to intensive case management.	£ 2,000,000.00
Humberside	Safe Places: Addressing Substance Use IPV – Substance use is a known risk factor for intimate partner violence (IPV), yet most perpetrator interventions do not address substance use. This approach brings key stakeholders together from both the domestic violence and substance use sectors to develop an evidence-based intervention to address both substance use and IPV.	£ 988,259.00
Kent	A collaborative approach to domestic abuse (DA) and stalking perpetrators which is aligned to improving the safety of victims and children.	£ 1,638,597.00
Lancashire	1. The DRIVE project works with high-risk high-harm domestic abuse perpetrators and aims to reduce the number of child and adult victims of domestic abuse by disrupting and changing perpetrator behaviour. 2. An early awareness raising intervention targeting domestic abuse offenders (may start later in the funding period).	£ 870,000.00
Leicestershire	To provide a service across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland to engage with perpetrators of domestic violence and seek to support them in changing their behaviours as well as support their victims.	£ 741,942.00
Merseyside	Work to support victims and prevent violence and abuse in those who harm (may not start until later in funding period).	£ 813,261.00
MOPAC	Expansion of the Drive Project across London to reduce abuse and serial perpetration from high-harm-high-risk domestic abuse perpetrators and increase safety and improved outcomes for associated victims.	£ 5,192,870.00
	RISE will deliver an intersectional family and community approach to tackling domestic abuse (DA) in 10 London boroughs, focusing on integrated victim safety support, 1:1 perpetrator delivery, adult-to-parent familial DA intervention, LGBTQI+ delivery and outreach work.
	Prevent and Change (PAC) aims to ensure that the whole system is better geared towards managing perpetrators in partnership with communities across South London, to increase the safety and wellbeing of victims and associated children, and to prevent new and/or further victimisation and harm.
Norfolk	This Norfolk pilot project will deliver the Respect Young Peoples Programme (RYPP) for families where children/adolescents are abusive or violent towards their parents/carers, known as CAPVA in partnership with; Norfolk Youth Justice Service (NYJS), Norfolk Children’s Service (NCS), Police, Norfolk Integrated Domestic Abuse Service (NIDAS), managed by Leeway, Brave Futures and the OPCCN, thereby offering support and enhanced safeguarding to any associated victims and children.	£ 625,000.00
Northumbria	1. An early awareness raising intervention targeting offenders (may start later in the funding period). 2. Make a Change (MAC) is an early intervention and behaviour change intervention alongside a whole systems response through expert support to perpetrators and victims; workforce development; and community outreach. 3. Northumbria Hub & Spoke Pilot (H&S) provides support, stabilisation & behaviour change for high risk, high harm serial domestic abuse perpetrators using intensive case management and multi-agency collaboration; alongside associated support for adult and child victims.	£ 1,048,915.00
Nottinghamshire	1. An early awareness raising intervention targeting offenders (may start later in the funding period). 2. Deliver and evaluate a range of voluntary perpetrator programmes in Notts to reduce adult domestic abuse offending.	£ 656,248.00
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough	Managing the risk of domestic abuse perpetrators and stalkers. This project will deliver evidence-based early response and behaviour change domestic abuse perpetrator interventions, a Multi-Agency Stalking Intervention Programme and comprehensive support for victims.	£ 786,138.00
South Yorkshire	1. An early awareness raising intervention targeting offenders (may start later in the funding period). 2. Multi Agency Tasking and Co-ordination (MATAC). 3. Target Hardening (TH) Equipment for Victims of Domestic Abuse (DA).	£ 659,069.00
Suffolk	Suffolk’s DA Perpetrator Programme – Working in partnership to support victims and prevent violence and abuse by fostering behaviour change in those who harm.	£ 652,014.00
Surrey	A Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Hub will actively encourage a collaborative and co-ordinated trauma-informed approach, utilising expert interventions for perpetrators as well as integrated support for survivors and services for children and adolescents who use violence/abuse in their relationships.	£ 1,989,613.00
Sussex	1. To embed, enhance and expand a High Harm Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Programme supported by a multi-agency team offering a flexible therapeutic behaviour change approach, combined with supportive casework for perpetrators and victims. 2. To further embed and enhance the Sussex Partnership response to investigating and managing stalking offenders, by improving support for the Stalking Clinic and supporting the increased demand in applications for and management of Stalking Protection Orders.	£ 1,348,183.00
Thames Valley Office	Tackle prolific perpetrators of medium and high harm abuse, reduce re-offending and increase safety for existing victims and those at risk, through the delivery of the Drive intervention.	£ 2,809,737.00
	Compulsive and Obsessive Behaviour Intervention (COBI) to tackle stalking, reduce re-offending and increase public safety.
Warwickshire	Warwickshire DA Perpetrator Programme (W-DAPP) – one overarching programme consisting of a menu of separate, psychologically underpinned, behavioural change interventions; delivered from a trauma informed, therapeutic perspective; with a parallel offer of bespoke specialist support and therapeutic counselling for connected victims.	£ 600,000.00
West Mercia	A West Mercia Wide All Risk level DA Perpetrator Programme provided by one service provider which triages and assesses service users into the appropriate level programme as they are referred.	£ 1,222,398.00
West Midlands	Early Awareness Stalking Intervention (EASI) Project extension & expansion – Delivering early, brief psychological intervention for ex-partner stalking perpetrators to encourage behavioural change and reduce reoffending, whilst providing specialist support for victim-survivors.	£ 2,799,100.00
	1. Provide early intervention to domestic abuse (DA) perpetrators in custody through a reachable/teachable moment, with an integrated Victim Support Service. 2. Academic evaluation of the above early intervention to domestic abuse (DA) perpetrators in custody through a reachable/teachable moment, with an integrated Victim Support Service. 3. OPCC Policy Assistant who will work alongside the Policy lead to ensure the effective implementation, oversight and delivery of all West Midlands DA perpetrator interventions.

A new elite team of specialist investigators will turn the tables on fraudsters as part of the government’s new action to tackle fraud and stop scammers from exploiting people.

The new National Fraud Squad will overhaul how these crimes are investigated by taking a proactive, intelligence-led approach, backed by 400 new specialist investigators. It will work with local forces, international partners and the UK intelligence community to ensure that callous fraud cells who target millions of Brits each day are shut down.

Fraud is now the most common crime in the UK, with 1 in 15 of us falling victim, costing nearly £7 billion a year. With developments in modern technology opening up new avenues for criminals to target victims, 9 in 10 internet users have also encountered online scams.

The Fraud Strategy, being unveiled today, marks a step forward in the government’s fight back against scammers, in response to how these crimes have evolved.

New measures will close the routes that scammers use to target victims, including by banning cold calls on all financial products – such as types of insurance or sham crypto currency schemes – and working with Ofcom to use new technology to further clamp down on number ‘spoofing’, so fraudsters cannot impersonate legitimate UK phone numbers.

Government will also ban other devices or methods commonly harnessed by scammers to reach thousands of people at once such as so-called ‘SIM farms’ and review the use of mass texting services to keep these technologies out of the hands of criminals.

To make it easier for victims to report fraud and rebuild confidence that cases are being dealt with properly, a new system, replacing the current Action Fraud service will be up and running within the year. Backed by a £30 million investment, it will provide a simpler route for reporting fraud online, with reduced waiting times and an online portal to allow victims to get timely updates on the progress of their case. This improved service will also ensure victims’ reports are acted upon more effectively, using data to ensure we can continue to build intelligence as criminals continue to find new ways to target victims.

Seventy per cent of fraud in the UK either starts overseas or has an international link – to drive forward global efforts to tackle these crimes, the government will work bilaterally to raise fraud as a key priority. The Home Secretary will host the first global fraud summit in the UK to guarantee international collaboration to tackle this threat.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

Scammers ruin lives in seconds, deceiving people in the most despicable ways in order to line their pockets.

We will take the fight to these fraudsters, wherever they try to hide. By blocking scams at the source, boosting protections for people and bolstering enforcement, we will stop more of these cold-hearted crimes from happening in the first place and make sure justice is done.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said:

Fraud is a blight on our country with ruthless criminals scamming the British public out of their hard-earned cash. They exploit people’s trust and steal their life savings, shattering their confidence and leaving them feeling vulnerable. It also fuels serious organised crime and terrorism. Meanwhile scammers are adapting, taking advantage of new technology to prey on more victims.

It is vital we adopt a new approach to this threat. The Fraud Strategy outlines how we will use all levers available to us – through government, law enforcement, industry and international partners – to track down these criminals, intercept their scams and bring them to justice.

To push the response to fraud at the highest level, a new Anti-Fraud Champion, Anthony Browne MP, has been appointed. He will draw on his considerable experience as the former CEO of the British Banking Association to drive collaboration with industry and represent the UK internationally.

Anti-Fraud Champion, Anthony Browne MP said:

Fraud has grown to be the biggest form of crime in the UK, causing financial and emotional distress to millions of people.

The tech sector, phone companies and financial services firms must take responsibility for protecting their users by stopping fraud happening in the first place, and work together to design out fraud. We can use the technologies fraudsters are exploiting against them to stop them in their tracks, and I will work with industry to make sure that happens.

In plans announced today, banks will be allowed to delay payments from being processed for longer to allow for suspicious payments to be investigated, keeping cash out of the hands of fraudsters and stopping more people from falling victim.

We are working with the largest tech companies to make it as simple as possible to report fraud online, whether it be scam adverts or false celebrity endorsements. This means, regardless of which social media platform you are on, you should be able to find the ‘report’ button within a single click, and ‘report fraud or scam’ within another. TikTok and Snapchat already offer this for adverts but have committed to extending to other types of content.

Further measures include:

• rolling out tailored support to victims at a local level across the whole of England and Wales through the National Economic Crime Victim Care Unit
• launching an independent review of the challenges in investigating and prosecuting fraud to speed up the justice process, punishing more scammers and ensuring sentences match the severity of the impact on victims
• deploying the UK intelligence community to identify and disrupt more fraudsters overseas
• publishing regular data on the volume of fraudulent content hosted on different websites and platforms to incentivise companies to root these out and better protect users – government will launch a consultation on how best to deliver this, including regularity of publications

Today’s plans build on action already taken to step up protections for victims and clamp down on the criminals responsible for these crimes. That includes:

• legislating to ensure more victims of fraud get their money back, by requiring financial institutions to reimburse victims of authorised fraud
• making fraud a national priority for police forces, to help ramp up the response at local force level
• investing £400 million for law enforcement to tackle economic crime, including fraud, over the next 3 years
• new duties on tech companies through the Online Safety Bill to put systems in place to tackle scams on their platforms and publish annual transparency reports on their work to tackle online harms

Graeme Biggar, Director General of the National Crime Agency, said:

The NCA welcomes the new Fraud Strategy and our role in the National Fraud Squad. Through the National Economic Crime Centre, we will drive a proactive intelligence led response, holding fraudsters to account and protecting the public from criminals who operate increasingly online and overseas. We want fraudsters to feel the same vulnerability they inflict upon their victims, as we target their infrastructure, expose their identities and bring them to justice.

Commissioner Angela McLaren from the City of London Police, which is the National Lead Force for fraud, said:

We welcome this strategy and the much-needed investment in policing to deliver against it. Tackling fraud requires a collective effort and we will continue to work with our partners across law enforcement and industry, doing everything in our power to pursue fraudsters and reduce the devastating harm they cause.

The draft Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill sets out the requirements that, under Martyn’s Law, venues and other organisations will have to meet to ensure public safety. ‘Martyn’s Law’ is a tribute to Martyn Hett who was killed alongside 21 others in the Manchester Arena terrorist attack in 2017.

The draft bill will be subject to pre-legislative scrutiny by the Home Affairs Select Committee, ahead of formal introduction.

In December 2022, the government announced that Martyn’s Law will introduce a tiered model for certain locations depending on the capacity of the premises or event and the activity taking place, to prevent unnecessary burden to business. The legislation will ensure venues are prepared for, and ready to respond in the event of, an attack.

Security Minister Tom Tugendhat said:

The threat from terrorism is enduring. In recent years, we have seen terrorists target the public at a broad range of locations, causing deaths and casualties amongst innocent people going about their everyday lives,

This is a significant step forward for Martyn’s Law and our ability to further protect the public. I welcome the committee’s scrutiny to ensure that this legislation is proportionate while enhancing our national security.

Figen Murray, mother of Martyn Hett, said:

Today is an important step forward to a safer country. Martyn’s Law will end the ridiculous situation where venues have legal obligations for how many toilets they have but no obligation to keep their customers protected.

Of course Martyn’s Law won’t stop all terror attacks, but it will make crowded places better protected and prepared, and make the terrorists’ job that bit harder.

Almost six years after the Manchester Arena attack it’s now critical this bill is passed into law as quickly as possible and in the strongest form possible.

British Retail Consortium Assistant Director, Graham Wynn, said:

Given the number of retail premises, Martyn’s Law is particularly relevant to retailers. We have appreciated the Home Office’s willingness to make adjustments to the bill – such as the move to make capacity the basis to meet changing needs – as well as make it more practical and proportionate.

It will be important to ensure all operational details work effectively – such as how the tiers operate at the margins. After closer examination of the detail, we look forward to the opportunity to provide additional suggestions as appropriate during the Parliamentary process.

The government is committed to working closely with businesses and other stakeholders to ensure this legislation is proportionate whilst also being effective. Dedicated guidance and support will be provided to ensure those in scope can meet their responsibilities. ProtectUK already hosts a range of expert advice, training, and guidance.

The standard tier will apply to public premises with a maximum capacity of 100 or more people, whilst the enhanced tier applies to public premises and events with a maximum capacity of 800 or more people. Limited exemptions to the capacity requirements apply to education establishments and places of worship. Guidance and training materials will also be available to premises with a capacity of under 100, should they want additional support.

Standard tier premises will be required to undertake basic, low-cost activities to improve their preparedness, including terrorism protection training and evaluating the best procedures to put in place in order to minimise impact.

Enhanced tier premises and events have further requirements in recognition of the potential consequences of a successful attack. This will include appointing a designated senior officer who must regularly review the security of the venue.

An inspection and enforcement regime will be established to promote the requirements for each tier. In the event of non-compliance, sanctions and ultimately penalties will be issued to premises.

Martyn’s Law will extend to and apply across the whole of the United Kingdom and has been developed following extensive consultation with the public, businesses and campaign groups. The significant majority agree that those responsible for publicly accessible locations should take measures to protect the public from potential attacks.

Among the campaigners was Figen Murray, the mother of Martyn Hett. Her campaign for ‘Martyn’s Law’ has informed the process leading to the draft Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill. Figen and others have worked tirelessly with the government to ensure this bill is delivered and publishing the draft legislation is a credit to their efforts. Publication of the draft bill today follows a commitment made by the Prime Minister to Figen shortly after he took office that the government would bring forward the measures in the Spring.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has announced the appointments of Lee Freeman KPM and Michelle Skeer QPM as new inspectors of police and fire and rescue services. They will both take up the dual roles of His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary in England and Wales and Inspector of Fire and Rescue in England.

Since May 2017, Mr Freeman has been Chief Constable of Humberside Police. In January 2019, he was asked to support Cleveland Police as interim Chief Constable during a period of crisis. He also served as a police officer at Lincolnshire Police between February 2010 and April 2015, reaching the rank of Assistant Chief Constable. Mr Freeman was awarded the King’s Police Medal in 2023.

Since March 2018, Mrs Skeer has been Chief Constable of Cumbria Constabulary, having joined the force in 1990. She performed a variety of operational roles before moving to the criminal investigation department where she held roles at every rank and led on both public protection and serious crime operations. Mrs Skeer was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal in 2017.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said:

I’m pleased to welcome Lee Freeman and Michelle Skeer to these important roles, where they will play a vital part in ensuring that our police forces and fire and rescue services provide the excellent service that the public rightly expects.

On being appointed, Mr Freeman said:

I am delighted to be appointed as an HMI and in joining His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue.

I look forward to working with colleagues across both policing and fire and rescue services in order to ensure the services provided to the public continue to improve.

On being appointed, Mrs Skeer said:

I am delighted to be selected for the role as His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary and His Majesty’s Inspector of Fire and Rescue.

I have enjoyed working in policing for 33 years, and I am looking forward to this new challenge with HMICFRS.

Lee Freeman KPM and Michelle Skeer QPM were selected following a stringent recruitment process, conducted in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) inspectors are then appointed by His Majesty The King on the advice of the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister.

Mr Freeman and Mrs Skeer will take up their duties in August.

Following the landmark joint communiqué between the Prime Ministers of Albania and the UK on tackling illegal migration, operational teams in the UK and Albania have intensified operational work to address illegal migration, particularly the small boat crossings in the English Channel.

The UK and Albanian authorities have been working together to make it more difficult for illegal migrants to arrive and stay in the UK. Since the communiqué was agreed, new figures show that over 1,000 Albanian nationals have been returned to Albania. This figure is a combination of failed asylum seekers, foreign national offenders and voluntary returns and covers the period from agreement of the joint communiqué on 13 December up to the first week in April.

UK and Albanian operational teams have set up a joint migration task force, which serves as the main gateway to coordinate specialised operational measures and actions to manage illegal migration of Albanian citizens to the UK.

These include reinforced checks on free movement criteria at all border crossing points across the country, increased verifications on Albanian citizens who are found to be illegally in the territory of the UK, and exchange of senior-level police officers in both countries.

Head of the Albanian Border and Migration Police, Saimir Boshnjaku, said:

We are working hand in hand with our British colleagues under the joint migration task force to prevent irregular migration to the UK and related crimes.

The Border and Migration Police urges all citizens to follow the legal way of migration and assures that all persons breaking the law will face the consequences.

UK Director General of Immigration Enforcement, Tony Eastaugh, said:

These numbers are evidence that our partnership with the government of Albania to speed up the removal of those with no legal right to be in the UK is working.

As we intensify this activity further, Albanian nationals who enter the UK illegally and have no right to be here should be under no illusion that we will remove them as quickly as possible.

In 2022, there were 1,888 returns of Albanian nationals, of which 954 (51%) were enforced returns and 934 (49%) were voluntary returns. The number of voluntary returns is 90% higher than in 2021 (492). This is a new and encouraging trend, which we have seen continue into 2023. Already in 2023, from January to March, 795 Albanian nationals have been returned. Of these, 389 (49%) were enforced returns and 406 (51%) were voluntary returns. These operations are expected to intensify further in the upcoming months.

The Border and Migration Police of Albania and the UK Home Office are determined to put a stop to illegal migration which seriously impedes the prosperity and safety of citizens and enables criminality, exploitation and other forms of illegality.

The UK’s latest illegal migration statistics, published this morning (Monday 24 April) and covering a range of nationalities, also show that:

• enforcement visits conducted between January and March 2023 have increased since the same period last year (a 53% rise, from 2,111 to 3,228)
• as at 31 March 2023, the number of legacy cases in the asylum initial decision backlog was 11% lower than as at 31 December 2022
• the number of asylum decision-makers has increased since July last year. As at 1 March 2023, there were 1,281 asylum decision makers, 48% higher than on 1 July 2022 (when there were 865)