Operation Maxim

Report: 8
Date: 9 November 2006
By: Assistant Commissioner, Serious Crimes Directorate, on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

This report updates the MPA on the progress and activity directed at Organised Immigration Crime (OIC) within the MPS. It should be read in conjunction with previous Performance Planning and Review Committee reports, no 09 dated 08 May 2003 and no. 11 dated 12 February 2004.

A. Recommendation

That

1. Members note the contents of this report

B. Supporting information

Background

1. Organised immigration crime was identified as a major contributory factor to the tragic deaths of 58 Chinese nationals at Dover in May 2000. The United Kingdom Government created Reflex as a multi agency task force to combat the criminal networks that made significant financial gains from OIC whilst causing misery to many individuals and communities. The four key REFLEX priorities are:

• Identification and disruption of organised immigration crime involving one or more designated nationalities.
• Identification and disruption of organised trafficking in women and children to and via the UK for sexual or other exploitation.
• Support to improve systems and procedures within the UK, EU, at designated key nexus points and source countries designed to prevent people smuggling and human trafficking to the UK.
• Identification and disruption of organised immigration crime impacting on national security including private and public sector corruption.

2. In 2000 the United Kingdom was a signatory to the United Nations Protocol against Trans-national organised crime including measures to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons especially women and children. It is more commonly known as the Palermo Protocol.

3. In May 2002 the MPS bid to Reflex for funding to support its work in this area. In March 2003 Reflex approved ‘pump priming’ funding for three years of £1M per annum, and Operation Maxim was set up. This funding has since been continued at £980K per annum until end 2007/8. Negotiations continue with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) to discuss future funding beyond that already agreed.

4. In December 2005, the MPS were successful in a further bid to Reflex, which approved an additional sum of £792K per annum to fund the creation of a human trafficking investigation team. This team is currently being trained and will commence investigations in late 2006.

5. Altogether, the MPS will receive £1.445 M in 2006/7 and £1.772M Reflex funding in 2007/8 to support operations within Operation Maxim.

6. Since May 2002 the MPS have bid for and been successful on over 40 occasions for operational support funding to Reflex under an arrangement know as the additional projects fund (APF). Total funding from this source has been for additional sums in excess of £2.5M. This fund, recently discontinued (March 2006), supported OIC operations by Operation Maxim, SCD10 Special Intelligence Section (SIS), SCD10 intelligence development, SCD5 Child Abuse Investigation Command (Paladin child), SCD1 Operation Enver, SCD 8 Operation Trident, CO14 Clubs and Vice Branch, SO18 Heathrow Human Smuggling Unit (HSU), Enfield, Lambeth and Sutton Boroughs.

7. The current position of Reflex sees a funding movement of some £5.7M per annum being transferred from the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) into ACPO funds. This fund (which includes the MPS funding agreed until end 2007/8) will be under the control of Grahame Maxwell, Deputy Chief Constable, South Yorkshire Police, chair of the ACPO committee on Asylum and Immigration matters. The remainder of the annual Reflex grant (£20M) from the Home Office has been placed within the SOCA budget from 2006/7 onwards, and SOCA has provisionally agreed to ‘ring fence’ these funds. MPS funding beyond 2008 is still being negotiated with SOCA and ACPO.

Current MPS position against OIC

8. Operation Maxim was created in April 2003 with a proactive remit operating to the Specialist Crime Directorate control strategy against criminal networks operating at level 2 in London and beyond. It now operates as part of SCD6 Economic and Specialist Crime OCU.

9. Its aim is to operate against organised crime operating within London communities and to also co-ordinate activity within other parts of the MPS who also have similar or interlocking remits. Organised Immigration Crime in London has a varied area of activity which includes:

• People smuggling and organised facilitation of illegal immigration
• Trafficking in human beings (THB)
• Vice and prostitution
• Identity document fraud and passport factories
• Child exploitation
• Money laundering
• Support to partner agencies and systematic abuses of immigration rules and processes

10. OIC forms a significant part of the following branches work as follows:

• SCD 5 Child Abuse Investigation Command (CAIC) - Operation Paladin Child Ports Safeguarding Unit at Heathrow, Waterloo and Lunar House, Croydon
• SCD 5 lead on child trafficking issues identified during its own investigations
• CO14 Clubs and Vice Branch using Operation Kontiki during its policing of off/street brothels in London. It leads for trafficking offences during such policing
• SO18 Human Smuggling Unit (HSU) deals with those arriving at Heathrow Airport without valid travel documents (Section 2 Immigration and Asylum (treatment of claimants etc.) Act 2004)

11. None of these posts are directly Reflex funded. Appendix 1 gives an approximation of police/staff numbers and cost currently employed on OIC work.

12. SCD10 SIS operates at NIM level 3 against the most significant identified threats to London. Since 2002, they have developed an expertise in this type of work and have worked closely with law enforcement agencies nationally and internationally. Prominent work includes Operation Bluesky (people smuggling), Dita (people smuggling and trafficking), Operation Taming, involved the supply of bogus student visas for which a 6.5 million pounds forfeiture hearing is due to take place in 2007.

13. Issues of funding remain in relation to how the SIS operates as all operational activity has been previously supported by Reflex additional projects fund.

14. At NIM level 1 Commander Jarman, Territorial Policing, supports the United Kingdom Immigration Service (UKIS) through a series of four joint intelligence cells within London. Funded by the Home Office the MPS provides staff jointly working with UKIS in support of the intelligence led approach to the identification and location of failed asylum seekers (FAS). Known as ‘tipping the balance’ this team operate to Home Office stipulated targets. It should be said that the operation against organised crime whilst having cross overs from time to time, is largely unconnected to the work of the joint intelligence units.

Other areas of activity against OIC

15. There are significant areas of OIC that support financial gain for those involved in fraud and illegal immigration. There are significant overlaps between the work conducted by SCD6 in its longstanding role investigating fraud and money laundering. The money laundering underpinning both types of criminality is tackled via the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Maxim is now co-located within a command that supports a robust, proactive approach to identifying and tackling clandestine money movements.

16. Work encompassing proactive pre-cursor operations against those identified by financial institutions (suspicious activity reports or SARS) as well as legitimate businesses asked to provide specialist equipment (laser scanners, embossing machines, rubber stamps and high quality paper etc) is an area the MPS is committing resources to. A problem solving and prevention approach together with key partners in industry and business is producing benefits.

17. A key overlapping area remains with the threat posed to London by international terrorism. Close relationships have developed between Operation Maxim and the Counter Terrorist Command. Close operational ties exist to ensure that abuses identified for fraud or illegal immigration purposes are not replicated nor used by those involved. Data sharing remains an important area of activity.

18. Intelligence relating to Organised Immigration Crime identified within London Boroughs is invariably passed to Operation Maxim, which operates as a clearinghouse for action within the MPS or beyond. It also seeks to provide further support to Borough investigations and provides substantial support to communities targeted by such criminals.

Trafficking human beings

19. The Sexual Offences Act 2003, Sections 57-59 provides offences of trafficking into, within and out of the United Kingdom (respectively) for the purposes of sexual exploitation. Section 4 Asylum and Immigration (treatment of claimants etc.) Act 2004 provides an offence of non-sexual exploitation. This covers illegal working, domestic servitude and organ farming and donation. All offences are punishable by 14 years imprisonment and are ‘lifestyle offences’ within the meaning of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

20. As previously indicated in this document the MPS human trafficking team will shortly enhance the MPS response to OIC as part of Operation Maxim. Standard operating procedures are currently being discussed and the MPS response is likely to be as follows:

• SCD 6 Operation Maxim may accept referrals from Boroughs (subject to its operational capacity), from Law Enforcement Agencies (SOCA) and the United Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre (UKHTC)). The UKHTC will act as the conduit for numerous Non Governmental Organisations (NGO) who provide support to trafficked victims. Allegations of sexual exploitation will be the primary areas covered by this team
• SCD5 CAIC will investigate child trafficking matters identified within its own area of activity (i.e. Paladin child work) where they have capacity to do so, However Child Abuse Investigation Teams (CAIT) are not resourced to undertake these investigations and it is anticipated that cases may fall to BOCUs to conduct. SCD5 Major Inquiry Team’s are a resource available for tasking by SCD5 Senior Management Team. Their primary role is the investigation of intra-familial child murder and attempted murder.
• CO14 will investigate trafficking offences identified during its policing of off street brothels. It and SCD 5 have a duty to jointly co-operate with others investigating offences throughout the UK (as currently).
• Boroughs will continue to investigate trafficking allegations outside of the above teams remit supported by Maxim’s support and advice, subject to its operational capacity.

Strategic implications

21. The question of funding has always allowed the MPS two years of maximum vision to plan future OIC activity. Reflex funding was only ever intended as ‘pump priming’ for police forces and partners alike. Successive Reflex grants have come with caveats that future activity should be funded within core funding arrangements. OIC has been included in the National Policing Plan for the past 2 years.

22. On 9 June 2005 the then Home Secretary wrote to the Director General SOCA and all Chief Constables informing them that after Class A drugs work, the then SOCA pre-cursor agencies should direct their resources towards OIC. In the case of forces, he advocated that all forces should direct some future activity against OIC and make future provision for it to be core funded.

23. There remains some uncertainty whether OIC within the MPS will continue to attract the same level as funding, if any, as now.

24. The current level of activity within Operation Maxim match funded by the MPS was approximately £1.1M for 2005/6. A similar figure is anticipated for 2006/7. Although the cost centre supporting Maxim is managed within its existing budget we anticipate having to provide reserves of funding to replace what was previously funded from the Reflex additional projects fund.

Other issues to be considered

25. United Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre (UKHTC).

26. The UKHTC was opened on 3 October 2006 by the Solicitor General in Sheffield. It is funded by Reflex and run by South Yorkshire Police on behalf of ACPO. Its aims are to:

• Progress the UK Action Plan on Human Trafficking (which is due to be published following consultation in late 2006/ early 2007)
• To co-ordinate future national activity against traffickers for sexual and non sexual exploitation
• Train and inform police officers on trafficking and victim related matters
• Act as a point of contact for NGO’s and foreign law enforcement on such matters
• To create a ‘virtual university’ to encompass further learning and research in this area.

The Centre is staffed by Police, immigration officials, academics and a lawyer.

27. UKHTC will follow up the learning from Operation Pentameter, which ran from February to May 2006 in every police area in the United Kingdom scoping the off-street prostitution market. It sought to widen public awareness as well as act as an enforcement tool. It recovered 84 trafficked women, including 12 children. 44 of these women were recovered in London. Some 134 persons have to date been charged in relation to the management of brothels, trafficking and kindred offences throughout the UK.

Child Exploitation and On-Line Protection Centre (CEOPC)

28. CEOPC has been given the lead for intelligence analysis in relation to child trafficking. They have been commissioned by the Home Office to conduct a strategic threat assessment in relation to the UK child trafficking situation.

29. The CEO of CEOPC has the ACPO lead on child trafficking and has convened a national steering group in order to co-ordinate activity. There are a number of sub groups one of which relates to the Paladin project and includes the monitoring of the Paladin project recommendations. The MPS is represented at the national meeting.

30. The future success of the UKHTC and the effectiveness of OIC investigations will be dependent on a strong response from within the capital city. With rewards for traffickers and organised criminal networks perhaps greater in London and the South East than elsewhere the need for enhancing this response is sensible.

London 2012

31. There is little doubt that there will be many who will seek to prosper from the Olympics being held in London. Hospitality, catering and construction workers will be required. Criminal elements are expected to exploit the situation by establishing themselves in London from now on.

32. The anticipated influx of people to do this will also attract the unwelcome ‘support’ elements such as prostitution and the supply of false documentation to both travel to and live in London. OIC has been factored in to the strategic planning for the Olympics 2012.

The way forward

33. Organised Immigration Crime has had disproportionate effect on London partly due to the capitals established diverse communities, and its historical role as the first home for new communities settling in the UK. Criminals will seek means of exploiting those that they see as vulnerable targets. The MPS recognises that responsibility for tackling OIC is currently shared between various directorates and departments. It is our plan to improve information sharing and co-ordinating and tasking procedures within the MPS to improve our response, and to examine our corporate arrangements and systems in support of OIC.

34. To achieve this Commander Wilkinson is forming an MPS OIC Working Group. Members will include SCD5 (Child Abuse Investigation), SCD6 (Economic and Specialist Crime), SCD10 (Special Intelligence Section), CO14 (Clubs and Vice), Heathrow BOCU, TP Crime, SOCA and Immigration.

35. The future response to OIC will seek to focus on the harm caused by criminal networks and/or key nominals to London’s communities with an onus on those victims most at risk such as children and women. The MPS will also seek to use financial investigation as a key tactic in dismantling and disrupting the criminality behind OIC. A refreshed strategy to reflect this is currently being drawn up with the recent transfer of Maxim to SCD6 and the start up of the Human Trafficking team.

36. The MPS recognise the necessity of working in co-operation with other aw enforcement, governmental and non-governmental sectors. Strong working links have already been formed and this is an area we will continue to develop.

Abbreviations

APF

Additional projects fund

CAIC

Child Abuse Investigation Command

CEOPC

Child Exploitation and On-Line Protection Centre

FAS

Failed Asylum Seekers

HSU

Human Smuggling Unit

NGO

Non Governmental Organisations

OIC

Organised Immigration Crime

SIS

Special Intelligence Section

SARS

Suspicious activity reports

THB

Trafficking in human beings

UKHTC

United Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre

C. Race and equality impact

1. OIC often targets members of London’s newer communities. Generally there is support from those affected communities and the ethnic media servicing these communities have proven both supportive and an effective tool in providing advice to those being affected.

2. London’s communities are affected by OIC both as victims as a result of perpetrators in their midst. A full Race and Equality Impact Assessment will be conducted on the new Maxim strategy, and a full community engagement plan will follow to promote understanding of and support for MPS activity in this area of policing.

D. Financial implications

1. The MPS puts some £1.1M per annum towards Operation Maxim. Post 2008 there is no certainty that any Reflex funding will be available.

2. Appendix 1 provides an estimate of cost and numbers engaged in Organised immigration crime work.

E. Background papers

• Previous (PPR) reports no 09 dated 08 May 2003 and no. 11 dated 12 February 2004.

F. Contact details

Report author: Nigel Mawer, Detective Chief Superintendent, SCD6 Branch, MPS

For more information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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