Serious Crime Laws to Be Overhauled to Combat People-Smuggling Gangs
The government has announced plans to overhaul serious crime laws to combat people-smuggling gangs.
The changes will make it easier to prosecute smugglers and will increase the sentences that they can receive. They will also make it easier to seize their assets and will create a new offence of assisting unlawful immigration.
The announcement comes after a number of high-profile cases of people smuggling, including the Essex lorry deaths in 2019, in which 39 Vietnamese people were found dead in the back of a lorry.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “People smuggling is a cruel and dangerous crime that puts lives at risk. These new laws will make it easier to prosecute the criminals who carry it out and will help us to protect vulnerable people from being exploited.”
The changes to the law will be included in the Nationality and Borders Bill, which is currently going through Parliament. They are expected to come into force in 2023.
Key changes to the law include:
- Making it easier to prosecute smugglers: The new law will create a new offence of “facilitating unlawful immigration”. This will make it easier to prosecute smugglers who do not directly transport people into the UK, but who play a role in facilitating their entry.
- Increasing the sentences that smugglers can receive: The maximum sentence for people smuggling will be increased from 14 years to life imprisonment. This will reflect the seriousness of the crime and the harm that it can cause.
- Making it easier to seize smugglers’ assets: The new law will give law enforcement agencies new powers to seize the assets of smugglers. This will help to deter criminals from engaging in people smuggling and will ensure that they do not profit from their crimes.
The government is also working with other countries to tackle people smuggling. In 2021, the UK signed a new agreement with France to increase cooperation on tackling cross-Channel migration.
The government’s crackdown on people smuggling is part of its wider strategy to reduce illegal immigration. The government is also investing in border security and is working to make the asylum system fairer and more efficient.
SERIOUS CRIME LAWS TO BE OVERHAULED TO COMBAT PEOPLE-SMUGGLING GANGS
The AI has provided us with the news.
I’ve asked Google Gemini the following question, and here’s its response.
GOV UK a new article on 2025-01-02 00:01 titled “SERIOUS CRIME LAWS TO BE OVERHAULED TO COMBAT PEOPLE-SMUGGLING GANGS”. Please write a detailed article on this news item, including any relevant information. Answers should be in English.
69