Border Force

Not to be confused with Immigration Enforcement.
This article is about the UK government department. For the general topic, see border guards. For the Australian equivalent, see Australian Border Force. For the current Russian Service, see Border Force of Russia. For the UK TV series, see UK Border Force (TV series).

Border Force
{{{logocaption}}}
Racing stripe
Racing stripe
Agency overview
Formed1 March 2012; 12 years ago (2012-03-01)
Preceding agency
Employees10,000
Jurisdictional structure
National agency
(Operations jurisdiction)		United Kingdom
Operations jurisdictionUnited Kingdom
Legal jurisdictionUnited Kingdom
Specialist jurisdiction
  • National border patrol, security, and integrity.
Operational structure
Overseen byIndependent Office for Police Conduct/His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services/ Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration
Minister responsible
Agency executives
  • Phil Douglas, Director General
  • Steve Dann, Chief Operating Officer
Parent agencyHome Office
Facilities
Cutters
Website
www.gov.uk/government/organisations/border-force Edit this at Wikidata

Border Force (BF) is a British law enforcement command within the Home Office,[1] responsible for frontline border control operations at air, sea and rail ports in the United Kingdom. The force was part of the now defunct UK Border Agency from its establishment in 2008 until Home Secretary Theresa May demerged it in March 2012 after severe criticism of the senior management.[2]

Border Force was formed on 1 March 2012, becoming accountable directly to ministers. It is responsible for immigration and customs controls and the screening of passengers, freight and port staff at 140 rail, air and sea ports in the UK and western Europe, as well as thousands of smaller airstrips, ports and marinas.[3] The work of the Border Force is monitored by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration.

Border Force officers can hold the powers of both customs officers and immigration officers.[4] Their duties also include counter-terrorism, part of which is to detect and deter the illicit importation of radioactive and nuclear material by terrorists or criminals.

Aside from powers listed below in relation to immigration and customs, section 2 of the Borders Act 2007 also allows designated officers of the Border Force to detain anyone for any criminal offence or arrest warrant at a port if the Border Officer thinks they would be liable to arrest by a police constable. The power allows detention for three hours pending the arrival of a police constable. The power also applies to points of entry in Belgium and France where Border Officers work, whereby the Border Officer will turn the detained person over to Belgian or French police officers as appropriate.[5]

In July 2024, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced the creation of the Border Security Command, an appendant supervisory body of the Border Force that will be tasked with tackling organised immigration crime. The new unit will report to the Home Secretary directly and will direct the National Crime Agency, intelligence agencies, and police on how to break up smuggling gangs.[6]

  1. ^ "Border Force". GOV.UK. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  2. ^ "Theresa May to split up UK Border Agency". BBC News. 20 February 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  3. ^ "Home Secretary's statement on border security - Oral statements to Parliament - GOV.UK". Homeoffice.gov.uk. 20 February 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  4. ^ "New Customs officers Oath - a Freedom of Information request to Home Office". WhatDoTheyKnow. 12 October 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  5. ^ "UK Borders Act 2007". www.legislation.gov.uk. Expert Participation. Retrieved 26 November 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. ^ Devlin, Kate. "Home secretary launches new border security squad after scrapping Rishi Sunak's Rwanda plan". The Independent. Retrieved 8 July 2024.