In a New Year message described as a ‘Think piece’ titled; ‘Tag migrants for their safety and our peace of mind‘, Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Katy Bourne said migrants will inevitably be preyed upon by organised crime.
The message comes as 540 male asylum seekers are due to be housed in an army barrack in Crowborough in East Sussex, a move which has prompted large scale protests.
The commissioner challenged the Home Secretary to start tagging migrants in the new year.
“I have a New Year’s Resolution for the Home Secretary – why not be bold and pilot tagging of the men due to arrive soon at Crowborough?
“You might end up being thanked by taxpayers, the police and the migrants themselves,” the police commissioner wrote.
Sussex Police already has a programme of tagging for persistent shoplifters. Mrs Bourne said she would like to extend the programme to asylum seekers.
“Migration from poorer parts of the world and war-torn nations will not be halted through slogans about stopping boats or smashing gangs, she wrote.
“With climate change, political chaos, and religious fundamentalism on the rise, it’s no surprise that European countries – and especially the UK – look like the promised land.”
Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner, Katy Bourne
Extra funding for policing Crowborough is an “unsustainable sticking plaster and a whack-a-mole approach,” she wrote.
“I have already submitted a bid for several million pounds of extra Government funding to be ready to deal with any issues around the Crowborough camp without denuding other communities of the policing they already pay for and deserve.
“This is an unsustainable sticking plaster and a whack-a-mole approach that pushes the security problem and increased cost onto local police forces,” the PCC said.
“With thousands of people awaiting asylum processing, the potential for them to become involved in crime – as a perpetrator or victim – is inevitable, meaning police will be looking for people with very little official ID or existing digital footprint in the UK.”
Crowborough Training Camp, which will be used to house asylum seekers (Image: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire)
Kim Bailey of campaign group Crowborough Shield said: “The Commissioner’s statement underscores precisely why Crowborough Shield has repeatedly called for proper risk assessments, resourcing plans, and democratic engagement on any decision imposed on the town.
There have been lots of protests against the Crowborough plans (Image: Sussex News and Pictures)
“Proposals around policing capacity, funding bids, and even novel enforcement measures highlight the reality that substantial downstream consequences are being acknowledged after the decision is made, rather than addressed through an open and accountable decision-making process at the outset.”
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